While some countries look wealthy from the outside, scratch beneath the surface and their economic reality is actually very different.
Using the World Bank's most recent GDP-per-capita figures, which quantify each country's economic output per person and so better reflect the population's wealth, read on as we look at 13 countries that aren't as rich as you might think. All dollar amounts in US dollars unless otherwise stated.
Nigeria is Africa's largest economy, and ranks within the top 30 globally. The nation is awash with oil wealth and boasts the 10th-largest proven oil reserves globally; according to recent figures, it's also the seventh most important exporter of the commodity.
The country's thousands of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) have a combined wealth of $207 billion (£158.7bn). The country's richest person, Dangote Cement founder Aliko Dangote, sits on a fortune of $13.5 billion (£10.9bn) according to Forbes, making him the wealthiest individual on the continent.
Sadly, wealth disparities are massive in Nigeria. The country is second only to India when it comes to extreme poverty, with around 70 million people (a third of the population) living below the poverty line of $382 (£292) a year.
Instead of capitalising on the nation's oil wealth, successive governments have squandered it, with corruption being rife.
Based on the World Bank's latest data, India has the world's sixth-largest economy, eclipsing more advanced economies such as France and Canada.
The country has the fourth-highest number of billionaires on the planet, clocking in at 166 according to research by Oxfam India from 15 January, as well as a large affluent middle class. Cities such as Mumbai boast soaring skyscrapers and the country also has a national space agency, both of which are classic signs of a wealthy nation.
Yet the gap between the rich and poor members of India's 1.4 billion population is glaring. Poverty is rife and, according to the World Poverty Clock, more than 44 million people (around 3% of the total population) are living in extreme poverty and surviving on just $1.90 (£1.50) or less a day.
More shockingly, as much as half of the population doesn't have access to safe drinking water, while child mortality rates remain alarmingly high.
On paper, Iran would appear to be a fantastically wealthy nation. After all, the Middle Eastern country possesses the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the world, and also has the second-largest proven natural gas reserves.
On top of that, it's home to a highly educated population and a rapidly growing number of HNWIs, having overtaken Saudi Arabia in the latter respect. And then there's the Rich Kids of Tehran Instagram account, which has half-a-million followers and showcases the lavish lifestyles of the country's young elite.
In reality, however, Iran is a poor country, having been subject to strict sanctions imposed by the US and other countries since 1979's Iranian Revolution.
Other factors contributing to its impoverishment include a lack of competition in the mostly state-run economy, and widespread corruption. Income inequality is high and government figures show around a third of Iranians live below the poverty line. This status is applied to anyone who has an income of around $200 (£153) or less a month, although reports suggest that the number of people living in dire straits is actually closer to 50%.
Indonesia has the largest economy in southeast Asia and is a member of the G20 group of the world's richest nations, for which it holds the presidency this year.
The country is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, and is the 10th-largest manufacturing nation in the world. Its bustling capital Jakarta is packed with spectacular skyscrapers, high-end shopping malls and other classic indicators of wealth.
The city is also full of squalid shanty towns, with a jaw-dropping 1,425 slum areas in total. In fact, almost 20% of Indonesia's population live on just $3.20 (£2.46) or less per day, while more than half the population gets by on $5.50 (£4.22) or less a day.
By contrast, the country has 191,103 millionaires, giving it a rank of 28th globally, which is a testament to its high levels of income inequality.
Looking at the Ukrainian economy prior to Russia's invasion in February 2022, the country seemed to be a lot wealthier than it actually was. This was in part due to its bountiful natural resources, highly educated population and status as a leading exporter of agricultural and hard commodities. It also had a strong manufacturing base and had become a leader in providing outsourced IT services.
Even before the all-out conflict, however, Ukraine was still Europe's poorest country in terms of GDP per capita. Ukraine has some of the world's lowest levels of income inequality but scores poorly for corruption, a hangover from the previous regime. According to Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index, only Russia is perceived as being more corrupt in Europe. However, President Zelensky's democratic government has done much to combat this.
Tragically, the economy was battered by Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in Donbas, with CNN reporting that the Ukrainian economy shrank by at least 30% last year as a result of Putin's war.
South Africa boasts Africa's second-largest economy and has one of the most diverse and lucrative agricultural sectors in the world. It's also home to abundant mineral reserves, ranging from diamonds and gold to iron ore and coal, and has highly developed manufacturing and tourism industries.
The country also has the highest number of HNWIs in Africa at well over 30,000, and is home to precisely five billionaires.
Despite these indicators of affluence, South Africa's GDP per capita is painfully modest, coming in at $7,055 (£5,693). The country also has the dubious honour of being the most unequal country in the world: no other has such a wide gap between the haves and have nots. So while the elite prospers, the majority of the population lives in abject poverty.
The appalling income inequality is partly a vestige of the apartheid system, which resulted in racial segregation. However, corruption and government mismanagement during the almost-three-decades since apartheid ended have also played a major part.
Brazil has the 12th-largest global economy and is one of the world's leading mining, agricultural and manufacturing nations, with a fast-growing services sector too.
The country holds a global rank of 26th for the number of HNWIs it's home to, and has the seventh-highest number of billionaires, with 65 living within Brazil in total.
Despite those dazzling figures, Brazil's riches rest in the hands of a tiny elite. The gulf between the rich and poor is incredibly wide, with charity Oxfam reporting that the country's six wealthiest individuals have the same collective wealth as the poorest 50% of the nation, around 107 million people.
The Fundação Getulio Vargas think tank estimates that 12.8% of Brazilians, that's 27 million people, are living below the poverty line of $53 (£41) per month, a figure that grew markedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mexico has the world's 15th-largest economy, with a GDP of more than a trillion dollars.
Its economy is relatively advanced, with services accounting for two-thirds of GDP, and the North American nation has more than its fair share of wealthy citizens, including billionaires like business giant Carlos Slim Helú.
Nevertheless, Mexico's GDP per capita is almost eight times smaller than its rich neighbour to the north. A fifth of the country's workers are employed in agriculture, though the sector represents only a minuscule part of overall GDP, and as much as 42% of the population lives in poverty, with many people reliant on money sent from family members working abroad. Needless to say, income inequality is a major problem in the country.
The Maldives has established itself as one of the world's premier luxury tourism destinations and is synonymous with once-in-a-lifetime getaways.
The tourism sector accounts for a mighty 75% of the island nation's GDP and generated almost $3.2 billion (£2.5bn) in 2019, although these figures fell drastically as a result of the pandemic. Considering the country's relatively small population of just under 580,000, you'd imagine residents could be generally well-off, despite the COVID-related downturn.
In actual fact, however, almost a third of the population lives in poverty. The Multidimensional Poverty Index for Maldives report was compiled in 2020 by the National Bureau of Statistics, with the study conducted in partnership with the UNICEF Regional Office South Asia, UNICEF Maldives, and Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative.
The index took into consideration factors such as access to education and healthcare, along with income, and showed that 8% of Maldivians scrape by on less than $4.79 (£3.68) a day. And since the figures for that report were collected back in 2016 and 2017, the poverty rate has almost certainly increased since.
Visitors to Kazakhstan's gleaming new capital Nur-Sultan are no doubt bowled over by its magnificence and could easily think they're in one of the world's richest countries.
Indeed, on the face of it, Kazakhstan has a thriving economy that's bolstered by abundant mineral sources and plenty of foreign direct investment.
While the country isn't quite as extreme as its depiction in the Borat movies, the autocratic nation does have a very long way to go before it could be considered affluent.
Corruption is widespread and wealth is unfairly distributed. Half of the country's population lives in rural, economically isolated areas that have inferior public services, and low wages and poor living standards are both common.
The Russian Federation has the world's 9th-largest economy, with oil and natural gas exports key.
Before its invasion of Ukraine, the vast Eurasian nation supplied around 10% of the world's petroleum, which makes up a huge two-thirds of its total exports. The country also provided around 40% of Europe's natural gas. All in all, its fossil fuel exports are incredibly lucrative, particularly for its billionaire oligarchs and political elite.
As is perhaps the case with its supposed military prowess, however, Russia is something of a paper tiger economically. Having dangerously put all its eggs in one basket, the nation is overly reliant on exports of fossil fuels, which are now being hit hard by sanctions and the transition to cleaner energies. Corruption is off the scale, as is income inequality, with the top 1% being thought to control 71% of the nation's wealth.
Around 13% of the population live in grinding poverty and, even prior to COVID-19 and the invasion of Ukraine, half of all working Russians were earning less than $550 (£423) a month.
China's GDP is the second biggest in the world and it's expected to overtake America as the world's largest economic power by 2037.
The Asian powerhouse has the second-highest number of millionaires and billionaires on the planet, while more than half the population is now considered to be middle class, up from just 3% in 2000. China would therefore appear to be a mega-wealthy nation – although as we've learnt by now, things aren't always what they seem...
The GDP per capita of the People's Republic tells another story entirely, and sits at just $12,556 (£10,130). China is actually a poor nation riven by wealth disparities, and hundreds of millions of the country's 1.4 billion residents live in poverty.
In fact, according to official figures, a staggering 600 million (42%) of the population have an income that barely amounts to $141 (£108) a month.
Saudi Arabia's economy ranks 18th in the world, placing it ahead of wealthy nations such as the Netherlands, Austria, and Singapore.
Oil is the nation's primary money-maker, and the Middle Eastern country is the world's number-one exporter of the fuel. It supplies over 15% of the planet's crude oil, which netted Saudi Aramco $42.4 billion (£34.2bn) in just the third quarter of 2022.
For all its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia isn't particularly well off when it comes to GDP per capita. Income inequality is rife, with much of the country's wealth concentrated among members of the ruling House of Saud. A fifth of the population lives in poverty and the majority of Saudis have to put up with substandard sanitation, housing, healthcare and education.
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