List of countries by GDP (PPP)

GDP (PPP) means gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity. This article includes a list of countries by their forecast estimated GDP (PPP). Countries are sorted by GDP (PPP) forecast estimates from financial and statistical institutions that calculate using market or government official exchange rates. The data given on this page are based on the international dollar, a standardized unit used by economists. Certain regions that are not widely considered countries such as Hong Kong also show up in the list if they are distinct jurisdiction areas or economic entities. GDP comparisons using PPP are arguably more useful than those using nominal GDP when assessing the domestic market of a state because PPP takes into account the relative cost of local goods, services and inflation rates of the country, rather than using international market exchange rates, which may distort the real differences in per capita income. For example, while the nominal GDP ranks of Germany and India are third and fourth respectively, when adjusted for PPP Germany's GDP drops to sixth and India rises to third because the local cost of goods in India is lower, and thus same nominal amount of money can buy more goods and services in India. GDP adjusted for PPP, however, is limited when measuring financial flows between countries and when comparing the quality of the same goods among countries. To extend the example, while television sets may be cheaper in India than Germany, their quality may also be lower. PPP is often used to gauge global poverty thresholds and is used by the United Nations in constructing the Human Development Index. These surveys such as the International Comparison Program include both tradable and non-tradable goods in an attempt to estimate a representative basket of all goods.