India's median per capita income lowest among BRICS: Gallup

Median means half respondents involved in research get income less than $616

The yearly income earned by an individual in India is the lowest when compared with people living in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations, a Gallup survey showed on Monday.

The annual median per capita income in India stood at $616, the 99th position among 131 countries.

Median means half of the respondents involved in the research get an income less than $616 and the others half above that. Among the BRICS economies, Russia's median per capita income was the highest as people earned $4,129 a month.

The survey observed that in countries where full-time employment was more, the median per capita income was stronger. In India, close to 25 per cent of the people had full-time employment between 2008 and 2012, which is low compared with BRICS peers.

Russia was followed by Brazil, where the median per capita income was $2,247, followed by China ($1,786) and South Africa ($1,217). The survey also highlighted a large difference between more economically developed countries and developing ones. The firm said this “illustrates how dramatically spending power varies worldwide.”

Norway, which topped the list, had a median per capita income of $19,308, followed by Sweden ($18,632). Zambia recorded a per capita income of $287.