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World Bank income groups

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Economic Growth

What you should know about this indicator

  • The World Bank creates a yearly classification of countries by income, for all countries with population over 30,000.
  • This classification stays the same throughout the fiscal year (from July 1 to June 30) even if the income data for a country changes.
  • Low-income countries are those with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $1,135 or less in 2022.
  • Lower-middle-income countries are those with a GNI per capita between $1,136 and $4,465 in 2022.
  • Upper-middle-income countries are those with a GNI per capita between $4,466 and $13,845 in 2022.
  • High-income countries are those with a GNI per capita of $13,846 or more in 2022.

For the current 2024 fiscal year, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of $1,135 or less in 2022; lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,136 and $4,465; upper middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $4,466 and $13,845; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $13,846 or more.

Income classifications are set each year on July 1 for all World Bank member economies, and all other economies with populations of more than 30,000. These official analytical classifications are fixed during the World Bank's fiscal year (ending on June 30), thus economies remain in the categories in which they are classified irrespective of any revisions to their per capita income data. The historical classifications shown are as published on July 1 of each fiscal year.

Regions in this dataset include economies at all income levels. The term country, used interchangeably with economy, does not imply political independence but refers to any territory for which authorities report separate social or economic statistics. For more information about how the World Bank classifies countries, check their documentation.

World Bank income groups
Income classification based on the country's income each year.
Source
World Bank (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
March 11, 2024
Next expected update
March 2025
Date range
1987–2022

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Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Retrieved on
March 11, 2024
Retrieved from
https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
World Bank - Income classifications (2023).

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: World Bank income groups”, part of the following publication: Max Roser, Pablo Arriagada, Joe Hasell, Hannah Ritchie and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina (2023) - “Economic Growth”. Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-bank-income-groups [online resource]
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

World Bank (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

World Bank (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. “World Bank income groups” [dataset]. World Bank, “Income Classifications” [original data]. Retrieved June 9, 2024 from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world-bank-income-groups