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per capita

per capita

57 3.5
For each person in a group
  • adjective
  • /pər ˈkæpɪtə/
translation icon : per cápita
  • One result is that Mississippi is allocated more federal money per capita than any state.
  • per capita income
  • GDP per capita
  • product per capita

And in turn, that higher quality local workforce will be a key driver of creating jobs and creating higher earnings per capita in the local community.

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Examples

  • You know, fortunately for both nations, the consumption per capita was so low, it did not matter.

  • The Department of Education sends the most money per capita to these deep red states in the South.

  • More per capita than anywhere else in the world.

  • Putting these figures in per capita terms, one can get a better feel for the situation.

    Academic text (1999)
  • the US spends more on healthcare per capita than any other country in the world.

  • Moreover, China will remain a relatively poor country in per capita terms in the foreseeable future.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Urban areas tend to generate more C&D waste per capita than do suburban or rural areas.

    Academic text (1999)
  • During the 1980s, Latin America's real per capita output declined by nearly 1% per year.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Overall, after a steep decline to 1987, GDP per capita has risen slightly since 1983.

    Academic text (1999)
  • In terms of education spending, we allocate $10,000 per capita for each student.

Surface Forms

per capita positive

Morphology

per + capita

The preposition 'per' signals a rate or amount for each unit and 'capita' (from Latin 'caput' meaning 'head') effectively means 'person', so the combined meaning 'per person' is directly derivable from the constituents. This construction is compositional and found across many languages and registers, making it immediately understandable to learners who know both parts.

Etymology

The phrase per capita comes from old Latin where per means 'for' and capita means 'head'. Imagine dividing apples by the number of heads in a room — that picture shows why per capita today means 'for each person'.