Gross National Income - GNI Versus GDP

GNI Versus GDP

For example, the profits of a US-owned company operating in the UK will only count towards US GNI and UK GDP. If a country becomes heavily indebted, and pays large amounts of interest to service this debt, this will be reflected in a decreased GNI but not a decreased GDP. If a country sells off its resources to entities outside their country this will also be reflected over time in decreased GNI, but not decreased GDP. Therefore, the GDP appears more attractive for countries with increasing national debt and decreasing assets.

GNP is a concept that goes hand in hand with GNI, GDP, and NNI. In contrast to the GNI, the GNP does not account for the balance of cross-country income, such as interest and dividends. In contrast to the GDP, the GNP account for the values of products and services based on citizenship of the owners rather than the territory of the activity