Total GDP vs. per-capita GDP tell different stories
China's total GDP rivals the United States, but its per-capita GDP (GDP divided by population) is lower because China has 1.4 billion people. Luxembourg has a tiny total GDP but the highest per-capita GDP in the world because it is a small, wealthy nation. These two measures rank countries very differently, and which one matters depends on the context: total GDP indicates economic clout, per-capita indicates individual prosperity.
Regional aggregates hide internal disparities
Europe's average per-capita GDP is high, but Bulgaria earns a fraction of what Luxembourg does. Africa's total GDP is growing, but it is distributed unevenly across 54 countries with very different development levels. Aggregating by continent or region simplifies complex global economics, but masks the reality that wealth is concentrated in specific countries and regions within each.