The Economy section provides a picture of the global economy and the economic activity of more than 200 countries and territories that produce, trade, and consume the world’s output. It includes measures of macroeconomic performance and stability and broader measures of income and saving adjusted for pollution, depreciation, and resource depletion. The world economy grew 2.4 percent in 2013 to reach $73 trillion in current prices, and growth is projected to accelerate to 3.2 percent in 2014. The share from low- and middle-income economies increased to 32.2 percent from 31.0 percent in 2012. Low- and middle-income economies, estimated to have grown 4.9 percent in 2013, are projected to expand 5.3 percent in 2014. Growth in high-income economies has been upgraded from earlier forecasts to 1.3 percent in 2013 and 2.2 percent in 2014. During 2014 many countries are expected to switch to the System of National Accounts 2008 (2008 SNA)—the latest version of the internationally agreed standard set of recommendations on how to compile measures of economic activity, adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The 2008 SNA is an update of the System of National Accounts 1993 and retains the basic theoretical framework of its predecessor. In line with the commission’s mandate, the 2008 SNA introduces treatments for new
Economy
States and markets
aspects of the economy that have come into prominence, elaborates on aspects that have increasingly become the focus of analytical attention, and clarifies guidance on a wide range of issues. The changes in the 2008 SNA include further specification of assets, capital formation, and consumption of fixed capital; concepts related to statistical units and institutional sectoring; the scope of transactions, including the production boundary; the scope of transactions by government and the public sector; and the treatment and definition of financial instruments and assets. The 2008 SNA and the sixth edition of the IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual have harmonized concepts and classifications. These changes bring the accounts into line with developments in the economic environment, advances in methodological research, and the needs of users. As of 2013, Australia; Canada; Hong Kong SAR, China; Mexico; TimorLeste; and the United States have switched to the 2008 SNA. A detailed explanation of the changes from the 1993 SNA are in annex 3 of the 2008 SNA manual (http://unstats.un.org /unsd/nationalaccount/docs/SNA2008.pdf). The complete 2008 SNA methodology can be accessed through the United Nations Statistics Division website (http://unstats.un.org/unsd /nationalaccount/sna2008.asp).
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World Development Indicators 2014
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