Quatar has for many years been considered the richest country in the world in the World Bank ranking. In a new method of calculating the wealth per capita, Norway now beats out Quatar.
Due to the country’s substantial natural resources, very high income, huge financial assets and low debts, Norway currently tops the World Bank’s list over the wealthiest countries in the world.
And Norway is not even a part of the European Union. It turned down the Common Market in a referendum in 1072 and turned it down again when it had become the EU in 1994 by good margin
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In the new method of calculating the World Bank has now translated wealth into a nation’s various available resources both now and for the future. The expected income for residents in the course of their lifetime has also been taken into the equation.
Norway is famous for its beautiful fjords, its seafood, the fearsome Vikings and its success in winter sports. The oldest ski discovered in Norway dates in fact back to 5100 B.C. Yes, the country is prosperous, happy and free. Its towns and cities are orderly and comfortable, runs its own affairs and is trading cheerfully with the EU.
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However, Ingvild Almås, an economics professor at business school NHH in Bergen and the University of Stockholm, called the World Bank’s new calculations “interesting,” but worries that Norway may score higher than it should.
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In fact, we agree. If we’re looking in terms of real GDP, Norway ranks according to Global Finance #8 in the world with a ‘current’ GDP of 69,296 International dollars, falling behind Quatar and Luxembourg.
Yet, apart from all these statistics, it is safe to say that Norway is the happiest country in the world.
Norway – The Richest Country in the World? Written by Tor Kjolberg