The likes of Germany and France are economic juggernauts, but did you know that their wealth pales in comparison to the likes of Monaco and Liechtenstein?
As a tale, in Liechtenstein, it is an entirely typical thing for a standard rancher to have a Ferrari close to his farm hauler in his horse shelter. Not terrible, isn't that so?
Good
day, kings!
In this blog, we will present you with the top 10 richest European countries by GDP
per capita.
At the end of In the Blog we will include a graph for an easier comparison, so make sure to keep reading until then!
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you enjoy the Blog, please don’t forget to us so that you can see our next
interesting Bolg about the world’s richest people and their luxury lives!
1. Sweden:
At a current GDP per capita of 56 thousand US dollars, Sweden barely makes the top 10 richest European countries, beating the likes of Germany, France, the UK, Russia and more.
The Nordic countries are often seen as role models for countries that successfully distribute their wealth among the entire population.
Sweden is definitely doing something right: Socialized healthcare, a good school system and a liberal society leads to very high social mobility.
Also,
its historical capital of Stockholm is definitely worth a visit!
2. Iceland:
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| Iceland (source: Unsplash) |
With it is the very homogenous population of just 360,000 people, Iceland is one of the smaller countries on the list.
Due to this very small size, the country apparently does a great job at supporting every citizen of Iceland’s GDP per capita is an impressive 57 thousand US dollars.
If the isolation due to the coronavirus ends at some point, we can’t recommend a visit to Iceland enough: The country has a vast and unique landscape that is definitely worth a visit.
If you get lucky, you might even experience the northern lights! The GDP per capita of our number one, which is also an extremely small country, is almost 3 times as big as Iceland’s.
Keep
Reading to find out which country is so incredibly rich!
8. Netherlands:
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| Netherlands (source: Unsplash) |
The current GDP per capita of the coastal nation is an impressive 60 thousand US dollars, which makes it the 3rd richest country in the EU.
The Netherlands’ wealth stems from its traditionally liberal trade policies – at some point in the past, the Dutch were the most powerful traders in the world.
The Dutch capital Amsterdam is known for its very nice Venice-like canals and its very liberal culture concerning marihuana – which is why it is a popular travel destination for all sorts of people from its neighboring countries.
7.San Marino:
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| San Marino (source: Unsplash) |
At a GDP per capita of 62 thousand US dollars, this country is a microstate surrounded by Italy with a population of only 34 thousand.
It is located near the popular party beach of Rimini and was founded as an independent monastic community in the year 301, which makes it the oldest still-existing sovereign state.
The reason for San Marino’s relative wealth is tourism: The tourism sector contributes a total of 22% to San Marino’s GDP.
Fun fact: As the only country with more cars than people, San Marino has the highest rate of car ownership in the world!
6.Switzerland:
With a GDP per capita of 68 thousand US dollars, Switzerland is “just” the 6th richest country in Europe – before doing research for this video, we honestly thought Switzerland would be in the top 3, but two microstates have double the GDP per capita!
Impressive,
right?
Keep watching to find out about these two ultra-rich microstates! Switzerland is mostly known for its strict laws surrounding banking secrecy, but apart from this, the country also has one of the smallest tax rates out of all developed countries.
though the exact tax rate depends on the region inside Switzerland –, a high rate of gun ownership and it houses a high number of multinational corporations, some examples being Nestle, Credit Suisse, UBS, and more.
Furthermore,
the Swiss manufacture the best luxury watches in the world!
5.Norway:
The Kingdom of Norway reaches an incredible GDP per capita of 80 thousand US dollars, which puts it at the fifth spot and makes it the richest Nordic country on the list.
The main reason for Norway’s wealth is its vast oil reserves – the petroleum industry accounts for roughly 25% of the country’s GDP, making Norway the world’s largest producer of oil outside of the Middle East on a per-capita basis.
The country is using its oil wealth in a very smart way: Instead of using their oil wealth to buy yachts and luxury cars, it is being used to invest in stocks with Norway’s absolutely massive pension fund.
This fund secures Norway’s wealth even after the age of oil is over.
4.Ireland:
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| Ireland (source: Unsplash) |
At its GDP per capita of 87 thousand, Ireland is more than two times as rich as it is only neighboring country, the United Kingdom.
Ever since Ireland’s corporate taxes were slashed from 32% to just 12.5% in 1999, the country had been the country of choice as a European headquarter for American corporations in order to avoid paying the higher tax rates of for example Germany and France.
The high usage of these multinational tax schemes is the reason why Ireland’s GDP per capita is so high: If you adjusted for these tax schemes, Ireland’s GDP per capita would be roughly 30% lower.
3.Luxembourg:
As the richest country in the EU, the country with a population of 620 thousand is another small state that draws a lot of capital due to its creative tax laws – Luxembourg’s GDP per capita is at an impressive 112 thousand US dollars.
The two top spots are even crazier than Luxembourg, so keep watching to find out about them! Another factor that skews Luxembourg’s GDP per capita is that a vast number of people actually live in Germany or France and work in Luxembourg.
This means that these people increase the Luxembourgish GDP, but they do not count to Luxembourg’s population.
The reason for this phenomenon is that real estate and rents are extremely high in Luxembourg by living just behind the German or French border, you can save a lot of money.
2.Liechtenstein:
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| Liechtenstein (source: unsplash) |
Liechtenstein is Luxembourg on steroids: at a population of just 39 thousand, it has an impressive GDP per capita of 166 thousand US dollars – which is more than double the GDP per capita of the United States!
Interestingly, the country – similar to Luxembourg – still has a monarch as its head of state.
Ever since Liechtenstein signed a free trade agreement with Switzerland in 1921, it has been Switzerland’s little brother – it even took the Swiss Franc as its currency and has had close economic and administrative ties ever since.
Surprisingly, the financial industry makes up only 17% of Liechtenstein’s GDP – in addition to its strong banking industry, the microstate also houses a lot of specialized industrial companies that are often worldwide market leaders in their respective subsectors.
These
make up over 40% of Liechtenstein’s GDP!
1:Monaco:
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| Monaco(source: Unsplash) |
With an impressive GDP per capita of 186 thousand US dollars, Monaco is both, the richest country in Europe and the richest country on earth with its small population of just 39 thousand!
Though Monaco is mostly famous for its casino and the Formula 1 race, it is also THE place of the choice for the richest people in Europe.
A nice dock to park your yacht, one of the most famous casinos in the world, a mild climate at the sea, good food, and a vast number of luxury hotels and houses make Monaco the ideal recreation center for the continent’s richest people.
Oh, and their tax system is pretty nice as well: As a resident, you don’t pay any capital gains taxes or wealth taxes! It’s totally understand why so many millionaires and billionaires choose to move to Monaco!
Who wouldn’t love to wake up in one of the most luxurious apartments on the planet, only to spend the afternoon on your yacht and in the evening use your Lamborghini to get to Monaco’s famous Monte Carlo casino?
As promised, you can now see the chart that compares the 10 richest countries in Europe! Keep following us so that you can read our next blog about the world’s richest people and their luxury lives!
Also, feel free to tell us in the comments about your favorite country from the list where would you like to move if you were rich?
For
us, Monaco easily wins the race!