Abstract
GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country's Gross National Income. It is a country's final income in a year, divided by its population. Although the BRICs (countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China) are likely to become larger and more powerful force in the world economy, individuals in the BRICs are likely to be poorer than individuals in the G7 economies by 2050. The income distribution in the BRICs is unequal among the population of the countries and poverty will remain prevalent in the years to come. That is the reason why GNI per capita does not entirely reflect the economic potential in the BRICs.
Indeed, in 2004, the income per capita of the 500 million urban Chinese people was about US$ 1.150 which represented about 3.21 times the income per capita of the 800 million rural residents. Furthermore, by 2020, the urban income will be seven times as much as the rural income that is the reason why the idea of purchasing power and human development should be better indicators to evaluate the economic potential in the BRICs.
