Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Demographic
Dimensions of Global
Consumer Markets
Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002134 Chapter 5
GNP tells us about the income of a whole nation, but in a country with a large
population that income must be spread over more people. GNP per person is a use-
ful figure because it gives some idea of the income level of people in a country.
Exhibit 5-2 shows, for example, that GNP per capita in the U.S. is quite high—
about $30,600. Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and Singapore are among those with
the highest GNP per capita. In general, markets like these offer the best potential
for products that are targeted at consumers with higher income levels.
Many managers, however, see great potential—and less competition—where
GNP per capita is low. For example, Mars is making a big push to promote its candy
in the countries of Eastern Europe. As with many other firms, it hopes to establish
a relationship with consumers now, and then turn strong brand loyalty into prof-
itable growth as consumer incomes increase.The large number of countries with low GNP per capita is a stark reminder that
much of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. Even among countries with
the largest overall GNPs, you see some sign of this. In India, for example, GNP per
person is only $450 a year. Many countries are in the early stages of economic devel-
opment. Most of their people work on farms—and live barely within the money
economy. At the extreme, in Ethiopia GNP per person per year is only about $100
(in U.S. dollars). To put this in perspective, 60 percent of the world’s population—
in 61 countries—receive only 6 percent of the world’s total income, or about $2
a day.
These people, however, have needs, and many are eager to improve themselves.
But they may not be able to raise their living standards without outside help. This
presents a challenge and an opportunity to the developed nations—and to their
business firms.
Some companies are trying to help the people of less-developed countries. Cor-
porations such as Pillsbury, Monsanto, and Coca-Cola have developed nutritious
foods that can be sold cheaply—but still profitably—in poorer countries.^5A business and a
human opportunity
This chart from Monsanto’s
annual report shows how the firm
wants to build its presence in
countries with large populations
and projected strong economic
growth. India is an example of a
key target.
People can’t spend
what they don’t have