The term per capita is usually used in the field of statistics.
The Latin phrase per capĭta can be translated as “per head.” It came to our language as per capita , an adjective phrase that can also be mentioned as per capita according to what is recorded in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ).
The idea of per capita refers to what is recorded, counted or calculated per person. Counting something per capita, then, means doing it per individual since each individual has only one head.
Speech use per capita
The expression per capita is usually used in the field of statistics . Starting from data corresponding to a population, community or group, it is used to refer to the average that is calculated per subject .
Let's look at a simple example. Suppose five friends buy a lottery ticket and agree that if they win, they will split the prize equally. Finally, the ticket number is drawn and they gain access to a reward of $10,000 . The per capita prize , thus, is $2,000 .
Given that the group receives a total of 10,000 dollars and has five members , to calculate what corresponds per capita, the amount earned ( 10,000 dollars ) must be divided by the number of people ( 5 ): 10,000 / 5 = 2,000 .
Per capita income is an important data for macroeconomics.
Income per citizen
One of the most common uses of the phrase per capita is associated with the average income per individual based on the figures for the gross domestic product (also called gross domestic product , gross domestic product or gross domestic product ).
GDP or GDP is a macroeconomic variable that reflects, in monetary terms, the value of all the production of services and final demand goods in a place and during a certain period. Typically, GDP is calculated by country and by quarter or year.
GDP is usually associated with wealth. In turn, it is estimated that the higher the GDP , the better the living conditions of the population . That is why GDP , in theory, reflects social well-being.
By dividing the GDP of a country by the number of inhabitants, the per capita income (or per capita income ) is obtained. The operation indicates what amount of income “corresponds” to each individual.
Of course, per capita income is just a statistical fact that results from a generalization. As there is often a great income disparity in a nation , in practice there are people who earn higher incomes than those indicated by per capita income, while others earn lower incomes.
In other words: if the annual GDP of a country with 10 million inhabitants is 50 million pesos , the per capita income for that year reaches 5 million pesos . This does not indicate, of course, that each citizen obtained an annual income of 5 million , because some earned 15 or 20 million and others, no more than 100,000 pesos .
Per capita consumption
Per capita consumption , meanwhile, refers to some type of consumption that is calculated per person. We can talk about energy consumption per capita , milk consumption per capita , etc.
When analyzing food, per capita consumption provides information about the diet of the inhabitants, in addition to providing interesting data with economic and social implications. If the consumption of beef per capita decreases, to mention one possibility, it could be the advance of a new type of diet that leaves this type of product aside or a circumstance of the economy that makes the price of this meat inaccessible. for part of the population.