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Comment by sien | Hacker News Reader

India has increased in GDP per capita from $3629 in 2006 to $6800 in 2018. That's a massive increase in GDP per capita for ~1.5Bn people.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gdp-per-capita-maddison-2...

(edit) This is at Purchasing Power Parity, thanks to unmonk for pointing this out.

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As the article points out, PPP adjustment is misleading. Since GDP is disproportionately contributed to by higher income / higher COL urban areas, but PPP adjustment is made based on the average COL (thus mostly weighted based on rural areas), such PPP based calculations are grossly misleading.

India certainly has had a substantial rise in GDP per capita, but the absolute prosperity is nowhere near $6800 GDP per capita.

The rise in Indian nominal GDP per capita is even higher than that at PPP.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?location...

In the year 2000 it was $US 442. It is now $2256 . A five fold increase.

More specifically ~2.5 when adjusted for inflation: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?location...

But yes, the rise in nominal GDP per capita has indeed been very substantial (and in relative terms higher than that in PPP). It just shows a long way to go to achieve middle income status though.

Wait a minute, average cost of living would be averaged the same way that GDP is averaged. So this is just cope for the fact that reality doesn’t fit with the piece’s argument.

No, it isn't averaged the same way.

And extreme poverty has plummeted from 40% in 2004 to 10% in 2019.

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-population-in-ex...

Earth overshoot day is at july now. https://www.overshootday.org/

So we got another 40 years, till it reaches zero.

Seems a bit questionable.

That's an increase of about 5% per year over 12 years. Average inflation is typically 3%. So on average adjusting for inflation, India grew by 2% per year. This small number does not seem like something worthy of a headline.

GDP numbers are always supposed to be reported in inflation adjusted terms.

So In 2020 I'd say "Country Foo had a GDP per capita of $1000 in 2000", and in 2023 I'd say "Country Foo had a GDP per capita of $1100 in 2000"? That's confusing.

If you don't compare values between years it doesn't matter. When you compare them you adjust them to common base year.

Well, unless you are talking specifically about nominal GDP, which is also very important in economics.

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