''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". The term is used in a wide variety of
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
and statistical research contexts, including government statistics,
economic indicator
An economic indicator is a statistic about an economic activity. Economic indicators allow analysis of economic performance and predictions of future performance. One application of economic indicators is the study of business cycles. Economic ...
s, and built environment studies.
It is commonly used in the
field
Field may refer to:
Expanses of open ground
* Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes
* Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport
* Battlefield
* Lawn, an area of mowed grass
* Meadow, a grass ...
of
statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
in place of saying "per person"
(although ''per caput'' is the Latin for "per head"
).
It is also used in
will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
s to indicate that each of the named
beneficiaries
A beneficiary (also, in trust law, '' cestui que use'') in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example, the beneficiary of a life insurance policy is the perso ...
should receive, by devise or
bequest
A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably.
The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the act ...
, equal shares of the estate.
This is in contrast to a ''
per stirpes
''Per stirpes'' (; "by roots" or "by stock") is a legal term from Latin used in the law of inheritance and estates. An estate of a decedent is distributed ''per stirpes'' if each ''branch'' of the family is to receive an equal share of an estat ...
'' division, in which each branch (Latin ''
stirps
In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...
'', plural ''stirpes'') of the
inheriting
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officially ...
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
*
Per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
References
Latin words and phrases
Social statistics
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