Per Capita Income in World History

The following estimates of per capita income of the world was made by Angus Maddison (Emeritus Professor, University of Groningen, 1999) in his article "Poor until 1820." After the fall of the Roman Empire, the West entered a recession that lasted about a millennium. During this period, per capita income of the West was no more than $500 (say in 2000 constant dollar). After the industrial revolution, due to mass production, per capita income began to grow.

January 11, 1999 Angus Maddison (University of Groningen, The Netherlands)

GDP Per Capita

GDP Per Capita in 1990 international dollars*

YEAR	0	1000	1500	1820	1995
World	$425	$420	$545	$675	$5,188
The West	$439	$406	$624	$1,149	$19,990
West Europe	450	400	670	1,269	17,456
North America	400	400	400	1,233	22,933
Japan	400	425	525	675	19,720
The Rest	$423	$424	$532	$594	$2,971
Other Europe	400	400	597	803	5,147
Latin America	400	415	415	671	5,031
China	450	450	600	600	2,653
Other Asia	425	425	525	560	2,768
Africa	400	400	400	400	1,221

Population in italics in billions;
Total GDP in roman in billions of 1990 international dollars

YEAR	0	1000	1500	1820	1995
World	250	273	431	1,067	5,671
	$106	$115	$235	$720	$29,423
The West	25	33	65	156	739
	$11	$13	$40	$179	$14,773
The Rest	226	241	367	911	4,932
	$95	$102	$195	$541	$14,651

*NOTE: These estimates draw on material for 1500-1995 in A. Maddison, "Monitoring the World Economy" (1995) and "Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run" (1998), published by the OECD Develop-ment Center, Paris. The time series for GDP were merged with estimates of 1990 GDP derived by use of purchasing power conversions rather than exchange rates and called here "international dollars." The tentative estimates for years before 1500 were specially prepared for this article.