freedquaker said:
justinian said:
SamuelRSmith said:
Hapimeses said:
Regardless of how much everyone else seems to accept Japan eventually falling behind the UK, I'm, personally, pretty surprised it's actually happening. We're not that rich, and we're not that big, but apparently we love ourselves a bit of gaming. |
We're the fifth richest nation in the world (In order: US, Japan, Germany, China, UK (China and Germany switch around depending on who does the estimating)). However, due to population sizes, we have more money per person than all of those other countries.
Also, we, on average, work around 200 hours per year less than out Stateside cousins and the Japanese, although the Germans work 300 hours less than us.
In essence, we have more money per person than the Japanese, and more spare time to play games.
|
I think you miss the point.
China is in the top five but out of the 1.+ billion what % enjoy a high standard of living?
The Human Developement Index means a lot more than simply the countries wealth.
It takes along with other things the GDP per Capita and the PPP (Purchasing Power Parities) to measure a country's standard of living. Japan is at 8, UK is at 21.
Meaning the average Japanese worker earn more and has more purchasing power than the average UK worker.
|
One of the shortfalls about the Human Development Index is that It does not properly measure the material well being. The world has such great amounts of poverty and inequality that it has to place too much importance on very basic concepts like adult literacy, basic education etc. These stuff are vital for developing countries but dont mean too much for the developed ones. So a comparison between China and the US doesnt mean so much. It is a fairer to compare China with India for example, or the US with the UK. There are also many other factors contributing to the quality of life that are not counted in HDI at all. In the US, you can freely travel all across the huge country without language & travelling barriers and many red tape stuff associated with that. And you usually dont need a visa to go abroad and most people will speak English more or less. Thats a VERY good deal of well-being, not counted in HDI the least bit.
|
I agree. It never claimed to be perfect and I am not saying it is. I am glad that the UK is in the big 2 but saying it is there because the UK nationals earn more money than the Japanese is wrong.
Maybe the Japanese have just moved on to other things, I don't know.
