The difference is extremely large, opebo. The average worker in Mexico earns less per day than even a minimum-wage earner does in an hour in the US. Aside from things like food, items aren't that much cheaper - or if they are, they're often of lower quality (if you think American cars are bad, look at Indian or Malaysian cars - and even then, you're not going to get a car for 1/20th of the price). The nations I'm talking about average, in terms of per-capita GDP, between $100 and $7,500 per year. At the lower end, it would require a cost of living less than 0.5% of the US's to be reasonable. And it isn't - there are only a certain number of things that can be cheaper, in any case. Land and food might be a lot cheaper, but a car? people in the third world don't have fewer cars because they're environmentalists or hate smoke, they ride on bicycles and motorcycles because they don't have the money to buy a new Tata or Proton, let alone a Ford or a Mercedes.
Idiot. How can you compare a country like Mexico to a filthy developing nation like Vietnam, or Malasia (pretty rich in my opinion)?
According to the World Bank, Mexico is the 12th nation in the world in regard to GDP and the highest per capita income in that region; and is firmly established as an upper middle-income country. Since the economic debacle of 1994–1995 the country has made an impressive economic recovery. According to the director for Colombia and Mexico of the World Bank, the population below the poverty level has decreased from 24.2% to 17.6% in the general population and from 42% to 27.9% in rural areas.
Oh btw, to moderate the euphemistic aspect of the word developing, international organisations have started to use the term least developed countries (LLDCs) for the poorest nations which can in no sense be regarded as developing. That is, LLDCs are the poorest subset of LDCs. This also moderates the naïve tendency to believe that the standard of living in Somalia or Ethiopia is comparable to that in Brazil or Mexico.
So you cannot compare Mexico, a member of the OECD, a league of DEVELOPED countries to a country like Vietnam, or Nicaragua.
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1. Overall GDP is nothing when quality of life is considered. It's GDP Per Capita that matters.
Well the GINI Income Distribution Index matters as well.
For example, if 80% or so of overall GDP is concentrated with the upper 20% of the population, than GDP per capita ceases to matter.
The CIA Factbook provides good numbers on these as well.
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