Where are you getting that Germany has the third highest GDP per capita in the world? IMF https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi... puts it at 18th in nominal GDP per capita and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)... puts it at 21st in purchasing-power-adjusted GDP per capita. And in Europe, Luxemburg, Austria, The Netherlands and Ireland have higher GDP per capita according to those lists, as do Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Denmark if you consider them part of Europe.
Well non-per-capita GDP is useless as a measure of living standards because it's primarily determined by population size. China has the second highest GDP in the world but the GDP per capita is less than half of most European countries and the average person's standard of living is significantly worse.
