5) Mauritius – $16,100 (GDP per capita)

Mauritius place on this list owes very much to the attitude of its government. Since the country’s independence in 1968, successions of governments have implemented free-market economics which have in turn created a highly competitive market. With no natural resources to exploit Mauritius economy has relied heavily on tourism, information technology and financial services. A booming economy has seen the country also attract lots of foreign investors, seeing the World Bank rank it as a middle income economy.