The
distribution will total less than 100 percent if the data are
incomplete.

GDP - per capita (PPP): This entry shows GDP on a purchasing power
parity basis divided by population as of 1 July for the same year.

GDP - real growth rate: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis
adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent.

GDP methodology: In the Economy category, GDP dollar estimates for
countries are reported both on an official exchange rate (OER) and a
purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. Both measures contain information
that is useful to the reader. The PPP method involves the use of
standardized international dollar price weights, which are applied to
the quantities of final goods and services produced in a given economy.
The data derived from the PPP method probably provide the best
available starting point for comparisons of economic strength and well-
being between countries. In contrast, the currency exchange rate method
involves a variety of international and domestic financial forces that
may not capture the value of domestic output. Whereas PPP estimates for
OECD countries are quite reliable, PPP estimates for developing
countries are often rough approximations. In developing countries with
weak currencies, the exchange rate estimate of GDP in dollars is
typically one-fourth to one-half the PPP estimate. Most of the GDP
estimates for developing countries are based on extrapolation of PPP
numbers published by the UN International Comparison Program (UNICP)
and by Professors Robert Summers and Alan Heston of the University of
Pennsylvania and their colleagues. GDP derived using the OER method
should be used for the purpose of calculating the share of items such
as exports, imports, military expenditures, external debt, or the
current account balance, because the dollar values presented in the
Factbook for these items have been converted at official exchange
rates, not at PPP. One should use the OER GDP figure to calculate the
proportion of, say, Chinese defense expenditures in GDP, because that
share will be the same as one calculated in local currency units.
Comparison of OER GDP with PPP GDP may also indicate whether a currency
is over- or under-valued. If OER GDP is smaller than PPP GDP, the
official exchange rate may be undervalued, and vice versa. However,
there is no strong historical evidence that market exchange rates move
in the direction implied by the PPP rate, at least not in t