How the World Bank classifies the world's economies by income

Background

The World Bank classifies the world's economies into four income groups using Gross National Income (GNI) per capita, calculated by the World Bank Atlas method. Under the current classification, based on 2025 GNI data, low-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $1,175 or less. Lower-middle-income economies have a GNI per capita between $1,176 and $4,635. Upper-middle-income economies have a GNI per capita between $4,636 and $14,375. High-income economies have a GNI per capita of more than $14,375. These thresholds are updated every year and used for the World Bank's operational and analytical country classification.