Nationalindkomst

Nationalindkomst is a macroeconomic concept that denotes the total income earned by the residents of a nation over a specified period, typically one year, from the production of goods and services and from ownership of capital. It includes wages and salaries, profits, rents, interest, and taxes less subsidies paid by producers. While closely related to indicators of living standards, national income is a statistical aggregate used to measure the size and performance of an economy.

In common usage, the term is closely associated with Gross National Income (GNI) or Gross National Product (GNP). GDP, in contrast, measures the value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders, regardless of ownership. GNI equals GDP plus net income received from abroad (money residents earn from overseas minus income earned by non-residents domestically). Net national income is often considered as GNI minus depreciation (the wear and tear of capital). Values can be reported in current prices or adjusted for inflation (real terms); purchasing power parity (PPP) adjustments are used to compare economies across countries.

Measurement relies on the System of National Accounts and follows three main approaches: production, income, and expenditure. The production approach sums value added; the income approach aggregates wages, profits, rents, and taxes less subsidies; the expenditure approach sums final consumption, gross capital formation, government spending, and net exports. Data are collected from surveys, tax records, and business accounts and are frequently revised as more information becomes available.

National income is widely used to assess economic performance, compare economies, and guide policy, though it does not capture income distribution, informal activity, or non-market welfare aspects.