Per capita is a Latin phrase that means "by heads" or "for each head," and it is used to describe the average per person in a given area or population. It is often used in economics and statistics to determine how certain metrics apply to a population, such as gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and income per capita. Per capita income is calculated by dividing the total income of a particular group by the total population in that group. Per capita is also used in the context of government demographic data, such as determining the share of property each beneficiary gets when one of the beneficiaries dies before the testator.