EVALUATING INDONESIA’S POSITION AMIDST WORLD’S ECONOMY

China's economy would soon overtake Ameri­ca as the world's biggest economy. However in terms of prosperity, China was not among the top-ten coun­tries with highest GDP per capita in the world.

To measure prosperity level of a nation, econ­omists would refer to GDP of that country, GDP was a total asset and activities of a country. To measure individual degree of prosperity of the citizens, the for­mula was to divide GDP by population number.

Therefore although China's GDP was huge, with a population numbering to around 1.6 million people, by average the amount of income of a Chi­nese citizen was less compared to average income of American citizens.

It was very obvious that countries with high GDP per capita had wealthy citizens. As with Indone­sia, according to data of the Central Board of Statis­tics [BPS] of 2013, Indonesia's GDP per capita was posted at around Rp.36.5 million per annum.

In Rupiah, per capita income of Indonesians in 201 3 increased by 8.88% against that of 2012 which was Rp.33.5 million. However to measure in USD the per capita income of 2013 was having contraction against that of 2011 at USD 3,525.2. Compare Indo­nesia's per capita income with 10 rich countries of the world.

First Qatar, This Middle Eastern state was champion in terms of per capita income with per capita income posted at USD 98,814. Qatar's great­est asset was oil. Qatar was the world's third biggest oil producer in the world. Qatar had population of 1.8 million people but the indigenous people of Qatar numbered only 280,000 people the rest being migrant workers who were not benefiting anything from the wealth of the country. It was not surprising that many rich people of Qatar were big investors in other countries of the world.

Second Luxemburg, This European state had GDP capital income of USD 78,670 per capita per an­num. Like Swiss. Luxemburg had for long relied their economy on steel and chemical based products. At­tractive corporate taxes made this country appealing as ideal location for headquarters of multi-national companies especially Internet-based industry like Amazon and Skype. This small country of 537,835 people kept progressing to become richer and richer. With their strong economy, this small country was highly respected in Europe.

Third Singapore, Per capita income of Indone­sia's neighboring country came to USD 64, 584. For long, Singapore had been the biggest harbour country of the world. Singapore was also commercial center and access line to Asia as well as being an important industrial center. This 5.4 million populated state was on the way up to become richer due to the strategic position of its harbour.

Fourth Norwegia. This Scandinavian country posted per capita income of USD 54, 947. Although rich in oil, Norwegia decided to diversify their activi­ties to other industrial lines. Crude oil and gas con­tributed 57% to GDP. Norwegia nationalized their oil reserves to make their citizens richer. As individuals, the citizens of Norwegia had no access to the wealth, but were making the country one of the most stable country in the world.

Fifth Brunei Darussalam, This neighboring country of Indonesia posted per capita income of USD 53.431 Brunei, Monarch state in Southeast Asia processed abundant oil resources which made the country truly prosperous. Brunei had zero debt, so rich the country was. Brunei relied 90% of their GDP on crude oil so the country's faith was highly reliant on world's oil price.

Sixth the United States of America, The USA had per capita income of USD 53,101 per capita per annum. Although America's middle class were des­perately struggling to troubleshoot crisis since 2008, the economic foundation was still robust. The condi­tion of America's middle class was still better than any country in the world. Besides wealth gap among the people was claimed to be only 0.001% so it was rumored that to be born in America was a sign of for­tune. America was also able to bounch back on their feet again thanks to their strategic economic maneu­vers.

Seventh Switzerland, Per capita income in this Mount Alpen state came to USD 46,430 per capita per annum. This country commanded over manufac­turing industry, science and technology and finance that made Swiss the "nest" of world's economy. Swiss neutrality made this country an ideal state for center of big corporations of the world. Swiss set target to be Europe's economic leader in the years to come. Many big capital owners of the world de­posited their money in Swiss banks as their secrecy system was extremely tight.

Eighth San Marino, a "little" country in the middle of Italy posted per capita income of USD 44,480 per capita per annum. San Marino had no debt and was a country of lowest unemployment record in Europe. San Marino's population only numbered 32,000 and relied mainly on financial industry and tourism to sustain the state's economy who claimed to be the oldest sovereign country since 301 AS.

Ninth Canada, This America's neighbor coun­try posted per capita GDP of USD 43,427 per capita per annum. For the first time ever, the number of mid­dle class in Canada was more compared to that in the USA. Apparently, per capita GDP o Canada was still lower than the USA.

However, Canada's economic performance had been much better in the past 2 years as global commodity prices had been advantageous to busi­ness. Now this country as member of G7 club had high reputation in the eyes of the world.

Tenth, Australia, GDP per capita income in Australia was posted at USD 43,073. Australia is a Commonwealth state having close relationship with England and all other member countries. However, lately Australia was also engaged in economic relationship with China and other Asian states havi­ng bright economic prospect. Australia's economic growth was much attributed to export of manufactur­ing industry commodities.

From the above picture it was clear that if Indonesia's per capita income was lower than the said countries it was reasonable because Indone­sia's population was way higher, today around 251 million people. To jack up per capita income, effort was needed to increase national production capacity to uplift state's income. Lastly birth figures must be maintained at ideal level to ensure even and fair dis­tribution of national productivity. Naturally, poverty and joblessness would be automatically reduced. (SS)

Business New - May 30, 2014