A high-income economy is defined by the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

as a country with a

gross national income The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total amount of factor incomes earned by the residents of a country. It is equal to gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes received from ...

per capita of US$14,005 or more in 2023, calculated using the

Atlas method The World Bank has used the Atlas method since 1993 to estimate the economic size of countries based on their gross national income (GNI) in U.S. dollars. To convert a country's GNI from its local currency to U.S. dollars, the Atlas method uses a c ...

. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "

First World The concept of the First World was originally one of the " Three Worlds" formed by the global political landscape of the Cold War, as it grouped together those countries that were aligned with the Western Bloc of the United States. This groupin ...

" and "

developed country A developed country, or advanced country, is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for eval ...

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

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

. Several institutions, such as the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) or

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

(IMF), take factors other than high

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

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

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, 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

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

is a

sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...

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

List of high-income economies (as of 2024 fiscal year)

According to the World Bank the following 86 countries (including territories) are classified as "high-income economies".Country and Lending Groups.

. Accessed on July 1, 2023. In brackets are the year(s) during which they held such classification; classifying began in 1987. As of the 2024 fiscal year, high-income economies are those that had a GNI per capita of $14,005 or more in 2023.

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) * (2023–present) * (1987–present) * (2012–present) * (2008–15, 2017–present) * (1988–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1996–present) * (2022–present) * (2007–11, 2014–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–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) * (2016–20, 2023–present) * (2017–19, 2021–present) * (2009–present) * (1994–present) * (1987–present) * (2019, 2021–present) * (2012–14, 2023–present) * (2011–present) * (1991–93, 2000–present) * (1987–89, 2004–present) * (2014–present) * (1987–present) * (2007–present) * (1997–present) * (1995–97, 2001–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2006–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (1987–present) * (2012–present)

High income non-UN members

* (1987–89, 2022–present) * (1987–90, 1994–present) * (1987–present) * (2015–present) * (1993–present) * /

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

(1987–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 * (1987–present) * (2009–present) * (1987–present)

Former high-income economies

The year(s) during which they held such classification is/are shown in parentheses. * (2014, 2017) * (2007–14) * (2019) * (1990) * (1994–2009)^b * (2014) ^a Between 1994 and 2009, as a part of the . ^b Dissolved on 10 October 2010. Succeeded by

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean region of North America. With a population of 58,477 as of June 2023 on an area of , it encompasses ...

Historical thresholds

The high-income threshold was originally set in 1989 at

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

6,000 in 1987 prices. Thresholds for subsequent years were adjusted taking into account the average

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

in the G-5 countries (

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

), 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

. 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 This is a list of countries by gross national income per capita in 2023 at nominal values, according to the Atlas method, an indicator of income developed by the World Bank. The GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country's final income in ...

(calculated using the Atlas method) above this threshold are classified by the World Bank as "high-income economies".

References