Word
capita
Phoneticscapi·ta
US/ˈkæpɪtə/
UK/kˈæpɪtɐ/
Definition
n. used in the phrase 'per capita' to mean for each person.
n. the plural of 'caput' (head), functioning as the object of the preposition 'per' to denote a per-person measurement.
Examples
“The country has a high income per capita.”
“Economists use per capita data to compare the living standards of different nations regardless of their total population size.”
“While the nation's total wealth is growing, the per capita distribution remains uneven, suggesting that the benefits of economic expansion are not reaching the average citizen.”
Examples
simple
“The country has a high income per capita.”
contextual
“Economists use per capita data to compare the living standards of different nations regardless of their total population size.”
complex
“While the nation's total wealth is growing, the per capita distribution remains uneven, suggesting that the benefits of economic expansion are not reaching the average citizen.”
Usage
Almost always appears in the phrase 'per capita'.
Teaching tip
Learners often try to use 'capita' as a standalone noun. Advise them to treat 'per capita' as a single unit meaning 'for each person'.
Pitfall
The per capita of income is rising.
The per capita income is rising.
In English, 'per capita' usually acts as an adjective before a noun, not as a noun itself.
Real-World Examples
“With 23,000 requests Greece was the country that received the most applications per capita.” “Bogotá’s GDP per capita was less than £10,500 in 2024, about a fifth of Tokyo’s.” Etymology
From the Latin capita, plural of caput.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/capita