Which Countries Rank Richest by Output per Resident?

Liechtenstein ranks first among the top 10 richest countries by projected nominal GDP per capita in the IMF’s April 2026 database, followed by Luxembourg and Ireland. This ranking covers countries with available 2026 values and measures annual economic output per resident—not household wealth or average salary.

Choose nominal GDP per capita or PPP to compare the available rankings and their units.

The Top 10 by Nominal GDP per Capita

These figures are 2026 projections, expressed in current U.S. dollars per person and rounded to the nearest $100 for display.

Rank	Country	GDP per Capita (US$)
1	Liechtenstein	226,800
2	Luxembourg	158,700
3	Ireland	140,200
4	Switzerland	126,200
5	Iceland	110,000
6	Singapore	107,800
7	Norway	105,900
8	United States	94,400
9	Denmark	83,400
10	Netherlands	79,900

Source: IMF DataMapper, GDP per capita in current U.S. dollars, 2026, checked October 6, 2026. The source indicator is NGDPDPC.

Monaco has no 2026 value in this IMF series, so it is not ranked. Missing data is not a zero. This is a top 10 within the source’s available coverage, not a claim that every country has been measured on an identical basis.

The WEO database is published in April and October and includes projections as well as historical data. The reference year, 2026, and the release edition, April 2026, identify different things. Preserve both when copying or publishing the ranking.

PPP Changes the Order and the Units

Nominal GDP per capita compares output per person in U.S. dollars using market exchange rates. Purchasing-power-parity GDP per capita, or PPP, adjusts for differences in price levels between countries. The IMF’s GDP explainer describes both approaches and cautions that GDP is not a measure of overall well-being. Output per person also does not show how prosperity is distributed among residents.

In the same April 2026 release, the PPP leaders are:

Rank	Country	PPP per Person (Intl$)
1	Liechtenstein	~195,370
2	Singapore	~173,710
3	Ireland	~159,130
4	Luxembourg	~156,720

Source: IMF PPP series, 2026. These approximate international-dollar values are not interchangeable with the current U.S.-dollar figures in the nominal ranking.

Singapore moves from sixth in the nominal table to second in the PPP ranking. Luxembourg moves from second to fourth, while Liechtenstein and Ireland retain first and third place. The comparison tool shows these four PPP leaders only; the draft data do not supply a complete PPP top 10.

GDP per Capita Is Not Household Wealth

A “richest countries” title needs a measure. Total GDP answers which economy is largest without dividing by population. GDP per capita answers how much output there is per resident, with nominal and PPP versions answering different comparison needs.

To compare wealth held by people, use a wealth dataset instead. Specify whether the figure is a mean or median and which population it measures. See wealth versus GDP rankings.

Ireland illustrates why output is not a direct measure of residents’ prosperity. Its statistical office publishes modified gross national income, GNI*, to exclude globalisation effects that disproportionately affect measurements of the Irish economy. In 2025, GNI was 55.4% of GDP at current prices*. Source: Ireland’s Central Statistics Office.

That figure provides context for Ireland’s position. It is not a replacement value to insert into an otherwise GDP-based ranking, and its 2025 reference year differs from the 2026 projections above.

Publish the Ranking Without Losing Its Meaning

For a spreadsheet or public data page, keep the measure in the title and the values numeric. Store one row per country, with source information alongside the ranking:

Field	What to Store
rank	Position calculated from unrounded values
country	Display name
country_code	Source country identifier
gdp_per_capita_usd	Unrounded source value; no currency symbol
reference_year	2026
status	projection
source_vintage	IMF WEO April 2026
retrieved_on	Date you obtained the source data
source_url	Link to the source series

Download the April 2026 Excel dataset from the WEO dataset page linked above and save the original separately. Select one series and one year. Keep country rows separate from regional and analytical aggregates, and record exclusions and missing values before taking the top 10.

Sort numerically in descending order and calculate rank before rounding. Apply currency formatting only for display; storing a value such as $226,800 as text can prevent a reliable numeric sort. The displayed figures here are rounded, so use the original source values when rebuilding the ranking.

TablePage accepts CSV, TSV, XLSX and XLS files and generates a public dataset page with a filterable table. Upload only information intended for public access. After publishing, confirm that values remain numeric, the initial order matches the ranking, and the page carries the metric, units, projection status and source edition.

A suitable caption is: “Top 10 countries by projected nominal GDP per capita, 2026 — IMF WEO, April 2026 edition; current US$ per person; countries without a 2026 value excluded.” For fuller coverage and ranking notes, use the public ranking table disclosures checklist.