Gross Domestic Product
Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the total output of goods and services
for final use occurring within the domestic territory of a given country, regardless
of the allocation to domestic and foreign claims. Gross domestic product at
purchaser values (market prices) is the sum of gross value added by all resident
and nonresident producers in the economy plus any taxes and minus any subsidies
not included in the value of the products. The gross domestic product estimates
at purchaser values (market prices) are in constant 1995 U.S. dollars and are
the sum of GDP at purchaser values (value added in the agriculture, industry,
and services sectors) and indirect taxes, less subsidies. It is calculated without
making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and
degradation of natural resources. Value added is the net output of an industry
after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. The industrial
origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial
Classification (ISIC) revision 3.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP), PPP is gross domestic product converted to international
dollars using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates. An international
dollar has the same purchasing power in a given country as a United States Dollar
in the United States. In other words, it buys an equivalent amount of goods
or services in that country. Data has not been adjusted to a constant year.
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Gross National Income or GNI, current dollars is the sum of value added by
all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included
in the
valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees
and property income) from abroad. In other words, GNI measures the
total income of all people who are citizens of a particular country while GDP
(gross domestic product) measures the total output of all persons living in
that
particular country’s borders.
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Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, constant 1995 dollars measures the
total output per person of goods and services for final use occurring within
the domestic territory of a given country. Output is measured regardless of
the allocation to domestic and foreign claims.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, PPP is gross domestic product converted
to international dollars using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) rates, and
divided by the population of the country that year. An international dollar
has the same purchasing power in a given country as a United States Dollar in
the
United States. In other words, it buys an equivalent amount of goods or services
in that country.
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Average annual growth in Gross domestic product (GDP) measures the annual growth
in GDP of a particular country from one year to the next. GDP
per capita, annual growth measures the annual growth in GDP per person of a
particular country from one year to the next.
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Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Percent from Agriculture measures the percent
of total output of goods and services which are a result of value added by
the agriculture sector. The industrial origin of value added is determined by
the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) revision 3. Agriculture
corresponds to ISIC divisions 1-5 and includes forestry and fishing. Gross Domestic
Product (GDP), Percent from Industry measures the percent of total
output of goods and services which are a result of value added by the industrial
sector. Industry corresponds to ISIC divisions 10-45 and includes
manufacturing (ISIC divisions 15-37). It comprises value added in mining, manufacturing
(also reported as a separate subgroup), construction, electricity,
water, and gas. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Percent from Services measures
the percent of total output of goods and services which are a result of
value added by the service sector. Services correspond to ISIC divisions 50-99
and they include value added in wholesale and retail trade (including hotels
and
restaurants), transport, and government, financial, professional, and personal
services such as education, health care, and real estate services. Also included
are imputed bank service charges, import duties, and any statistical discrepancies
noted by national compilers as well as discrepancies arising from rescaling.
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International Trade
Exports and Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods
and other market services provided to or received from the rest of the world.
They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel,
royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction,
financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude
labor and property income (formerly called factor services) as well as transfer
payments.
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Exports as a percent of GDP is calculated by dividing Exports of Goods and Services
for a given country by the Gross Domestic Product (constant 1995
dollars) of that country for a given year.
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Balance of trade is the net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services
for a particular country. It includes all transactions between residents of
a
country and the rest of the world involving a change in ownership of general
merchandise, goods sent for processing and repairs, nonmonetary gold, and
services. Data are in current U.S. dollars. If a country’s exports exceed
its imports, it has a trade surplus and the trade balance is said to be positive.
If imports
exceed exports, the country has a trade deficit and its trade balance is said
to be negative.
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Official Development Assistance (ODA ) and Financial Flows
Official development assistance records the amount of international aid received
by a country. It refers to the actual international transfer by the donor of
financial resources or of goods or services valued at the cost to the donor,
less any repayments of loan principal during the same period. Grants by official
agencies of the members of the Development Assistance Committee are included,
as are loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent, and technical
cooperation and assistance. Data are in current U.S. dollars and dollar exchange
rates.
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Official development assistance per capita records the amount of international
aid received per capita.
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Current account balance is the sum of net exports of goods, services, net income,
and net current transfers. Data are in current U.S. dollars. The data on current
account balances are based on balance of payments data reported by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) in their Balance of Payment and International Financial
Statistics databases, supplanted by estimates by World Bank staff for countries
whose national accounts are recorded in fiscal years and countries for which
the IMF does not collect balance of payments statistics. In addition, World
Bank staff make estimates of missing data for the most recent year. More information
on balance of payments can be found in the fifth edition of the IMF’s
Balance of Payments Manual 1993 (available online at http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/bop/BOPman.pdf).
The World Bank acquires data with the IMF through electronic files that in most
cases are more timely and cover a longer period than the published sources.
World Resources Institute downloads data in electronic form directly from the
World Bank.
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Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents of a country repayable in foreign
currency, goods, or services. It is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed,
and private non-guaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term
debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year
or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Long-term debt includes all
debt having a maturity of more than one year.
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Total debt service as a percent of export earnings (in foreign currencies, goods,
and services) comprises interest payments and principal repayments
made on the disbursed long-term public debt and private, non-guaranteed debt,
International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt repurchases, IMF charges, and
interest payments on short-term debt. Total debt service is the sum of principal
repayments and interest actually paid in foreign currency, goods, or services
on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases
and charges) to the IMF.
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Foreign direct investment is net inflows of investment to acquire a lasting
management interest (10 percent or more of voting stock) in an enterprise
operating in an economy other than that of the investor. It is the sum of equity
capital, reinvestment of earnings, other long-term capital, and short term
capital, as shown in the balance of payments. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
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International tourism receipts are expenditures by international inbound visitors,
including payments to national carriers for international transport. Figures
are in current U.S. dollars.
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National Savings (as a percent of Gross National Income)
Gross national savings is equal to gross domestic savings (gross domestic product
minus final consumption) plus net income and net current transfers from
abroad. The United Nations system of national accounts defines gross national
income as "the aggregate value of the balances of gross primary incomes
for
all sectors; (gross national income is identical to gross national product (GNP)
as hitherto understood in national accounts generally.)"
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Net national savings is equal to gross national savings minus the value of consumption
of fixed capital (the replacement value of capital used up in the
process of production.)
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Adjusted net savings attempts to measure the "true" rate of savings of a country's economy by taking into account human capital, depletion of natural resources, and the damages of pollution in addition to standard economic savings measures. Adjusted net savings is calculated by the World Bank by the following formula:
NAS = ( GNS – Dh + CSE – S R n,i – CD ) / GNI Where NAS = Net Adjusted Savings Rate
GNS = Gross National Saving
Dh = Depreciation of produced capital
CSE = Current (non- fixed-capital) expenditure on education
R n,i= Rent from depletion of natural capital
CD = Damages from carbon dioxide emissions
GNI = Gross National Income at Market Prices
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Income Distribution
The Gini index measures the extent to which the distribution of income (or
in some cases consumption expenditure) among individuals or households within
an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index score
of zero implies perfect equality while a score of one hundred implies perfect
inequality.
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Share of total income, lowest 20% is equal to the percentage share of all income
in a given country which is earned by the poorest fifth of the population.
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Share of total income, highest 20% is equal to the percentage share of all
income in a given country which is earned by the richest fifth of the population.
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The National Poverty Rate is the percent of the population of a country which
earns less than that country’s national poverty line. The National Poverty
Rate, Urban is the percent of the urban population of a country which earns
less than that country’s national poverty line.
These poverty measures are based on surveys conducted mostly between 1990 and
2000, prepared by the World Bank’s Development Research Group.
National poverty lines are based on the Bank’s country poverty assessments.
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Poverty: Population living below $1/day is the percent of the population of
a country living on less than $1.08 a day at 1993 international prices,
(equivalent to $1 in 1985 prices, adjusted for purchasing power parity). Poverty:
Population living below $2/day is the percent of the population of a
country living on less than $2.15 a day at 1993 international prices, (equivalent
to $2 in 1985 prices, adjusted for purchasing power parity). These poverty
measures are based on surveys conducted mostly between 1994 and 1999, prepared
by the World Bank’s Development Research Group. The international
poverty lines are based on nationally representative primary household surveys
conducted by national statistical offices or by private agencies under the
supervision of government or international agencies and obtained from government
statistical offices and World Bank country departments.
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Sources:
Development Data Group, The World Bank. 2002. World Development Indicators 2002 online (see http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=631625) Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.