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 (GNI) in
U.S. dollars.
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 rates 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 reductio ...
in the country (using the country's
GDP deflator), 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 infrastr ...
(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
* World Bank high-income economy
References
{{reflist
Gross domestic product
International macroeconomics
World Bank