Country groupings based on World Bank assessment of per-capita gross income, 2008
A
high-income economy is defined by the
World Bank as a country with a
Gross National Income per capita of $11,906 or more in 2008. While the term "high income" may be used interchangeably with "
First World" and "
developed country", the technical definitions of these terms differ. The term "first world" commonly refers to those prosperous countries that aligned themselves with the
U.S. and
NATO during the
cold war. Several institutions, such as the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or
International Monetary Fund (IMF), take factors other than high
per capita income into account when classifying countries as "developed" or "advanced economies". According to the
United Nations, for example, some high income countries may also be developing countries. The
GCC (
Persian Gulf States) countries, for example, are classified as developing high income countries. Thus, a high income country may be classified as either developed or
developing.
List of high income economies
According to the World Bank the following 67 countries and territories are classified as "high-income economies":
- Channel Islands
- (U.S.)
High-income countries not classified by the World Bank:
