The country’s per-capita gross national income (GNI) is estimated to reach a record high of US$24,044 this year, thanks to the South Korean won’s appreciation to the U.S. dollar and a rise in the gross domestic product (GDP), financial industry sources said Monday.
The figure represents an increase of 5.9 percent from $22,700 tallied last year.
The estimate is based on the Bank of Korea’s outlook for 2013 GDP growth (2.8 percent) and annual average of foreign exchange rate of 1,095 won per dollar during the January-October period, compared with 1,102 won a year earlier.
In addition, population is likely to grow merely 0.43 percent to 50.22 million year-on-year.
The nation's per-capita GNI fell below the $20,000 level during the global financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, but it surpassed the $20,000 mark again in 2010.
