Per capita

Per capita is a Latin term that translates to "by head." It's commonly used in statistics, economics, and other fields to express a quantity per individual person in a given population. This measure is used to give a general understanding of a particular statistic in a context that is easy to understand.

Definition

The term per capita is used to describe a particular quantity per individual person in a given population. This can be used in a variety of contexts, but is most commonly used in economics and statistics. The per capita measure is often used to compare different geographical locations, or different time periods. This measure gives a general understanding of a statistic in a context that is easy to understand.

Use in Economics

In Economics, per capita is a method for measuring the economic output of a country. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, for example, is a measure of a country's economic output that accounts for its number of people. It divides the GDP of a country by its total population, making a comparison of the economic performance of different countries more meaningful.

Use in Statistics

In Statistics, per capita is used to provide a ratio that reflects the number of events per person. This can be used to compare the occurrence of events in different populations. For example, crime rates are often expressed as the number of crimes per capita. This allows for a more accurate comparison between areas with differing population sizes.

Use in Health

In Public Health, per capita is used to express the occurrence of a health outcome in a population. For example, the incidence of a disease per capita would be the total number of new cases in a specified time period divided by the population at risk during the same time period.

See Also

• Gross Domestic Product
• Economics
• Statistics
• Public Health

External Links

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