capita

IPA/kˈapɪtə/
KK[kˈæpɪtə]IPA/kˈæpɪtə/

capita — noun

1. the Latin plural of 'caput' (head), meaning 'heads' or 'individuals'. In modern

1.noun
Definition

the Latin plural of 'caput' (head), meaning 'heads' or 'individuals'. In modern English it appears only inside the fixed phrase 'per capita', which is used when dividing a total amount by the number of people in a group to get an average per person.

Example

Switzerland has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.

fixed phrase 'per capita' used as adjective

The government measures per capita water consumption to track regional shortages.

Common collocations
  • per capita income
  • per capita consumption
  • per capita spending
  • per capita GDP
  • per capita output
Synonyms
  • per head

    less formal equivalent of 'per capita'; common in everyday speech

  • per person

    neutral alternative, used in both formal and informal contexts

  • per individual

    formal synonym, emphasises each separate person

Grammar Patterns

used only within the fixed phrase 'per capita'

Usage Note

The word 'capita' never appears alone in modern English — it is always part of the fixed phrase 'per capita'. Do not write 'capita income' without 'per'. The phrase 'per capita' can be used as an adjective (e.g., 'per capita income') or an adverb (e.g., 'income per capita'). The singular Latin form 'caput' is never used in this context.

Common Mistakes

The capita income rose by 3%.
The per capita income rose by 3%.
'capita' must always be preceded by 'per' in the fixed phrase.
Per capita taxes increased.' (when meaning total taxes per person)
Taxes per capita increased.
when used adverbially, place 'per capita' after the noun it modifies.

Word family

  • caput
    nounC2
  • per capita
    adverbB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Per capita' (formal, statistics and economics), 'per head' (less formal, everyday use), and 'per person' (neutral, widely applicable) all express the idea of 'for each individual in a group'. 'Per capita' is the most technical and appears in official reports, academic papers, and government data — for example, 'per capita GDP' or 'per capita emissions'. 'Per head' sounds more conversational: 'The cost worked out at £50 per head.' 'Per person' is the safest choice for a learner: it works in almost any context ('tickets cost $30 per person') and avoids the Latin form. Use 'per capita' when the context is statistical or formal; use 'per person' in everyday writing and speech.

per capitaper headper person

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • per capita

Etymology

LatinEnglish

'Capita' is the plural of the Latin noun 'caput', meaning 'head'. The phrase 'per capita' literally translates to 'by heads' — that is, counting each person as one head. This Latin construction entered English in the 16th – 17th centuries through legal and statistical writing, where dividing a total 'by heads' was a clear way to express a per-person average. The singular form 'per caput' is occasionally found in very early texts but has not been in modern use for centuries.