• imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
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    16 hours ago

    Tbf, North Korea is almost certainly wealthier than Haiti. North Korean GDP figures from western sources are completely made up, their economy is a black box. In fact, many GDP estimates of developing economies are inaccurate at best, if not dead wrong. Turns out that people living at the subsistence level, as well as authoritarian dictators and warlords, aren’t particularly interested in reporting their earnings for taxation purposes.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Informal_economy

    • Empricorn@feddit.nl
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      7 hours ago

      Everything you said up until the last two words was correct. The inaccuracy isn’t primarily caused by North Korean citizens inaccurately reporting, it’s the government that doesn’t release any information, or cooperate with other nations in activities that could help estimate numbers.

      • imaqtpie@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        I wasn’t just talking about North Korea, but developing economies in general. I understand that the NK government intentionally hides the numbers. I also specified that its not just the common people, but also the authoritarian leaders, such as Kim Jong Un, who would prefer to keep their money off the official books.