Per capita

Per capita is a Latin prepositional phrase: per (preposition, taking the accusative case, meaning "by means of") and capita (accusative plural of the noun caput, "head"). The phrase thus means "by heads" or "for each head", i.e., per individual/person. The term is used in a wide variety of social sciences and statistical research contexts, including government statistics, economic indicators, and built environment studies.

For the Australian think tank, see Per Capita.

It is commonly and usually used in the field of statistics in place of saying "per person"[1] (although per caput is the Latin for "per head"[2]). It is also used in wills to indicate that each of the named beneficiaries should receive, by devise or bequest, equal shares of the estate.[2] This is in contrast to a per stirpes division, in which each branch (Latin stirps, plural stirpes) of the inheriting family inherits an equal share of the estate. This is often used with the ‘2-0 rule’, a statistical principle that determines which group is larger per capita. Under the 2-0 rule, a group is the largest per capita if it has both the biggest total size and size of the group of the objects in question, therefore resulting in a 2-0 score.

See also

References
  1. "Per capita | Define Per capita at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
  2. "Per caput, per capita". The Economist style guide. Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2017-07-16.


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