High-Income Countries 2026

Arguably the single most influential factor in determining the quality of life in a given country is its economic health. The World Bank, a global organization dedicated to ending extreme poverty all over the world, divides countries into four categories, known as World Bank Country and Lending Groups, based upon their Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. For the 2026 financial year, the WBC Lending Group boundaries are as follows:

• Low-income economies — GNI per capita of up to $1,135 (in USD)
• Lower-middle-income economies — GNI per capita of $1,136 to $4,495
• Upper-middle-income economies — GNI per capita of $4,496 to $13,935
• High-income economies — GNI per capita of $13,936 or more

World Bank Lending/Income Categories by Year:

*World Bank income and lending categories are currently determined by measuring each country’s Gross National Income (GNI per Capita), expressed in US$ and derived via Atlas methodology.

For the 2026 financial year, the World Bank placed 87 countries and territories in the high-income category. Many countries, such as the United States, have consistently ranked as high income since the 1980s, and others have moved in. Moreover, the number of low-income countries has decreased. For example, low-income countries in Sub-Saharan Africa decreased from 75% in 1987 to 45% in the 2026 financial year, with one country reaching high-income status. Similarly, in 1987, 26% of countries in the East Asia & Pacific region were low-income. By 2024, only 3% of that region’s countries remained in the low income category.

GNI per Capita Explained

GNI per capita is essentially a measure of a nation’s total income divided by the number of people in that country. A country’s overall gross national income (GNI) is very similar to gross national product (GNP), an older metric GNI has largely replaced. GNI is calculated by starting with a country’s gross domestic product (GDP), then adding money its citizens and businesses have brought in from other countries and subtracting money taken out of the economy by businesses and investors based in other countries. Once a country’s GNI has been calculated, it is divided by that country’s population to determine its GNI per capita. GNI offers little insight into a country’s income inequality but is nonetheless considered one of the most important at-a-glance assessments of a country’s economic health.

The Relationship between Income and Development

While World Bank classifies countries by income, the United Nations groups countries by their level of overall development. There is, however, a high degree of correlation between the two systems, as development often runs parallel to income. As a rule, countries classified as high income by World Bank correspond to those deemed developed countries by the United Nations. Upper-middle- and lower-middle-income countries roughly correspond to the United Nations’ developing countries, and World Bank’s low-income countries list includes many of what the United Nations would consider the least-developed or (less commonly) underdeveloped countries.