Taiwan’s purchasing power parity (PPP) is higher than Japan and South Korea. That’s according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday.
Taiwan’s expenditure per capita stood at US$39,059 when adjusted by purchasing power parity. That’s higher than Japan’s US$34,262, and South Korea's US$29,035.
Among the Four Asian Tigers, Singapore had the highest PPP-adjusted per capita expenditure. Taiwan came in third thanks to its relatively low price level, shown by its low price level index of 66.1, although its per capita expenditure based on regular exchange rates was only US$20,030. Countries with a price level index above 100 have higher price levels, and those under 100 have lower price levels.
The World Bank said the PPP-adjusted figures were better indicators of material well-being than per capita expenditure based on GDP. The World Bank report was based on 2011 figures.