South Korea to Surpass Japan's GDP per Person

Although Japan was once the foremost nation in terms of economic growth, the Economist's daily chart suggests that this trend is changing. Countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, who used to trail behind Japan in regards to GDP per person, are now quickly outpacing Japan. Even more remarkable, South Korea is expected to achieve a higher GDP per person measured at purchasing-power than Japan within five years. Singapore outpaced Japan in this category in 1993 and Taiwan passed Japan in 2010. However, the case of South Korea will be extraordinary, give that 32 years ago South Korea’s GDP per person was roughly a fourth of Japan’s.

The Growth of Russia's Middle Class

The Economist recently investigated the growth of Russia’s middle class in its March 2^nd daily chart.  The data inspected various characteristics of the Russian middle class throughout the first decade of the 21^st century.  The size of the middle class grew from 15% to 25% of the population, and GDP per person grew about $9,000 (growing approximately 133%).  Additionally, Internet users grew from less than 50 per 1000 persons to over 450 per 1000.  Lastly, the middle class has engaged in more tourism, with tourist travel abroad more than doubling.  Of future interest will be the potential growth of the middle class throughout the current decade and how the new leadership (elections take place this coming Sunday) may affect this data.