A high-income economy is defined 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 Int ...

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 The concept of First World originated during the Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of Geopolitics, geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the W ...

" and "

developed country A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one c ...

," the technical definitions of these terms differ. The term "first world" commonly refers to countries that aligned themselves with the U.S. and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of Geopolitics, geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term ''Cold war (term), co ...

. Several institutions, such as the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) or

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster gl ...

(IMF), take factors other than high

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

into account when classifying countries as "developed" or "advanced economies." According to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication ...

, for example, some high-income countries may also be developing countries. The GCC countries, for example, are classified as developing high-income countries. Thus, a high-income country may be classified as either developed or developing. Although the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

is a

sovereign state A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...

, it is not classified by the World Bank under this definition. High-income economies 2019

List of high-income economies (as of 2023 fiscal year)

According to the World Bank the following 82 countries (including territories) are classified as "high-income economies."Country and Lending Groups.

. Accessed on July 1, 2022. In brackets are the year(s) during which they held such classification; classifying began in 1987. As of the 2023 fiscal year, high-income economies are those that had a GNI per capita of $13,205 or more in 2021.Country and Lending Groups.

. Accessed on July 1, 2022.

High income UN members

* (1990–present) * (2002, 2005–08, 2012–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–89, 2001–present) * (1989, 2000, 2002, 2006–present) * (1987–present) * (1987, 1990–present) * (1987–present) * (2012–present) * (2008–2015, 2017–present) * (1988–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1996–present) * (2007–11, 2014–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1993–97, 1999–present) * (1987–present) * (2009, 2012–present) * (1994–present) * (2012–present) * (1987–present) * (1989, 1998, 2000, 2002–present) * (1994–present) * (2015, 2019–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2007–present) * (2017-2019, 2021) * (2009–present) * (1994–present) * (2019, 2021–present) * (1987–present) * (2012–present) * (1991–93, 2000–present) * (1987–89, 2003–present) * (2014–present) * (1987–present) * (2007–present) * (1997–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2012–present)

High income non-UN members

* (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2015–present) * (1993–present) * /

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of isla ...

(1987–present) * (2016–present) * (1994–present)^a * (1987–present) * (1990–present) * (2009–10, 2015–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–89, 1995–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–89, 2002–present) * (1994–present) * (1995–present) * (1995–2001, 2007–present) * (1989, 2002–present) * (2010–present) * (1994–present)^a * (1988–present) * (2009–present) * (1987–present)

Former high-income economies

The year(s) during which they held such classification is/are shown in parenthesis. * (2013, 2015, 2017) * (1987–89) * (2007–14) * (2019) * (1994–2009)^b * (2016–20) * (2012–14) * (2014) ^a Between 1994 and 2009, as a part of the . ^b Dissolved on 10 October 2010. Succeeded by Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Historical thresholds

The high-income threshold was originally set in 1989 at US$6,000 in 1987 prices. Thresholds for subsequent years were adjusted taking into account the average

inflation In economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies wor ...

in the G-5 countries ( the United States, the United Kingdom,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

), and from 2001, that of

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, and the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily ...

. Thus, the thresholds remain constant in real terms over time. To ensure no country falls right on the threshold, country data are rounded to the nearest 10 and income thresholds are rounded to the nearest 5. The following table shows the high-income threshold from 1987 onwards. Countries with a GNI per capita (calculated using the Atlas method) above this threshold are classified by the World Bank as "high-income economies."

References