Each year on July 1, the analytical classification of the world's economies based on estimates of gross national income (GNI) per capita for the previous year is revised. As of 1 July 2016, low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of $1,025 or less in 2015; lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,026 and $4,035; upper middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $4,036 and $12,475; high-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $12,476 or more. The updated GNI per capita estimates are also used as input to the World Bank's operational guidelines that determines lending eligibility.
Changes in classification
The country and lending groups page provides a complete list of economies classified by income, region, and lending status. The classification tables include all World Bank members, plus all other economies with populations of more than 30,000. Please note, regions 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. Click here for information about how the World Bank classifies countries. The updated World Development Indicators database, GNI per capita data, and income-level aggregations will be available at data.worldbank.org from Tuesday July 5th.
Below you will find the list of countries with new income groups.
| Economy | Old group | New group |
|---|---|---|
| Cambodia | Low | Lower middle |
| Equatorial Guinea | High | Upper middle |
| Georgia | Lower middle | Upper middle |
| Guyana | Lower middle | Upper middle |
| Mongolia | Upper middle | Lower middle |
| Russian Federation | High | Upper middle |
| Senegal | Lower middle | Low |
| Tonga | Upper middle | Lower middle |
| Tunisia | Upper middle | Lower middle |
| Venezuela, RB | High | Upper middle |
Three new economies have been classified for FY17: Nauru, which joined IBRD on 12 April 2016; and British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar, whose 2015 populations exceed 30,000. All three are classified as high income. Argentina, which was classified as high income in FY16, is temporarily unclassified pending the expected release of revised national accounts statistics.
Tables showing 2015 GNI, GNI per capita, GDP, GDP PPP, and Population data are also available as part of the World Bank's Open Data Catalog . Note that these are preliminary estimates and may be revised. Country classifications are determined once a year and remain fixed, regardless of subsequent revisions to their estimates of their GNI per capita. For more information, please contact us at data@worldbank.org.
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