GDP is the total amount in monetary value of goods and services that a country produces in a period of time usually annually. In addition to this, the income that the country generates from the taxes on its citizenry, imported goods and many other forms of taxes also account for the GDP. The GDP of Lebanon is $47. 82billion according to the 2009 estimates (Central Intelligence Agency, 2010). The Gini index is the measure of how the family income is distributed in a country. It ranges from 0 to 1 but can sometimes be expressed as a percentage by multiplying it by 100.
Figures that tend to zero indicate that the people’s income is nearly equal while those that tend towards 1 indicate severe inequality in income. The Gini index of Lebanon is 45. The HDI is the index that is used to develop the rate of human development in many ways especially those that involve the well-being of human being for instance health, education and so on. The HDI of Lebanon is 0. 803 which is a very big improvement from where it has been classified for a long time.
The economic measures of Lebanon pales in comparison to that of the US especially in terms of GDP. The GDP of USA is $14. 4trillion. It is only the Gini indices of the two countries that are equal as the HDI of USA is placed fifth in the world at 0. 956. The overall economic wealth of Lebanon is mainly contributed by the banking and tourism sector. The USA benefits from a wider range of service sectors. Otherwise, both the countries’ GDP benefit largely from the service sector. 156% of the GDP of Lebanon is basically public debt while 52. 9% of GDP of USA is public debt.
The economy of Lebanon is ravaged by critical corruption, very bureaucratic business registration processes limiting the growth of the business sector. This is a stark contrast as compared to the economy of the USA which is less affected by corruption. The measures are quite ironic as they indicate that the two countries are having similar indices in almost all the fields except the monetary value of their GDP.
Reference Central Intelligence Agency. (2010, March 19th, 2010). The World Factbook: Lebanon. Retrieved from https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le. html