World Bank updates global income classification; six countries move up

The World Bank has updated its annual income classification of countries, highlighting significant shifts in the global economic landscape since the system was introduced in 1987.

Economist Suren Parsyan noted that the share of low-income countries has fallen from 30% to 11% over the past four decades. However, he said the pace of progress has varied considerably, with some economies advancing to higher income groups much faster than others.

The World Bank updates its country income classifications every year on July 1 based on gross national income (GNI) per capita. The system divides economies into four categories: low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income and high-income.

Under this year's update, six countries were reclassified into higher income groups, driven by economic recovery, export growth or revisions to official statistical data.

Parsyan said the classification is significant because it influences countries' eligibility for concessional financing and international development assistance, while also serving as one of the key benchmarks for measuring global economic progress.