Per capita is a Latin term meaning Latin for "by head," meaning to be determined by the number of people. A per capita value is calculated by adding up the number of people in a given area or group and dividing that number into an aggregate amount. To calculate the per capita cost, the total number of persons are added up and the bill, tax or benefits are divided equally among those persons. Certain statistics, such as gross domestic product (GDP) may be stated in per capita terms.
