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GNI per Capita (Atlas method, current US$) FY2024

$200

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$1.1K

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Low-Income Countries 2024

Low-income countries are those which have the weakest economies when evaluated by the World Bank, an international coalition of countries dedicated to reducing poverty around the world. As part of its work, the World Bank analyzes the economic health of each of the world's countries and territories based upon their gross national income (GNI) per capita. The countries and territories are then divided into four categories, titled World Bank Country Lending Groups, from low income to high income, whose boundaries are adjusted each year to reflect global inflation.

2022-2023 World Bank Country Lending Group guidelines (all values USD):

Countries Classified as Low-Income Countries (2023 World Bank):

Afghanistan 🇦🇫Burkina Faso 🇧🇫Burundi 🇧🇮Central African Republic 🇨🇫Chad 🇹🇩DR Congo 🇨🇩Eritrea 🇪🇷Ethiopia 🇪🇹Gambia 🇬🇲Guinea Bissau 🇬🇼Liberia 🇱🇷Madagascar 🇲🇬Malawi 🇲🇼Mali 🇲🇱Mozambique 🇲🇿Niger 🇳🇪Rwanda 🇷🇼Sierra Leone 🇸🇱Somalia 🇸🇴South Sudan 🇸🇸Sudan 🇸🇩Syria 🇸🇾Togo 🇹🇬Uganda 🇺🇬Yemen 🇾🇪

Low-income countries are often synonymous with underdeveloped countries, also known as developing countries, emerging markets, or newly industrialized countries. Wealthier countries and/or international aid organizations often give low-income countries financial aid to help boost and support their economic, political, social, and environmental development. This may come in the form of bilateral aid, which is given directly from the donor country to another, or multilateral aid, which is given to international organizations such as World Bank and United Nations agencies such as UNICEF, which distribute aid to developing countries.

As the poorest countries in the world, low-income countries face struggles relating to a struggling or underdeveloped economy, a low human development index (HDI), and reduced quality of life. Issues related to poor economic health include below-average life expectancy, high infant mortality rates, poor educational outcomes, substandard infrastructure, degrading environmental and climate conditions, and inferior healthcare systems. Many low-income countries suffer high rates of malnutrition, as well as illnesses and infections due to lack of clean water, low sanitation levels, and inadequate access to quality medical care.

Gross national income (GNI) explained

GNI per capita is the dollar value of a country's final income, or GNI, divided by its population. A country's GNI is based upon the gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of all the goods and services produced within the country's physical territory. However, GNI then adds any profits earned overseas by a country's citizens, and finally subtracts any profits earned within the country's borders by foreign companies or investors (which are therefore contributions to another country's economy). GNI is often used interchangeably with gross national product (GNP), a very similar, but slightly older metric.

The World Bank computes GNI using a specific technique, known as the Atlas method. The Atlas method enables accurate and stable comparisons by converting each country's GNI into U.S. dollars using official exchange rates carefully designed to accommodate for market fluctuations. Each exchange rate is the average rate for the past three years, adjusted for differences in inflation between the country and the Euro area, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

GNI may also be computed and displayed using alternate algorithms, such as a purchasing power parity (PPP) model that uses fictional international dollars (INT$). Due to variations in computation methods and the fact that INT$ and USD are different monetary units, the resulting data sets are likely to differ greatly depending upon the method chosen. However, parallel country-to-country differences will likely appear across all data sets.

Notes:
- World Bank's income categories are updated annually, at the start of each financial year, and are based upon the most recently released data, which tends to be 1.5 years previous.
- For example, the 2024 financial year rankings (table 1, below) were released in mid-2023 and are based upon data from the 2022 calendar year.
- World Bank GNI per capita income thresholds for FY2024:
- Low income: <= 1,135
- Lower middle income: 1,136-4,465
- Upper middle income: 4,466-13,845
- High income: > 13,845
- Guinea and Zambia were classified by World Bank as Low-income economies for the 2023 financial year (table 2), but were recategorized as Lower-middle-income economies for the 2024 financial year.

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Country
GNI per Capita (Atlas method, current US$) FY2024
GNI per Capita (PPP, INT$) FY2024
Data Year FY2024
Burundi$240$8402022
Afghanistan$380$1,6802021
Mozambique$440$1,2102022
Central African Republic$480$1,0302022
Madagascar$510$1,7302022
Syria$560-2021
Niger$580$1,3802022
Somalia$600$1,7002022
Sierra Leone$600$2,2502022
DR Congo$610$1,2902022
Eritrea$610$1,6102011
Malawi$640$1,7002022
Liberia$680$1,4702022
Chad$690$1,6402022
Sudan$760$4,1502022
Gambia$800$2,4602022
Guinea Bissau$820$2,2202022
Mali$850$2,4202022
Burkina Faso$850$2,4402022
Uganda$930$2,6402022
Rwanda$930$2,7302022
Yemen$1,000$3,7102018
Togo$1,010$2,6102022
Ethiopia$1,020$2,8002022
South Sudan$1,040$1,0402015
showing: 25 rows

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Low-Income Countries 2024

What are the most low-income countries?

Countries with low-income economies have GNI per capita of $1,135 or less. Burundi ranks the lowest with a GNI per capita in US dollars of $240.

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