S. Korea projected at No. 7 in per capita income and No. 10 in GDP scale in 2020

South Korea is projected to finish 2020 at No. 10 in global gross domestic product (GDP) scale and No. 7 in per capita income as it turned out to have survived the pandemic year better than others.

Korea’s nominal gross national income (GNI per capita was estimated at $31,000 last year, down from $32,115 in 2019, the Bank of Korea reported Tuesday.

Despite Korea’s dip, it is expected to have beat Italy in GNI per capita rankings to become on par with the traditional G7.

Italy’s GNI per capita in 2019 was $34,530, narrowly ahead of Korea’s $33,970 when applying the average currency rates of the previous three years, according to World Bank data.

In 2020, Korea likely came out higher as Italy’s nominal growth rate was minus 7.9 percent versus Korea’s 0.1 percent, according to estimates from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Italy’s economy relies heavily on tourism and the service sector, which took a sharp hit from Covid-19. Korea’s export-oriented economy also suffered at the beginning of the pandemic but has shown signs of recovering, with exports up 4.1 percent in November and 12.6 percent in December.

Korea’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to total $1.59 trillion in 2020, according to the International Monetary Report. This would make it the world’s 10th largest economy, up two notches from the previous year.

Brazil and Russia, which had ranked above Korea in 2019, are expected to slide to 12th and 11th, respectively.

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