The Indian economy continues to receive positive assessments, with major institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank recognizing the successes of the Indian economy. These agencies have raised their GDP growth forecasts for the country, noting its acceleration despite global difficulties.
A Korean economist provided additional positive news, stating that India's GDP per capita is reaching the level of developed countries. He detailed his conclusions through a series of posts on the social network X, supporting them with statistical data.
According to South Korean economist Kyung Hoon Kim, the assessment of India's economic progress should be based not only on the current level of wealth or poverty but also on the pace of improvement in the country's standard of living and its competitiveness compared to other economies. He emphasized that the reduction in poverty and the growth in per capita income in India deserve praise.
Kyung Hoon Kim, head of the India and South Asia team at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIIP), stated on Sunday that his previous assessments of India's medium-term development prospects, which suggested the country was still poor, had drawn some comments. In his detailed post on the social network Twitter (now X), he posed a more relevant question: 'Is the standard of living improving and is India moving forward in this regard?'
Sharing data in his post, Kim pointed out that in 2025, India's GDP per capita was $2,702, and when adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), it was $11,784. For historical comparison, he used the stable price PPP per capita GDP for 2021, which amounted to $10,039 in 2025.
Kim noted that the World Bank classified India as a low-income country until 2007. In 1990, India's GDP per capita exceeded the average for low-income countries by only 15%. However, by 2025, this figure had increased more than fourfold compared to the average and reached 64% of the average for upper-middle-income countries, with most of this growth occurring in the last decade alone. He also indicated that even when compared to upper-middle-income economies like fast-growing China and Vietnam, there is a clear improvement.
Kim wrote in his post: 'My post on India's medium-term growth prospects attracted significant attention, with some comments like 'but India is still poor.' A more useful question is whether the standard of living is improving and is India moving forward in this regard? Let's look at the data.'
According to Kim, India is constantly working to reduce the income gap with rich countries. Although India's progress is slow compared to high-income economies, it is steady. In 1990, India's GDP per capita was only 6% of the average for high-income countries, whereas by 2025, this share grew to 17%.
Nevertheless, the economist attributed this improvement also to the slowdown in economic growth in many rich countries. India's GDP per capita is also approaching half of the global average, whereas in 1990, it was only one-fifth.
Kim praised India, writing: 'Overall, India is moving ahead of low-income countries, approaching the level of high-income countries, and rapidly advancing towards middle-income status.' He also refuted the idea that developing countries automatically reach the level of wealthy economies, stating: 'Equality does not happen by itself.'
According to the economist, the number of Indians living in poverty has decreased by 627 million people. One of the most important results of India's economic progress has been the reduction in poverty. The poverty rate in India fell from 73% in 2004 to just 14% in 2023, based on a poverty line of $4.40 per day. Kim noted that these improvements are particularly significant given that India's population is about 1.4 billion people.
He concluded: 'My conclusion is this: although India faces many challenges, its economic growth, especially over the last decade, and the positive medium-term development outlook deserve praise. This progress is extremely important for a country with a population of 1.4 billion.'
