Core Target 1: Real GDP Per Capita
Where BC Ranks, Provincial Comparison |
|
| Core Target One is based on the level of inflation-adjusted Gross Domestic Product. Real GDP per capita was essentially the same in 1998 as it was in 1990. GDP increased over this period but was matched by population growth. Although below the national average, BC notched solid growth in 1999 and 2000 due to strong GDP and weak population growth. The 1990s began with real GDP per person $1,000 higher in BC than in Canada but by 2001 it was $3,385 below average. |
|
| After a small decline in the 2001 recession, BC had above average growth for six years bringing real GDP per capita in BC to $1,651 below Canada’s in 2007. Average or below average decreases in 2008 and 2009 and a below average increase in 2010 pushed BC’s real GDP per capita to $1,927 below Canada’s. Average real GDP growth was similar in 1991-1998 and 2002-2010 but population growth was lower in the 2000s. |
|
Best and Worst Performers |
| The distance between BC and the top ranked province increased from 20 to 32 percent between 1990 and 2000 and then fell to 25 percent in 2010. |
|
| The difference between BC and the worst ranked province halved in the 1990s and shrank slightly in the 2000s. |
|
North American Comparison |
| BC ranked 50th out of 61 sub-national jurisdictions in Canada and the United States for the level of real GDP per capita in 2010. In 1990, BC ranked 35th but deteriorated such that it was 51st or 52nd between 1997 and 2004. |
|
| BC sits roughly $34,000 below second-place Delaware and $7,000 above last-place Prince Edward Island. In 2010, BC ranked 23rd of 61 for growth in real GDP per capita, up from 40th in 2009. |
|
International Comparison |
| British Columbia’s real GDP per capita level is consistently in the middle of the OECD pack. It ranked 12th in 2010, well ahead of last-place Turkey but lagging considerably behind first-place Norway. Canada placed 9th in 2010. |
|
| Ranks for BC’s real GDP per capita growth rates have fluctuated substantially over the past two decades. They have ranged from sixth in 1993 to 33rd in 2007. |
|
| In 2010, BC’s growth ranked 21st among the 34 jurisdictions used for the international comparison, down from 12th in 2009. |
|
Why It's Important
The level and growth of real GDP per capita are commonly-used indicators of the overall strength of an economy. |
|
