South Korea is likely to overtake Italy in gross national income per capita as its economic growth rate fared well compared to the European economy, according to the Bank of Korea Tuesday. 

The nation’s GNI per capita last year is estimated to have decreased from $32,115 in 2019 to reach around $31,000 as its nominal gross domestic product growth rate hit zero amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. 

However, South Korea’s GNI per capita is to outpace the European nation, a member of the G7, citing the former‘s relatively high nominal GDP growth rate, they added. The World Bank is set to release the relevant ranking in the second half of the year.

South Korea’s nominal GDP growth rate was estimated around 0.1 percent last year, while Italy recorded minus 7.9 percent, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development data showed.

The drastic fall of Italy‘s GDP growth rate stems from its high dependence on the tourism and services industry. The South Korean economy, on the other hand, relies more on exports and manufacturing, which both have showing signs of recovery in recent months. 

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy, outbound shipments of products made in Korea grew 4.1 percent in November and 12.6 percent in December from same months last year.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund has recently predicted that the local economy’s GDP for last year -- estimated at $1.58 trillion -- will rank 10th in the world this year, up two notches from 12th in 2019. 

Brazil and Russia, which ranked higher than South Korea in 2019, are estimated to rank 12th and 11th this year, respectively, the agency said.

By Choi Jae-hee (cjh@heraldcorp.com)