First, you must understand what is GDP. This abbreviation stands for gross domestic product. This is one of the main indicators of economic development. This ratio consists of the market prices of all goods and services produced for final consumers on the territory of any country. GDP is usually calculated on a time period of year. The growth of this indicator, adjusted for inflation often means the economy growth, increase of volume of production and services. Therefore, most of the world, including Russia, seeking to increase its value.
Besides the GDP, there is associated another important economic indicator - the gross domestic product per capita. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of all items by the number of people living in the country. This figure is needed primarily in order to adequately compare the economic development of various countries based on population. GDP per capita is usually calculated in us dollars based on purchasing power parity of the local currency, i.e. is taken into account not just the market exchange rate and the quantity of goods that can be purchased at her.
GDP per capita could reflect another important indicator is labour productivity. But to do this, economists usually change the method of calculation and divide the cost of all goods not on the total number of the population, but only on the number of working citizens.
However, there are economists who criticize the calculation of GDP per capita from the point of view of the reality of this economic indicator. In particular, the controversy raises the question of whether it is legitimate to take into account the factor of development of economy the value of goods and services produced in the country firms, the head offices of which are located abroad. There is therefore a parallel indicator of economic development - GNP (gross national product). This index takes into account only goods and services produced by the organizations belonging to the national capital.
