When compiling the 'generosity' ranking by Finance magazine, countries were ranked by budget expenditures per capita, expressed in dollars at purchasing power parity (PPP). For the calculations, data for 2006 on budget expenditures from the CIA World Factbook were used.
The top positions in the list belong to countries with traditionally high incomes (according to the World Bank classification, gross national income per capita in 2006 was above $11,116). The ratio of budget expenditures to GDP in such countries is about 40-50%.
The ranking was topped by the tiny European country of Luxembourg with a population of 460,000 people and budget expenditures per capita of $35,300. Another micro-state, San Marino, took fifth place. Qatar and Brunei, spending $27,000 and $24,300 respectively on each of their residents, entered the top three. Another representative of the Gulf region, Kuwait, took 7th place with budget expenditures of $18,890. The inhabitants of these small eastern states owe their well-being to the presence of large hydrocarbon reserves.
Norway came in fourth place. In this northern country, they spend $21,400 per citizen. Other followers of the Scandinavian economic model, Sweden and Denmark, took 6th and 8th positions respectively.
Rounding out the top ten are Austria and France (9th and 10th places respectively), redistributing $17,680 and $17,300 per person through the budget. Thus, among the top ten were 7 monarchies and only one country with a large economy, France.
The United States, which has the largest economy in the world, took 36th place with budget expenditures per person of $8,900. At the same time, in absolute terms of budget expenditures, America ranks first – $2.66 trillion at PPP. It is followed by Japan – $1.35 trillion ($10,580 per person, 26th place) and China – $1.23 trillion.
However, in terms of budget expenditures per person, China ended up in a distant 105th place. When divided by 1.3 billion population, only $900 per person per year remains. Moreover, despite the country's economic successes, according to the World Bank classification, China continues to remain in the group of countries with below-average per capita income.
Russia, with budget expenditures per capita of $2,460, was in 73rd place in the 'generosity' ranking. Russia's neighbors in the ranking were Mauritius and South Africa. At the same time, Ukraine, which took 76th place, spends even less on its citizens than Russia – $2,280. But neighboring Belarus, among the former USSR countries, spends the most on supporting the population's standard of living – $3,900 (53rd place). The average level of budget expenditures per capita worldwide is $4,870.
Afghanistan closes the ranking (158th place), where the state allocates $70 per citizen per year. However, the poorest African countries are not far behind. At the end of the list are countries with the lowest GDP per capita in the world and corresponding levels of budget expenditures. The only exception is Zimbabwe, which ended up in 156th place. The level of budget expenditures per person in the country is $140, while the ratio of budget expenditures to GDP is 55.7%. The state, trying to reform the economy and improve the social side of its citizens' lives, is increasingly plunging the country into an economic abyss. Thus, the inflation rate in Zimbabwe at the end of 2007 was 8,000%.