The Atlas method is a method used by the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
since 1993 to estimate the size of economies in terms of
gross national income
The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
(GNI) in
U.S. dollar
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
s.
A country's GNI in local (national) currency is converted into U.S. dollars using the Atlas conversion factor, which uses a three-year average of
exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of t ...
s to smooth effects of transitory exchange rate fluctuations, adjusted for the difference between the rate of
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
in the country (using the country's
GDP deflator
In economics, the GDP deflator (implicit price deflator) is a measure of the money price of all new, domestically produced, final goods and services in an economy in a year relative to the real value of them. It can be used as a measure of the va ...
), and that in a number of
developed countries
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
(using a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
of the countries' GDP deflators in
SDR terms). The resulting GNI in U.S. dollars is divided by the country's midyear population to obtain the GNI per capita.
The Atlas Method
, World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
.
The World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
favors the Atlas method for comparing the relative size of economies, and uses it to classify countries in low, middle and high-income categories and to set lending eligibilities, in order to reduce short-term fluctuations in country classification.
See also
*List of countries by GNI (nominal) per capita
This is a list of countries by gross national income per capita in 2020 at nominal values, according to the Atlas method, an indicator of income developed by the World Bank.
Methodology
The GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country's f ...
*World Bank high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" a ...
References
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Gross domestic product
International macroeconomics
World Bank