Where are the biggest wallets?

Have you ever wondered where in the world to launch a premium product?
This map gives a big clue. Courtesy of the wonderful WorldMapper Research Project.

In 2002, 53 million people in the world lived in households in receipt of US$200 purchasing power parity (PPP) per day. Of these high earners, 58% lived in the United States.

Western Europe and South America are also home to quite large populations of high earners. Within Western Europe the most very high earners live in the United Kingdom, Italy and France. The highest earners of South America live primarily in Brazil and Argentina.

Few very high earners live in Southern Asia, Northern Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Africa.

Now remind me again, why should Vodafone sell out of Verizon Wireless?