per capita

American  

[per kap-i-tuh] / pər ˈkæp ɪ tə /

adjective

1. by or for each individual person.

   income per capita.

2. Law. noting or pertaining to a method of dividing an estate by which all those equally related to the decedent take equal shares individually without regard to the number of lines of descent.

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per capita British  

/ pə ˈkæpɪtə /

adjective

1. of or for each person

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per capita Cultural  

1. A Latin phrase literally meaning “by heads,” and translated as “for each person.” It is a common unit for expressing data in statistics. A country's per capita personal income, for example, is the average personal income per person.

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Etymology

Origin of per capita

1675–85; < Latin: literally, by heads

Example Sentences

In 1978 China was one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income a fraction of what it is today.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 7, 2026

“There were more Indian people right where we’re sitting per capita than anywhere else in the entire New World outside Mexico City, which was the Aztec capital,” says Sarris.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026

The country's GDP per capita - which is a measure of a person's average income - is projected to reach $1,133 in 2026, compared to $641 in 2016.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

You don’t mention a salary, but let’s say you’re earning the median per capita income in Hoboken, which is around $109,000 annually.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

In a population of about eleven million, the country boasted more doctors per capita than any other country in the world, and twice as many per capita as the United States.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French