Science & Technology: The first factor is the vast improvements in science and technology over the past 2,000 years. However, neither of these are fully sufficient to explain the wealth differences between today’s global poor and those of Romans living 2,000 years ago.
In contrast, the Roman Empire was at its very core a slave state, with slavery playing an important role in the economy. However, debt for many countries remains a major issue.Įnd of Slavery: While slavery still happens far too often in the world today, it is illegal in all countries. Independence: Most states that were part of Empires have decolonised and are today de jure independent, meaning they don’t need to pay money directly to a foreign occupying power. Politically, there have been a couple of changes since the Roman Empire: So how is it possible for citizens of today’s poorest countries to be, on average, wealthier than the citizens of one of history’s greatest empires? However, Washington DC’s figure of $145,663 is five times that of Mississippi’s. Interestingly, this relative income inequality between Roman provinces is similar to that seen between US states today.Īccording to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis, Delaware has the highest GDP per capita of any state at $61,183 in 2012 vs Mississippi’s much smaller $28,944 or just a little less than half as much. In contrast, the Empire’s poorest provinces were only half as wealthy, which dragged down the average. This was caused, in part, by the fact that taxation tended to flow from the periphery to the centre and the concentrations of the Empire’s elite citizens living in or near Rome. In Italia, the core of the Empire in 14AD, average GDP per capita is estimated to have been as high as $857, making it actually higher than Congo’s today. However, as the map above shows GDP per capita varied widely across the Empire. This makes today’s average Congolese citizen about 34% richer than the average Roman in 14AD. Wondering how that’s possible? Then keep reading to find out.Īccording to the World Bank, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently the world’s poorest nation with GDP per capita in constant 1990 PPP dollars of $766 in 2012. This would make the average Roman in 14AD poorer than the average citizen of every single one of the world’s countries in 2015. On average, the GDP per capita across the whole Empire, was only $570. The map above shows the GDP per capita in 14AD of the various provinces of the Roman Empire in 1990 PPP Dollars. Map by the NEP-HIS Blog, found via Reddit.
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