Selected World Development Indicators 2011
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n this year’s edition, development data are in six tables presenting comparative socioeconomic data for more than 130 economies for the most recent year for which data are available and, for some indicators, for an earlier year. An additional table presents basic indicators for 78 economies with sparse data or with populations of less than 3 million. The indicators presented here are from more than 800 included in World Development Indicators 2010. Published annually, World Development Indicators (WDI) reflects a comprehensive view of the development process. WDI’s six sections recognize the contribution of a wide range of factors: progress on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and human capital development, environmental sustainability, macroeconomic performance, private sector development and the investment climate, and the global links that influence the external environment for development. WDI is complemented by a separately published database that gives access to more than 900 time-series indicators for 237 economies and regions. This database is available at the Open Data website (http://data.worldbank.org).
Data sources and methodology Socioeconomic and environmental data presented here are drawn from several sources: primary data collected by the World Bank, member country statistical publications, research institutes, and international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and its specialized agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (See the data sources in the technical notes following the tables for a complete listing.) Although international standards of coverage, definition, and classification apply to most statistics reported by countries and international agencies, inevitable differences in timeliness and reliability arise from differences in the capabilities and resources devoted to basic data collection and compilation. For some topics, competing sources of data require review by the World Bank staff to ensure that the most reliable data available are presented. In some instances, where available data are deemed too weak to provide reliable
measures of levels and trends or do not adequately adhere to international standards, the data are not shown. The data presented are generally consistent with those in World Development Indicators 2010. However, data have been revised and updated wherever new information has become available. Differences may also reflect revisions to historical series and changes in methodology. Thus data of different vintages may be published in different editions of World Bank publications. Readers are advised not to compile data series from different publications or different editions of the same publication. Consistent time-series data are available on the Open Data website (http://data.worldbank.org). All dollar figures are in current U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. The various methods used to convert from national currency figures are described in the technical notes following the tables. Because the World Bank’s primary business is providing lending and policy advice to its low- and middle-income members, the issues covered in these tables focus mainly on those economies. Where available, information on the highincome economies is also provided for comparison. Readers may wish to refer to national statistical publications and publications of the OECD and the European Union (EU) for more information on the high-income economies.
Classification of economies and summary measures The summary measures at the bottom of most tables include economies classified by income per capita and by region. Gross national income (GNI) per capita is used to determine the following income classifications: low income, US$995 or less in 2009; middle income, US$996 to US$12,195; and high income, US$12,196 and above. A further division at GNI per capita US$3,945 is made between lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income economies. The classification of economies based on per capita income occurs annually, so the country composition of the income groups may change annually. When these changes in classification are made on the basis of the most recent estimates, aggregates based on the new income classifications are recalculated for all past
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