Bordering Countries with Greatest Differences in GDP per Capita

I’m fascinated with borders! From why we have them in the world and how striking borders can be. Just take a look at many points on the United States/Mexico border, and you’ll see the significant differences these two countries have. So I got thinking about many borders across the globe, and I wanted to ask the question; what bordering countries have the most significant difference in GDP? If you’re not familiar with GDP, that is the average amount of money someone makes per year.

And so I went looking for an answer online, and I was able to find a list with what I’m looking for. Turns out there are a few countries with a high difference, but in general, countries that border each other do have close GDP. I guess this shouldn’t be a surprise given that many countries share the same resources, land, and people over borders. Anyways let’s take a look at countries that do have a high difference.

List of Bordering Countries with Greatest Differences in GDP

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These stats are all with the most updated data. This data takes into account a countries GDP per capita as well as the purchasing power within that country relative to the United States.

Takeaways

Bordering Countries with Greatest Differences – China and North Korea

So what can we learn from this list? I want to point out that this is not the actual GDP per capita of a country. This is just how much countries purchasing power is relative to the United States.

Let’s take a look at rank number 1. Here we see that Saudia Arabia is at nearly $54,000 GDP per capita compared to its neighbor Yemen at around $1,300. Saudia Arabia actual GDP is actually much lower, but it’s cheap to buy things in Saudia Arabia with their money, so it goes far. Therefore compared to Yemen, Saudia Arabia has nearly 42 times more GDP per capita compared to Yemen. That is the most significant wealth difference between two bordering countries on the globe.

And it’s true, if you were to walk from Yemen to Saudia Arabia, you would feel and see the wealth difference. That is currently impossible given that both countries are at war with each other with Saudia Arabia actively attacking Yemen. Yemen’s actual GDP actually may be lower than what’s given. Oman and Yemen are ranked seconded as Oman is a stable country also bordering Yemen.

As we head further down the list, you will notice the ratio’s get closer together as the wealth gap becomes smaller between the countries. But this is only a top 10 list, and the top 10 richer countries still are between 9 to 42 times more wealthy than their poorer neighbor. The given person in South Korea and Russia are about 15 – 22 times more prosperous than an individual in North Korea.

Problems

Bordering Countries with Greatest Differences – South Africa and Mozambique

Some of the countries do not have reliable data or have been in an active war, like Syria, so they’re probably much worse off than what’s given. But beyond the data is what happens between the two countries. As you’d suspect, many people try to get out of the more impoverished country and migrant to the wealthier country. The more prosperous country usually tries to stop that movement.

It’s unlikely that anybody from Yemen is heading into Saudia Arabia, but Oman does get migrants. North Koreans do try to escape their country usually through China. As we know, Syria’s also have primarily left their country during the war.

These poorer countries usually have corruption inside their own country or lack resources that the richer country has. For me, It’s interesting to see how two bordering places can be so stark in contrast.