Developmentrelevance:
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines a protected area as "a clearly defined geographical space, recognized, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values."

Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use.

Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain - and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features - that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or the entire enclosed environment. Sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.

As threats to biodiversity mount, the international community is increasingly focusing on conserving diversity. Deforestation is a major cause of loss of biodiversity, and habitat conservation is vital for stemming this loss. Conservation efforts have focused on protecting areas of high biodiversity. Increasing the proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected helps defend vulnerable plant and animal species and safeguard biodiversity.

Protected areas remain the fundamental building blocks of virtually all national and international conservation strategies, supported by governments and international institutions. They provide the core of efforts to protect the world's threatened species and are increasingly recognized as essential providers of ecosystem services and biological resources. Some sites are owned and managed by governments, others by private individuals, companies, communities and faith groups.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) address concerns common to all economies. In recognition of the vulnerability of animal and plant species, SDGs include targets 14 and 15 to highlight the importance of marine and terrestorial protected areas. Increasing the proportion of terrestrial and marine areas protected helps defend vulnerable plant and animal species and safeguard biodiversity.

IndicatorName: Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area)

Longdefinition: Terrestrial protected areas are totally or partially protected areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities as scientific reserves with limited public access, national parks, natural monuments, nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and areas managed mainly for sustainable use. Marine protected areas are areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain--and overlying water and associated flora and fauna and historical and cultural features--that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part or all of the enclosed environment. Sites protected under local or provincial law are excluded.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
This indicator is calculated using all the nationally designated protected areas recorded in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) whose location and extent is known. The WDPA database is stored within a Geographic Information System (GIS) that stores information about protected areas such as their name, type and date of designation, documented area, geographic location (point) and/or boundary (polygon).

A GIS analysis is used to calculate terrestrial and marine protection. For this a global protected area layer is created by combining the polygons and points recorded in the WDPA. Circular buffers are created around points based on the known extent of protected areas for which no polygon is available. Annual protected area layers are created by dissolving the global protected area layer by the known year of establishment of protected areas recorded in the WDPA. The annual protected area layers are overlaid with country/territory boundaries, coastlines and buffered coastlines (delineating the territorial waters) to obtain the absolute coverage (in square kilometers) of protected areas by country/territory per year from 1990 to present. The total area of a country's/territory's terrestrial protected areas and marine protected areas in territorial waters is divided by the total area of its land areas (including inland waters) and territorial waters to obtain the relative coverage (percentage) of protected areas.


Developmentrelevance: The size and mobility of international capital flows make it increasingly important to monitor the strength of financial systems. Robust financial systems can increase economic activity and welfare, but instability can disrupt financial activity and impose widespread costs on the economy. The ratio of bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans measures bank health and efficiency by identifying problems with asset quality in the loan portfolio. A high ratio may signal deterioration of the credit portfolio.

IndicatorName: Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans (%)

License_Type: CC BY-4.0

Limitationsandexceptions: Reporting countries compile the data using different methodologies, which may also vary for different points in time for the same country. Users are advised to consult the accompanying metadata on the IMF FSI website (data.imf.org) to conduct more meaningful cross-country comparisons or to assess the evolution of the indicator for any of the countries.

Longdefinition: Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans are the value of nonperforming loans divided by the total value of the loan portfolio (including nonperforming loans before the deduction of specific loan-loss provisions). The loan amount recorded as nonperforming should be the gross value of the loan as recorded on the balance sheet, not just the amount that is overdue.

Periodicity: Annual

Source: International Monetary Fund, Financial Soundness Indicators.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The ratio of bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans is the value of nonperforming loans (gross value of the loan as recorded on the balance sheet) divided by the total value of the loan portfolio (including nonperforming loans before the deduction of loan loss provisions). It measures bank health and efficiency by identifying problems with asset quality in the loan portfolio. International guidelines recommend that loans be classified as nonperforming when payments of principal and interest are 90 days or more past due or when future payments are not expected to be received in full. Data are submitted by national authorities to the IMF following the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSI) Compilation Guide. For country specific metadata, including reporting period, please refer to the GFSR FSI Tables and the Data and Metadata Tables available through FSIs website: http://data.imf.org/.

Topic: Financial Sector: Assets


Developmentrelevance: The size and mobility of international capital flows make it increasingly important to monitor the strength of financial systems. Robust financial systems can increase economic activity and welfare, but instability can disrupt financial activity and impose widespread costs on the economy. The ratio of bank capital to assets, a measure of bank solvency and resiliency, shows the extent to which banks can deal with unexpected losses. Capital includes tier 1 capital (paid-up shares and common stock), a common feature in all countries' banking systems, and total regulatory capital, which includes several types of subordinated debt instruments that need not be repaid if the funds are required to maintain minimum capital levels (tier 2 and tier 3 capital). Total assets include all nonfinancial and financial assets. Data are from internally consistent financial statements.

IndicatorName: Bank capital to assets ratio (%)

Longdefinition: Bank capital to assets is the ratio of bank capital and reserves to total assets. Capital and reserves include funds contributed by owners, retained earnings, general and special reserves, provisions, and valuation adjustments. Capital includes tier 1 capital (paid-up shares and common stock), which is a common feature in all countries' banking systems, and total regulatory capital, which includes several specified types of subordinated debt instruments that need not be repaid if the funds are required to maintain minimum capital levels (these comprise tier 2 and tier 3 capital). Total assets include all nonfinancial and financial assets.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The ratio of capital to total assets, without the latter being risk weighted. Capital is measured as total capital and reserves as reported in the sectoral balance sheet; for cross-border consolidated data, Tier 1 capital can also be used. It indicates the extent to which assets are funded by other than own funds and is a measure of capital adequacy of the deposit-taking sector. It complements the capital adequacy ratios compiled based on the methodology agreed to by the Basle Committee on Banking Supervision. Also, it measures financial leverage and is sometimes called the leverage ratio. Data are submitted by national authorities to the IMF following the Financial Soundness Indicators (FSI) Compilation Guide. For country specific metadata, including reporting period, please refer to the GFSR FSI Tables and the Data and Metadata Tables available through FSIs website: http://data.imf.org/.


Aggregationmethod: Median

Developmentrelevance: Access to finance can expand opportunities for all with higher levels of access and use of banking services associated with lower financing obstacles for people and businesses. A stable financial system that promotes efficient savings and investment is also crucial for a thriving democracy and market economy. There are several aspects of access to financial services: availability, cost, and quality of services. The development and growth of credit markets depend on access to timely, reliable, and accurate data on borrowers' credit experiences. Access to credit can be improved by making it easy to create and enforce collateral agreements and by increasing information about potential borrowers' creditworthiness. Lenders look at a borrower's credit history and collateral. Where credit registries and effective collateral laws are absent - as in many developing countries - banks make fewer loans. Indicators that cover getting credit include the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index.

Generalcomments: Country-specific metadata can be found on the IMF’s FAS website (data.imf.org).

IndicatorName: Commercial bank branches (per 100,000 adults)

Limitationsandexceptions: Population-based ratios of the number of branches and ATMs assume a uniform distribution of bank outlets within a country's area and across its population, while in most countries bank branches and ATMs are concentrated in urban centers of the country and are accessible only to some individuals.

Longdefinition: Commercial bank branches are retail locations of resident commercial banks and other resident banks that function as commercial banks that provide financial services to customers and are physically separated from the main office but not organized as legally separated subsidiaries.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Financial Access Survey.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Data are shown as the number of branches of commercial banks for every 100,000 adults in the reporting country. It is calculated as (number of institutions + number of branches)*100,000/adult population in the reporting country.

Topic: Financial Sector: Access


Aggregationmethod: Weighted average

IndicatorName: Total reserves in months of imports

Longdefinition: Total reserves comprise holdings of monetary gold, special drawing rights, reserves of IMF members held by the IMF, and holdings of foreign exchange under the control of monetary authorities. The gold component of these reserves is valued at year-end (December 31) London prices. This item shows reserves expressed in terms of the number of months of imports of goods and services they could pay for [Reserves/(Imports/12)].

Source: International Monetary Fund, International Financial Statistics and data files.

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt: Balance of payments: Reserves & other items


IndicatorName: Broad money to total reserves ratio

Longdefinition: Broad money (IFS line 35L..ZK) is the sum of currency outside banks; demand deposits other than those of the central government; the time, savings, and foreign currency deposits of resident sectors other than the central government; bank and traveler’s checks; and other securities such as certificates of deposit and commercial paper.

Topic: Financial Sector: Monetary holdings (liabilities)


IndicatorName: Broad money growth (annual %)

Limitationsandexceptions: Monetary accounts are derived from the balance sheets of financial institutions - the central bank, commercial banks, and nonbank financial intermediaries. Although these balance sheets are usually reliable, they are subject to errors of classification, valuation, and timing and to differences in accounting practices. For example, whether interest income is recorded on an accrual or a cash basis can make a substantial difference, as can the treatment of nonperforming assets. Valuation errors typically arise for foreign exchange transactions, particularly in countries with flexible exchange rates or in countries that have undergone currency devaluation during the reporting period. The valuation of financial derivatives and the net liabilities of the banking system can also be difficult. The quality of commercial bank reporting also may be adversely affected by delays in reports from bank branches, especially in countries where branch accounts are not computerized. Thus the data in the balance sheets of commercial banks may be based on preliminary estimates subject to constant revision. This problem is likely to be even more serious for nonbank financial intermediaries.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Money and the financial accounts that record the supply of money lie at the heart of a country’s financial system. There are several commonly used definitions of the money supply. The narrowest, M1, encompasses currency held by the public and demand deposits with banks. M2 includes M1 plus time and savings deposits with banks that require prior notice for withdrawal. M3 includes M2 as well as various money market instruments, such as certificates of deposit issued by banks, bank deposits denominated in foreign currency, and deposits with financial institutions other than banks. However defined, money is a liability of the banking system, distinguished from other bank liabilities by the special role it plays as a medium of exchange, a unit of account, and a store of value.


IndicatorName: Inflation, consumer prices (annual %)

Longdefinition: Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly. The Laspeyres formula is generally used.

Topic: Financial Sector: Exchange rates & prices


Generalcomments: Each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022).

IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, poorest 40% (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (poorest 40%, share of population ages 15+).

Periodicity: Triennial

Source: Global Findex Database, World Bank (https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/globalfindex).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, richest 60% (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (richest 60%, share of population ages 15+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, female (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (female, % age 15+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, male (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (male, % age 15+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, older adults (% of population ages 25+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (older adults, % of population ages 25+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, primary education or less (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (primary education or less, % of population ages 15+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, secondary education or more (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (secondary education or more, % of population ages 15+).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider, young adults (% of population ages 15-24)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (young adults, % of population ages 15-24).


IndicatorName: Account ownership at a financial institution or with a mobile-money-service provider (% of population ages 15+)

Longdefinition: Account denotes the percentage of respondents who report having an account (by themselves or together with someone else) at a bank or another type of financial institution or report personally using a mobile money service in the past 12 months (% age 15+).


Developmentrelevance: Expenditure on research and development (R&D) is a key indicator of government and private sector efforts to obtain competitive advantage in science and technology.

Generalcomments: For aggregate data, each economy is classified based on the classification of World Bank Group's fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023).

IndicatorName: Research and development expenditure (% of GDP)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Estimates of the resources allocated to R&D are affected by national characteristics such as the periodicity and coverage of national R&D surveys across institutional sectors and industries; and the use of different sampling and estimation methods. R&D typically involves a few large performers, hence R&D surveys use various techniques to maintain up-to-date registers of known performers, while attempting to identify new or occasional performers.

R&D totals from SNA accounts may differ from these estimates, due in part to the different treatments of software R&D in the totals.

Longdefinition: Gross domestic expenditures on research and development (R&D), expressed as a percent of GDP. They include both capital and current expenditures in the four main sectors: Business enterprise, Government, Higher education and Private non-profit. R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (http://uis.unesco.org/). Data as of June 2022.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The gross domestic expenditure on R&D indicator consists of the total expenditure (current and capital) on R&D by all resident companies, research institutes, university and government laboratories, etc. It excludes R&D expenditures financed by domestic firms but performed abroad.

The OECD's Frascati Manual defines research and experimental development as "creative work undertaken on a systemic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications." R&D covers basic research, applied research, and experimental development.

(1) Basic research - Basic research is experimental or theoretical work undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge of the underlying foundation of phenomena and observable facts, without any particular application or use in view

(2) Applied research - Applied research is also original investigation undertaken in order to acquire new knowledge; it is, however, directed primarily towards a specific practical aim or objective.

(3) Experimental development - Experimental development is systematic work, drawing on existing knowledge gained from research and/or practical experience, which is directed to producing new materials, products or devices, to installing new processes, systems and services, or to improving substantially those already produced or installed.

The fields of science and technology used to classify R&D according to the Revised Fields of Science and Technology Classification are:
1. Natural sciences;
2. Engineering and technology;
3. Medical and health sciences;
4. Agricultural sciences;
5. Social sciences;
6. Humanities and the arts.

The data are obtained through statistical surveys which are regularly conducted at national level covering R&D performing entities in the private and public sectors.

Topic: Infrastructure: Technology


IndicatorName: Tax revenue (current LCU)

Limitationsandexceptions:
For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance.

Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Despite IMF efforts to standardize data collection, statistics are often incomplete, untimely, and not comparable across countries.

Longdefinition: Tax revenue refers to compulsory transfers to the central government for public purposes. Certain compulsory transfers such as fines, penalties, and most social security contributions are excluded. Refunds and corrections of erroneously collected tax revenue are treated as negative revenue.

Source: International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The IMF's Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, harmonized with the 2008 SNA, recommends an accrual accounting method, focusing on all economic events affecting assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, not just those represented by cash transactions. It accounts for all changes in stocks, so stock data at the end of an accounting period equal stock data at the beginning of the period plus flows over the period. The 1986 manual considered only debt stocks.

Government finance statistics are reported in local currency. Many countries report government finance data by fiscal year; see country metadata for information on fiscal year end by country.

Topic: Public Sector: Government finance: Revenue


IndicatorName: Tax revenue (% of GDP)

Source: International Monetary Fund, Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, and World Bank and OECD GDP estimates.


Developmentrelevance: The indicator attempts to capture the reliability of government budgets: do governments spend what they intend to and do they collect what they set out to collect. The ability to implement the enacted budget is an important factor in government’s ability to deliver public services and achieve development objectives. The deviation between approved and actual spending is measured over a 12-month period (the budget year) and may have important implications for macroeconomic stability, public service delivery, and social welfare. A credibly implemented budget has only small deviations from the approved one.  If expenditure is under-executed, beneficiaries may not receive crucial services. Over-executed budgets may result in budget deficits and increased public debt levels and can influence the macroeconomic stability. In both cases, lack of budget credibility undermines the usefulness of the budget process for policy making and implementation and erodes public trust in government.

IndicatorName: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget (%)

Longdefinition: Primary government expenditures as a proportion of original approved budget measures the extent to which aggregate budget expenditure outturn reflects the amount originally approved, as defined in government budget documentation and fiscal reports. The coverage is budgetary central government (BCG) and the time period covered is the last three completed fiscal years.

Source: Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA). Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Topic: Public Sector: Government finance


Aggregationmethod: Unweighted average

Developmentrelevance:
Entrepreneurship is a critical part of economic development and growth and important for the continued dynamism of the modern economy. To measure entrepreneurial activity, annual data is collected directly from 170 company registrars on the number of newly registered firms over the past seven years. The data shows the trends in new firm creation across regions, the relationship between entrepreneurship and the business environment and financial development, and the financial crisis' effect on the entrepreneurial activity in the formal sector.

Private sector development and investment - tapping private sector initiative and investment for socially useful purposes - are critical for poverty reduction. In parallel with public sector efforts, private investment, especially in competitive markets, has tremendous potential to contribute to growth. Private markets are the engine of productivity growth, creating productive jobs and higher incomes. And with government playing a complementary role of regulation, funding, and service provision, private initiative and investment can help provide the basic services and conditions that empower poor people - by improving health, education, and infrastructure.

Generalcomments: For cross-country comparability, only limited liability corporations that operate in the formal sector are included.

IndicatorName: New business density (new registrations per 1,000 people ages 15-64)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The definition of entrepreneurship used is limited to the formal sector. Yet, it should be noted that the exclusion of the informal sector is based on the difficulties of quantifying the number of firms that compose it, rather than on its relevance for developing economies. The Entrepreneurship Database facilitates the analysis of the growth of the formal private sector and the identification of factors that encourage firms to begin operations in or transition to the formal sector. Data is collected all limited liability corporations regardless of size. Partnerships and sole proprietorships are not considered in the analysis due to the differences with respect to their definition and regulation worldwide. Data on the number of total or closed firms are not included due to heterogeneity in how these entities are defined and measured.

The Entrepreneurship Database is a critical source of data that facilitates the measurement of entrepreneurial activity across countries and over time. The data also allows for a deeper understanding of the relationship between new firm registration, the regulatory environment, and economic growth. Previous research using the Entrepreneurship Database has shown a significant relationship between the level of cost, time, and procedures required to start a business and new firm registration.

To facilitate cross-country comparability, the Entrepreneurship Database employs a consistent unit of measurement, source of information, and concept of entrepreneurship that is applicable and available among the diverse sample of participating economies.

Longdefinition: New businesses registered are the number of new limited liability corporations (or its equivalent) registered in the calendar year.

Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
To facilitate cross-country comparability, the Entrepreneurship Database employs a consistent unit of measurement, source of information, and concept of entrepreneurship that is applicable and available among the diverse sample of participating economies.

The data collection process involves telephone interviews and email correspondence with business registries in 170 economies. The main sources of information for this study are national business registries. In a limited number of cases where the business registry was unable to provide the data - most often due to an absence of digitized registration systems - the Entrepreneurship Database uses other alternatives sources, such as statistical agencies, tax and labor agencies, chambers of commerce, and private vendors or publicly available data.

The units of measurement are private, formal sector companies with limited liability.

Topic: Private Sector & Trade: Business environment


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Corruption by public officials may present a major administrative and financial burden on firms. Corruption creates an unfavorable business environment by undermining the operational efficiency of firms and raising the costs and risks associated with doing business.

In some countries doing business requires informal payments to "get things done" in customs, taxes, licenses, regulations, services, and the like. Such corruption can harm the business environment by distorting policymaking, undermining government credibility, and diverting public resources.

IndicatorName: Bribery incidence (% of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The sampling methodology for Enterprise Surveys is stratified random sampling. In a simple random sample, all members of the population have the same probability of being selected and no weighting of the observations is necessary. In a stratified random sample, all population units are grouped within homogeneous groups and simple random samples are selected within each group. This method allows computing estimates for each of the strata with a specified level of precision while population estimates can also be estimated by properly weighting individual observations. The sampling weights take care of the varying probabilities of selection across different strata. Under certain conditions, estimates' precision under stratified random sampling will be higher than under simple random sampling (lower standard errors may result from the estimation procedure).

The strata for Enterprise Surveys are firm size, business sector, and geographic region within a country. Firm size levels are 5-19 (small), 20-99 (medium), and 100+ employees (large-sized firms). Since in most economies, the majority of firms are small and medium-sized, Enterprise Surveys oversample large firms since larger firms tend to be engines of job creation. Sector breakdown is usually manufacturing, retail, and other services. For larger economies, specific manufacturing sub-sectors are selected as additional strata on the basis of employment, value-added, and total number of establishments figures. Geographic regions within a country are selected based on which cities/regions collectively contain the majority of economic activity.

Ideally the survey sample frame is derived from the universe of eligible firms obtained from the country’s statistical office. Sometimes the master list of firms is obtained from other government agencies such as tax or business licensing authorities. In some cases, the list of firms is obtained from business associations or marketing databases. In a few cases, the sample frame is created via block enumeration, where the World Bank “manually” constructs a list of eligible firms after 1) partitioning a country’s cities of major economic activity into clusters and blocks, 2) randomly selecting a subset of blocks which will then be enumerated. In surveys conducted since 2005-06, survey documentation which explains the source of the sample frame and any special circumstances encountered during survey fieldwork are included with the collected datasets.

Obtaining panel data, i.e. interviews with the same firms across multiple years, is a priority in current Enterprise Surveys. When conducting a new Enterprise Survey in a country where data was previously collected, maximal effort is expended to re-interview as many firms (from the prior survey) as possible. For these panel firms, sampling weights can be adjusted to take into account the resulting altered probabilities of inclusion in the sample frame.

Longdefinition: Bribery incidence is the percentage of firms experiencing at least one bribe payment request across 6 public transactions dealing with utilities access, permits, licenses, and taxes.

Notesfromoriginalsource: All surveys were administered using the Enterprise Surveys methodology as outlined in the Methodology page which can be found from www.enterprisesurveys.org.

Source: World Bank, Enterprise Surveys (http://www.enterprisesurveys.org/).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Firm-level surveys have been conducted since the 1990's by different units within the World Bank. Since 2005-06, most data collection efforts have been centralized within the Enterprise Analysis Unit. Surveys implemented by the Enterprise Analysis Unit follow the Global Methodology.

Private contractors conduct the Enterprise Surveys on behalf of the World Bank. Due to sensitive survey questions addressing business-government relations and bribery-related topics, private contractors, rather than any government agency or an organization/institution associated with government, are hired by the World Bank to collect the data.

Confidentiality of the survey respondents and the sensitive information they provide is necessary to ensure the greatest degree of survey participation, integrity and confidence in the quality of the data. Surveys are usually carried out in cooperation with business organizations and government agencies promoting job creation and economic growth, but confidentiality is never compromised.

The Enterprise Survey is answered by business owners and top managers. Sometimes the survey respondent calls company accountants and human resource managers into the interview to answer questions in the sales and labor sections of the survey. Typically 1200-1800 interviews are conducted in larger economies, 360 interviews are conducted in medium-sized economies, and for smaller economies, 150 interviews take place.

The manufacturing and services sectors are the primary business sectors of interest. This corresponds to firms classified with ISIC codes 15-37, 45, 50-52, 55, 60-64, and 72 (ISIC Rev.3.1). Formal (registered) companies with 5 or more employees are targeted for interview. Services firms include construction, retail, wholesale, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, communications, and IT. Firms with 100% government/state ownership are not eligible to participate in an Enterprise Survey. Occasionally, for a few surveyed countries, other sectors are included in the companies surveyed such as education or health-related businesses. In each country, businesses in the cities/regions of major economic activity are interviewed.

In some countries, other surveys, which depart from the usual Enterprise Survey methodology, are conducted. Examples include 1) Informal Surveys- surveys of informal (unregistered) enterprises, 2) Micro Surveys- surveys fielded to registered firms with less than five employees, and 3) Financial Crisis Assessment Surveys- short surveys administered by telephone to assess the effects of the global financial crisis of 2008-09.

The Enterprise Surveys Unit uses two instruments: the Manufacturing Questionnaire and the Services Questionnaire. Although many questions overlap, some are only applicable to one type of business. For example, retail firms are not asked about production and nonproduction workers.

The standard Enterprise Survey topics include firm characteristics, gender participation, access to finance, annual sales, costs of inputs/labor, workforce composition, bribery, licensing, infrastructure, trade, crime, competition, capacity utilization, land and permits, taxation, informality, business-government relations, innovation and technology, and performance measures.

Over 90% of the questions objectively ascertain characteristics of a country’s business environment. The remaining questions assess the survey respondents’ opinions on what are the obstacles to firm growth and performance. The mode of data collection is face-to-face interviews.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Firms with female top manager measures women's integration as decision makers. Benchmarking firms with female top manager is important to achieving gender equality promotion and empowerment of women. The gender topic provides information about women's entrepreneurship and economic participation in the labor force.

Generalcomments: Relevance to gender indicator: Women are vastly underrepresented in decision making positions at the top level in the private sector and this indicator monitors progress that has been made.

IndicatorName: Firms with female top manager (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms with female top manager refers to the percentage of firms in the private sector who have females as top managers. Top manager refers to the highest ranking manager or CEO of the establishment. This person may be the owner if he/she works as the manager of the firm. The results are based on surveys of more than 100,000 private firms.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

Female participation in firm ownership and in management measures women's integration as decision makers. Benchmarking female participation in firm ownership, management, and the workforce is important to achieving gender equality promotion and empowerment of women. The gender topic provides information about women's entrepreneurship and economic participation in the labor force.

IndicatorName: Firms with female participation in ownership (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms with female participation in ownership are the percentage of firms with a woman among the principal owners.


Developmentrelevance:
Firms evaluating investment options, governments interested in improving business conditions, and economists seeking to explain economic performance have all grappled with defining and measuring the business environment. The firm-level data from Enterprise Surveys provide a useful tool for benchmarking economies across a large number of indicators measured at the firm level.

The reliability and availability of infrastructure benefit households and support development. Firms with access to modern and efficient infrastructure - telecommunications, electricity, and transport - can be more productive.

A strong infrastructure enhances the competitiveness of an economy and generates a business environment conducive to firm growth and development. Good infrastructure efficiently connects firms to their customers and suppliers, and enables the use of modern production technologies. Conversely, deficiencies in infrastructure, such as loss of electricity on regular basis, create barriers to productive opportunities and increase costs for all firms, from micro enterprises to large multinational corporations.

IndicatorName: Firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials (% of firms)

Longdefinition: Firms expected to give gifts in meetings with tax officials is the percentage of firms that answered positively to the question "was a gift or informal payment expected or requested during a meeting with tax officials?"


Aggregationmethod: Sum

Developmentrelevance:
Investment in infrastructure projects with private participation has made important contributions to easing fiscal constraints, improving the efficiency of infrastructure services, and extending delivery to poor people. Developing countries have been in the forefront, pioneering better approaches to infrastructure services and reaping the benefits of greater competition and customer focus. Entrepreneurship is essential to the dynamism of the modern market economy, and a greater entry density of new businesses can foster competition and economic growth.

Private sector development and investment - tapping private sector initiative and investment for socially useful purposes - are critical for poverty reduction. In parallel with public sector efforts, private investment, especially in competitive markets, has tremendous potential to contribute to growth. Private markets are the engine of productivity growth, creating productive jobs and higher incomes. And with government playing a complementary role of regulation, funding, and service provision, private initiative and investment can help provide the basic services and conditions that empower poor people - by improving health, education, and infrastructure.

IndicatorName: Investment in energy with private participation (current US$)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The data on investment in infrastructure projects with private participation refer to all investment (public and private) in projects in which a private company assumes operating risk during the operating period or development and operating risk during the contract period. Investment refers to commitments not disbursements. Foreign state-owned companies are considered private entities for the purposes of this measure.

Investment commitments are the sum of investments in physical assets and payments to the government. Investments in physical assets are resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Payments to the government are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or use of specific radio spectrums. Data on the projects are compiled from publicly available information. The database aims to be as comprehensive as possible, but some projects - particularly those involving local and small-scale operators - may be omitted because they are not publicly reported.

Longdefinition: Investment in energy projects with private participation  refers to commitments to  infrastructure projects in energy (electricity and natural gas: generation, transmission and distribution) that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public. Movable assets and small projects such as windmills are excluded. The types of projects included are management and lease contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data is presented based on investment year. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Shortdefinition: Investment in energy with private participation is the value of commitments to energy projects that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public, including lease and management contracts, operation and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Movable assets and small projects such as windmills are excluded.

Source: World Bank, Private Participation in Infrastructure Project Database (http://ppi.worldbank.org).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The data are from the World Bank's Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) Project database, which tracks infrastructure projects with private participation in developing countries. It provides information on more than 5,000 infrastructure projects in 139 developing economies from 1984. The database contains more than 30 fields per project record, including country, financial closure year, infrastructure services provided, type of private participation, investment, technology, capacity, project location, contract duration, private sponsors, bidding process, and development bank support.

The database is a joint product of the World Bank's Finance, Economics, and Urban Development Department and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility. Geographic and income aggregates are calculated by the World Bank's Development Data Group.

Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Topic: Private Sector & Trade: Private infrastructure investment


IndicatorName: Investment in telecoms with private participation (current US$)

Longdefinition: Investment  in telecom projects with private participation refers to commitments to infrastructure projects in telecommunications that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public. Movable assets and small projects are excluded. The types of projects included are management and lease contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Shortdefinition: Investment in telecoms with private participation is the value of committments to telecom projects that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public, including lease and management contracts, operation and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Movable assets and small projects are excluded.


IndicatorName: Investment in transport with private participation (current US$)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The data on investment in infrastructure projects with private participation refer to all investment (public and private) in projects in which a private company assumes operating risk during the operating period or development and operating risk during the contract period. Investment refers to commitments not disbursements. Foreign state-owned companies are considered private entities for the purposes of this measure.

Movable assets and small projects are excluded. The types of projects included are operations and management contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data on the projects are compiled from publicly available information. The database aims to be as comprehensive as possible, but some projects - particularly those involving local and small-scale operators - may be omitted because they are not publicly reported.

Longdefinition: Investment  in transport projects with private participation refers to commitments to  infrastructure projects in transport that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public. Movable assets and small projects are excluded. The types of projects included are  management and lease contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data is presented based on investment year. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Shortdefinition: Investment in transport with private participation is the value of commitments to transportation projects that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public, including management and lease contracts, operation and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Movable assets and small projects are excluded.


IndicatorName: Investment in water and sanitation with private participation (current US$)

Longdefinition: Investment in water and sanitation projects with private participation refers to commitments to  infrastructure projects in water and sanitation that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public. Movable assets, incinerators, standalone solid waste projects, and small projects are excluded. The types of projects included are management and lease contracts, operations and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or a public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Investment commitments are the sum of investments in facilities and investments in government assets. Investments in facilities are the resources the project company commits to invest during the contract period either in new facilities or in expansion and modernization of existing facilities. Investments in government assets are the resources the project company spends on acquiring government assets such as state-owned enterprises, rights to provide services in a specific area, or the use of specific radio spectrums. Data is presented based on investment year. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Shortdefinition: Investment in water and sanitation with private participation is the commitments to value of water and sanitation projects that have reached financial closure and directly or indirectly serve the public, including operation and management contracts with major capital expenditure, greenfield projects (in which a private entity or public-private joint venture builds and operates a new facility), and divestitures. Incinerators, movable assets, standalone solid waste projects, and small projects are excluded.


Developmentrelevance:
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (www.wipo.int/pct) provides a two phase system for filing patent. International applications under the treaty provide for a national patent grant only - there is no international patent. The national filing represents the applicant's seeking of patent protection for a given territory, whereas international filings, while representing a legal right, do not accurately reflect where patent protection is sought. Resident filings are those from residents of the country concerned. Nonresident filings are from applicants abroad. For regional offices applications from residents of any member state of the regional patent convention are considered nonresident filings. Some offices (notably the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) use the residence of the inventor rather than the applicant to classify filings.

Patent data are a great resource for the study of technical change in a country or region. Patent data provide a uniquely detailed source of information on inventive activity and the multiple dimensions of the inventive process (e.g. geographical location, technical and institutional origin, individuals and networks). Furthermore, patent data form a consistent basis for comparisons across time and across countries.

Patent data can be used in the analysis of a wide array of topics related to technical change and patenting activity including industry-science linkages, patenting strategies by companies, internationalization of research, and indicators on the value of patents. Patent-based statistics reflect the inventive performance of countries, regions and firms, as well as other aspects of the dynamics of the innovation process such as co-operation in innovation or technology paths.

IndicatorName: Patent applications, nonresidents

Limitationsandexceptions:
A patent is an exclusive right granted for a specified period (generally 20 years) for a new way of doing something or a new technical solution to a problem - an invention. The invention must be of practical use and display a characteristic unknown in the existing body of knowledge in its field. Most countries have systems to protect patentable inventions.

Unless otherwise stated, statistics on the number of resident and non-resident patent applications include those filed via the PCT system as PCT national/regional phase entries.

Longdefinition: Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention--a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.

Shortdefinition: Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office.

Source: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), WIPO Patent Report: Statistics on Worldwide Patent Activity. The International Bureau of WIPO assumes no responsibility with respect to the transformation of these data.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Non-resident patent applications are from applicants outside the relevant State or region. Patent data cover applications and grants classified by field of technology. International applications series distinguish four subcategories: a) patents taken out by residents of a country in that country; b) patents taken out in a country by non-residents of that country; c) total patents registered in the country or naming it; d) patents taken out outside a country by its residents. Data on patents granted only distinguish between patents awarded to residents and to non-residents. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.

Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention - a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem.


IndicatorName: Patent applications, residents

Limitationsandexceptions: A patent is an exclusive right granted for a specified period (generally 20 years) for a new way of doing something or a new technical solution to a problem - an invention. The invention must be of practical use and display a characteristic unknown in the existing body of knowledge in its field. Most countries have systems to protect patentable inventions.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Resident patent applications are those for which the first-named applicant or assignee is a resident of the State or region concerned. In the case of regional offices such as the European Patent Office, a resident is an applicant from any of the member States of the regional patent convention.

Patent data cover applications and grants classified by field of technology. International applications series distinguish four subcategories: a) patents taken out by residents of a country in that country; b) patents taken out in a country by non-residents of that country; c) total patents registered in the country or naming it; d) patents taken out outside a country by its residents. Data on patents granted only distinguish between patents awarded to residents and to non-residents. A patent provides protection for the invention to the owner of the patent for a limited period, generally 20 years.

Patent applications are worldwide patent applications filed through the Patent Cooperation Treaty procedure or with a national patent office for exclusive rights for an invention - a product or process that provides a new way of doing something or offers a new technical solution to a problem.


IndicatorName: Methodology assessment of statistical capacity (scale 0 - 100)

Longdefinition: The methodology indicator measures a country’s ability to adhere to internationally recommended standards and methods. The methodology score is calculated as the weighted average of 10 underlying indicator scores. The final methodology score contributes 1/3 of the overall Statistical Capacity Indicator score.

Source: World Bank, Bulletin Board on Statistical Capacity (http://bbsc.worldbank.org).

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Practice score is calculated as weighted average of all 10 Practice indicator scores.

Topic: Public Sector: Policy & institutions


Developmentrelevance: Statistical Capacity is a nation’s ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data about its population and economy. Quality statistics are essential for all stages of evidence-based decision-making, including: Monitoring social and economic indicators, Allocating political representation and government resources, Guiding private sector investment, as well as Informing the international donor community for program design and policy formulation.

IndicatorName: Statistical Capacity Score (Overall Average) (scale 0 - 100)

Longdefinition: The Statistical Capacity Indicator is a composite score assessing the capacity of a country’s statistical system. It is based on a diagnostic framework assessing the following areas: methodology; data sources; and periodicity and timeliness. Countries are scored against 25 criteria in these areas, using publicly available information and/or country input. The overall Statistical Capacity score is then calculated as a simple average of all three area scores on a scale of 0-100.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Statistical Capacity Indicator score is calculated as the average of the scores of the 3 dimensions, i.e. Availability, Collection, Practice.


IndicatorName: Periodicity and timeliness assessment of statistical capacity (scale 0 - 100)

Longdefinition: The periodicity and timeliness indicator assesses the availability and periodicity of key socioeconomic indicators. It measures the extent to which data are made accessible to users through transformation of source data into timely statistical outputs. The periodicity score is calculated as the weighted average of 10 underlying indicator scores. The final periodicity score contributes 1/3 of the overall Statistical Capacity Indicator score.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Availability score is calculated as weighted average of all 10 Availability indicator scores.


IndicatorName: Source data assessment of statistical capacity (scale 0 - 100)

Longdefinition: The source data indicator reflects whether a country conducts data collection activities in line with internationally recommended periodicity, and whether data from administrative systems are available. The source data score is calculated as the weighted average of 5 underlying indicator scores. The final source data score contributes 1/3 of the overall Statistical Capacity Indicator score.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Collection score is calculated as weighted average of all 5 Collection indicator scores.


Developmentrelevance:
Transport infrastructure - highways, railways, ports and waterways, and airports and air traffic control systems - and the services that flow from it are crucial to the activities of households, producers, and governments. Because performance indicators vary widely by transport mode and focus (whether physical infrastructure or the services flowing from that infrastructure), highly specialized and carefully specified indicators are required to measure a country's transport infrastructure.

The air transport industry a vital engine of global socio-economic growth. It is of vital importance for economic development, creating direct and indirect employment, supporting tourism and local businesses, and stimulating foreign investment and international trade. Economic growth, technological change, market liberalization, the growth of low cost carriers, airport congestion, oil prices and other trends affect commercial aviation throughout the world.

IndicatorName: Air transport, freight (million ton-km)

Limitationsandexceptions:
The air transport data represent the total (international and domestic) scheduled traffic carried by the air carriers registered in a country. Countries submit air transport data to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the basis of standard instructions and definitions issued by ICAO. In many cases, however, the data include estimates by ICAO for nonreporting carriers. Where possible, these estimates are based on previous submissions supplemented by information published by the air carriers, such as flight schedules.

The data cover the air traffic carried on scheduled services, but changes in air transport regulations in Europe have made it more difficult to classify traffic as scheduled or nonscheduled. Thus recent increases shown for some European countries may be due to changes in the classification of air traffic rather than actual growth. In the case of multinational air carriers owned by partner States, traffic within each partner State is shown separately as domestic and all other traffic as international.

"Foreign" cabotage traffic (i.e. traffic carried between city-pairs in a State other than the one where the reporting carrier has its principal place of business) is shown as international traffic.

A technical stop does not result in any flight stage being classified differently than would have been the case had the technical stop not been made. For countries with few air carriers or only one, the addition or discontinuation of a home-based air carrier may cause significant changes in air traffic.

Data for transport sectors are not always internationally comparable. Unlike for demographic statistics, national income accounts, and international trade data, the collection of infrastructure data has not been "internationalized."

Longdefinition: Air freight is the volume of freight, express, and diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage (operation of an aircraft from takeoff to its next landing), measured in metric tons times kilometers traveled.

Source: International Civil Aviation Organization, Civil Aviation Statistics of the World and ICAO staff estimates.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
For statistical uses, departures are equal to the number of landings made or flight stages flown. A flight stage is the operation of an aircraft from take-off to its next landing. A flight stage is classified as either international or domestic. International flight stage is one or both terminals in the territory of a State, other than the State in which the air carrier has its principal place of business.

Domestic flight stage is not classifiable as international. Domestic flight stages include all flight stages flown between points within the domestic boundaries of a State by an air carrier whose principal place of business is in that State. Flight stages between a State and territories belonging to it, as well as any flight stages between two such territories, should be classified as domestic. This applies even though a stage may cross international waters or over the territory of another State.

Freight tonne-kilometres performed measures a metric tonne of freight carried one kilometre. Freight tonne-kilometres equal the sum of the products obtained by multiplying the number of tonnes of freight, express, diplomatic bags carried on each flight stage by the stage distance. For ICAO statistical purposes freight includes express and diplomatic bags but not passenger baggage.

Topic: Infrastructure: Transportation


IndicatorName: Air transport, passengers carried

Longdefinition: Air passengers carried include both domestic and international aircraft passengers of air carriers registered in the country.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
For statistical uses, departures are equal to the number of landings made or flight stages flown. A flight stage is the operation of an aircraft from take-off to its next landing. A flight stage is classified as either international or domestic. International flight stage is one or both terminals in the territory of a State, other than the State in which the air carrier has its principal place of business.

Domestic flight stage is not classifiable as international. Domestic flight stages include all flight stages flown between points within the domestic boundaries of a State by an air carrier whose principal place of business is in that State. Flight stages between a State and territories belonging to it, as well as any flight stages between two such territories, should be classified as domestic. This applies even though a stage may cross international waters or over the territory of another State.

The number of passengers carried is obtained by counting each passenger on a particular flight (with one flight number) once only and not repeatedly on each individual stage of that flight, with a single exception that a passenger flying on both the international and domestic stages of the same flight should be counted as both a domestic and an international passenger.


Developmentrelevance:
Transport infrastructure - highways, railways, ports and waterways, and airports and air traffic control systems - and the services that flow from it are crucial to the activities of households, producers, and governments. Because performance indicators vary widely by transport mode and focus (whether physical infrastructure or the services flowing from that infrastructure), highly specialized and carefully specified indicators are required to measure a country's transport infrastructure.

The railway transport industry a vital engine of global socio-economic growth. It is of vital importance for economic development, creating direct and indirect employment, supporting tourism and local businesses. Economic growth, technological change, and market liberalization affect road transport throughout the world.

Railways have helped in the industrialization process of a country by easy transportation of coal and raw-materials at a cheaper rate. As railways require huge capital outlay, they may give rise to monopolies and work against public interest at large. Even if controlled and managed by the government, lack of competition sometimes results in inefficiency and high costs. Also, many times it is not economical to operate railways in sparsely settled rural areas. Thus, in many developing countries large rural areas have no railway even today.

Rail transport is a major form of passenger and freight transport in many countries. It is ubiquitous in Europe, with an integrated network covering virtually the whole continent. In India, China, South Korea and Japan, many millions use trains as regular transport. In the North America, freight rail transport is widespread and heavily used in for transporting gods. The western Europe region has the highest railway density in the world and has many individual trains which operate through several countries despite technical and organizational differences in each national network. Australia has a generally sparse network, mostly along its densely populated urban centers.

Bulk freight handling is a key advantage for rail transport. Low or even zero transshipment costs combined with energy efficiency and low inventory costs allow trains to handle bulk much cheaper than by road. Typical bulk cargo includes coal, ore, grains and liquids. Bulk goods can be transported in open-topped cars, hopper cars and tank cars. Container trains have become the dominant type in the US for non-bulk haulage.

IndicatorName: Railways, goods transported (million ton-km)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Unlike the road sector, where numerous qualified motor vehicle operators can operate anywhere on the road network, railways are a restricted transport system with vehicles confined to a fixed guideway. Considering the cost and service characteristics, railways generally are best suited to carry - and can effectively compete for - bulk commodities and containerized freight for distances of 500-5,000 kilometers, and passengers for distances of 50-1,000 kilometers. Below these limits road transport tends to be more competitive, while above these limits air transport for passengers and freight and sea transport for freight tend to be more competitive.

Data for transport sectors are not always internationally comparable. Unlike for demographic statistics, national income accounts, and international trade data, the collection of infrastructure data has not been "internationalized."

Longdefinition: Goods transported by railway are the volume of goods transported by railway, measured in metric tons times kilometers traveled.

Source: Internation Union of Railways (UIC), OECD Statistics

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Freight traffic on any mode is typically measured in tons and ton-kilometers. A ton-kilometer equals cargo weight transported times distance transported. For railways, an important measure of work performed is gross ton-kilometers, this measure includes rail wagons' empty weight for both empty and loaded movements. This measure of gross ton-kilometers is also called ‘trailing tons' or the total tons being hauled. Sometimes gross ton-kilometer measures include the weight of locomotives used to haul freight trains.


Developmentrelevance:
Transport infrastructure - highways, railways, ports and waterways, and airports and air traffic control systems - and the services that flow from it are crucial to the activities of households, producers, and governments. Because performance indicators vary widely by transport mode and focus (whether physical infrastructure or the services flowing from that infrastructure), highly specialized and carefully specified indicators are required to measure a country's transport infrastructure.

The railway transport industry a vital engine of global socio-economic growth. It is of vital importance for economic development, creating direct and indirect employment, supporting tourism and local businesses. Economic growth, technological change, and market liberalization affect road transport throughout the world.

Railways have helped in the industrialization process of a country by easy transportation of coal and raw-materials at a cheaper rate. As railways require huge capital outlay, they may give rise to monopolies and work against public interest at large. Even if controlled and managed by the government, lack of competition sometimes results in inefficiency and high costs. Also, many times it is not economical to operate railways in sparsely settled rural areas. Thus, in many developing countries large rural areas have no railway even today.

Rail transport is a major form of passenger and freight transport in many countries. Passenger trains can involve a variety of functions including long distance travel, daily commuter trips, or local urban transit services. Railways are very popular mode of transportation in Europe, with an integrated network covering virtually the whole continent. In India, China, South Korea and Japan, many millions use trains as regular transport. In the North America, freight rail transport is widespread and heavily used in for transporting gods. The western Europe region has the highest railway density in the world and has many individual trains which operate through several countries despite technical and organizational differences in each national network. Australia has a generally sparse network, mostly along its densely populated urban centers.

IndicatorName: Railways, passengers carried (million passenger-km)

Longdefinition: Passengers carried by railway are the number of passengers transported by rail times kilometers traveled.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Passenger-kilometers are usually measured on the basis of the rail travel distance between origin and destination multiplied by the number of passengers traveling between each origin and destination.


Developmentrelevance:
The digital and information revolution has changed the way the world learns, communicates, does business, and treats illnesses. New information and communications technologies (ICT) offer vast opportunities for progress in all walks of life in all countries - opportunities for economic growth, improved health, better service delivery, learning through distance education, and social and cultural advances.

Today's smartphones and tablets have computer power equivalent to that of yesterday's computers and provide a similar range of functions. Device convergence is thus rendering the conventional definition obsolete.

Comparable statistics on access, use, quality, and affordability of ICT are needed to formulate growth-enabling policies for the sector and to monitor and evaluate the sector's impact on development. Although basic access data are available for many countries, in most developing countries little is known about who uses ICT; what they are used for (school, work, business, research, government); and how they affect people and businesses. The global Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development is helping to set standards, harmonize information and communications technology statistics, and build statistical capacity in developing countries. However, despite significant improvements in the developing world, the gap between the ICT haves and have-nots remains.

Generalcomments: Please cite the International Telecommunication Union for third-party use of these data.

IndicatorName: Individuals using the Internet (% of population)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Operators have traditionally been the main source of telecommunications data, so information on subscriptions has been widely available for most countries. This gives a general idea of access, but a more precise measure is the penetration rate - the share of households with access to telecommunications. During the past few years more information on information and communication technology use has become available from household and business surveys. Also important are data on actual use of telecommunications services. Ideally, statistics on telecommunications (and other information and communications technologies) should be compiled for all three measures: subscriptions, access, and use. The quality of data varies among reporting countries as a result of differences in regulations covering data provision and availability.

Discrepancies may also arise in cases where the end of a fiscal year differs from that used by ITU, which is the end of December of every year. A number of countries have fiscal years that end in March or June of every year.

Longdefinition: Internet users are individuals who have used the Internet (from any location) in the last 3 months. The Internet can be used via a computer, mobile phone, personal digital assistant, games machine, digital TV etc.

Source: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: The Internet is a world-wide public computer network. It provides access to a number of communication services including the World Wide Web and carries email, news, entertainment and data files, irrespective of the device used (not assumed to be only via a computer - it may also be by mobile phone, PDA, games machine, digital TV etc.). Access can be via a fixed or mobile network. For additional/latest information on sources and country notes, please also refer to: https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx

Topic: Infrastructure: Communications


IndicatorName: General government final consumption expenditure (annual % growth)

Longdefinition: Annual percentage growth of general government final consumption expenditure based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. General government final consumption expenditure (general government consumption) includes all government current expenditures for purchases of goods and services (including compensation of employees). It also includes most expenditures on national defense and security, but excludes government military expenditures that are part of government capital formation.

Source: World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files.

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt: National accounts: Growth rates


IndicatorName: Household and NPISHs Final consumption expenditure (annual % growth)

Longdefinition: Annual percentage growth of household and NPISHs final consumption expenditure based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. Household and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (formerly private consumption) is the market value of all goods and services, including durable products (such as cars, washing machines, and home computers), purchased by households. It excludes purchases of dwellings but includes imputed rent for owner-occupied dwellings. It also includes payments and fees to governments to obtain permits and licenses. This indicator includes the expenditures of nonprofit institutions serving households even when reported separately by the country.


IndicatorName: Exports of goods and services (annual % growth)

Longdefinition: Annual growth rate of exports of goods and services based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments.


IndicatorName: Exports of goods and services (% of GDP)

Limitationsandexceptions:
Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total.

Data on exports and imports are compiled from customs reports and balance of payments data. Although the data from the payments side provide reasonably reliable records of cross-border transactions, they may not adhere strictly to the appropriate definitions of valuation and timing used in the balance of payments or corresponds to the change-of ownership criterion. This issue has assumed greater significance with the increasing globalization of international business. Neither customs nor balance of payments data usually capture the illegal transactions that occur in many countries. Goods carried by travelers across borders in legal but unreported shuttle trade may further distort trade statistics.

Longdefinition: Exports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services provided to the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) from the expenditure side is made up of household final consumption expenditure, general government final consumption expenditure, gross capital formation (private and public investment in fixed assets, changes in inventories, and net acquisitions of valuables), and net exports (exports minus imports) of goods and services. Such expenditures are recorded in purchaser prices and include net taxes on products.

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt: National accounts: Shares of GDP & other


IndicatorName: Gross capital formation (annual % growth)

Longdefinition: Annual growth rate of gross capital formation based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. Gross capital formation (formerly gross domestic investment) consists of outlays on additions to the fixed assets of the economy plus net changes in the level of inventories. Fixed assets include land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; and the construction of roads, railways, and the like, including schools, offices, hospitals, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings. Inventories are stocks of goods held by firms to meet temporary or unexpected fluctuations in production or sales, and "work in progress." According to the 2008 SNA, net acquisitions of valuables are also considered capital formation.


IndicatorName: Imports of goods and services (annual % growth)

Longdefinition: Annual growth rate of imports of goods and services based on constant local currency. Aggregates are based on constant 2015 prices, expressed in U.S. dollars. Imports of goods and services represent the value of all goods and other market services received from the rest of the world. They include the value of merchandise, freight, insurance, transport, travel, royalties, license fees, and other services, such as communication, construction, financial, information, business, personal, and government services. They exclude compensation of employees and investment income (formerly called factor services) and transfer payments.


Developmentrelevance: Labor productivity is used to assess a country's economic ability to create and sustain decent employment opportunities with fair and equitable remuneration. Productivity increases obtained through investment, trade, technological progress, or changes in work organization can increase social protection and reduce poverty, which in turn reduce vulnerable employment and working poverty. Productivity increases do not guarantee these improvements, but without them—and the economic growth they bring—improvements are highly unlikely. Please also see GDP per person employed (constant 2011 PPP $) [SL.GDP.PCAP.EM.KD], which is a key measure for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goal 8 of promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.

IndicatorName: Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$)

Limitationsandexceptions: For comparability of individual sectors labor productivity is estimated according to national accounts conventions. However, there are still significant limitations on the availability of reliable data. Information on consistent series of output is not easily available, especially in low- and middle-income countries, because the definition, coverage, and methodology are not always consistent across countries. For more details, see Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.AGR.TOTL.KD], Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.IND.TOTL.KD], and Services, value added (constant 2015 US$) [NV.SRV.TOTL.KD].

Longdefinition: Value added per worker is a measure of labor productivity—value added per unit of input. Value added denotes the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. Data are in constant 2015 U.S. dollars. Agriculture corresponds to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) tabulation categories A and B (revision 3) or tabulation category A (revision 4), and includes forestry, hunting, and fishing as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production.

Othernotes: Caution should be used for aggregates (population-weighted averages); world totals can be presented without a large economy such as USA.

Source: Derived using World Bank national accounts data and OECD National Accounts data files, and employment data from International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
Value added per worker is calculated by dividing value added of a sector by the number employed in the sector.
Gross domestic product (GDP) represents the sum of value added by all producers. Value added is the value of the gross output of producers less the value of intermediate goods and services consumed in production, before accounting for consumption of fixed capital in production. The United Nations System of National Accounts calls for value added to be valued at either basic prices (excluding net taxes on products) or producer prices (including net taxes on products paid by producers but excluding sales or value added taxes). Both valuations exclude transport charges that are invoiced separately by producers. Value added by industry is normally measured at basic prices, while total GDP is measured at purchaser prices.
Data on employment are modeled estimates by the International Labour Organization (ILO) ILOSTAT database. The concept of employment generally refers to people above a certain age who worked, or who held a job, during a reference period. Employment data include both full-time and part-time workers.

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt: National accounts: US$ at constant 2015 prices: Value added


IndicatorName: Industry (including construction), value added per worker (constant 2015 US$)

Longdefinition: Value added per worker is a measure of labor productivity—value added per unit of input. Value added denotes the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. Data are in constant 2015 U.S. dollars. Industry corresponds to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) tabulation categories C-F (revision 3) or tabulation categories B-F (revision 4), and includes mining and quarrying (including oil production), manufacturing, construction, and public utilities (electricity, gas, and water).


Aggregationmethod: Gap-filled total

Developmentrelevance:
Firms typically use multiple processes to produce a product. For example, an automobile manufacturer engages in forging, welding, and painting as well as advertising, accounting, and other service activities. Collecting data at such a detailed level is not practical, nor is it useful to record production data at the highest level of a large, multiplant, multiproduct firm. The ISIC has therefore adopted as the definition of an establishment "an enterprise or part of an enterprise which independently engages in one, or predominantly one, kind of economic activity at or from one location . . . for which data are available . . ." (United Nations 1990). By design, this definition matches the reporting unit required for the production accounts of the United Nations System of National Accounts.

The ISIC system is described in the United Nations' International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities, Third Revision (1990). The discussion of the ISIC draws on Ryten (1998).

Generalcomments: Note: Data for OECD countries are based on ISIC, revision 4.

IndicatorName: Manufacturing, value added (current US$)

Limitationsandexceptions: In establishing classifications systems compilers must define both the types of activities to be described and the units whose activities are to be reported. There are many possibilities, and the choices affect how the statistics can be interpreted and how useful they are in analyzing economic behavior. The ISIC emphasizes commonalities in the production process and is explicitly not intended to measure outputs (for which there is a newly developed Central Product Classification). Nevertheless, the ISIC views an activity as defined by "a process resulting in a homogeneous set of products."

Longdefinition: Manufacturing refers to industries belonging to ISIC divisions 15-37. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources. The origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 3. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology:
The data on manufacturing value added in U.S. dollars are from the World Bank's national accounts files and may differ from those UNIDO uses to calculate shares of value added by industry, in part because of differences in exchange rates. Thus value added in a particular industry estimated by applying the shares to total manufacturing value added will not match those from UNIDO sources. Classification of manufacturing industries accords with the United Nations International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) revision 3.

Data prior to 2008 used revision 2, first published in 1948. Revision 3 was completed in 1989, and many countries now use it. But revision 2 is still widely used for compiling cross-country data. UNIDO has converted these data to accord with revision 3. Concordances matching ISIC categories to national classification systems and to related systems such as the Standard International Trade Classification are available.

Topic: Economic Policy & Debt: National accounts: US$ at current prices: Value added


IndicatorName: Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP)

Limitationsandexceptions: Ideally, industrial output should be measured through regular censuses and surveys of firms. But in most developing countries such surveys are infrequent, so earlier survey results must be extrapolated using an appropriate indicator. The choice of sampling unit, which may be the enterprise (where responses may be based on financial records) or the establishment (where production units may be recorded separately), also affects the quality of the data. Moreover, much industrial production is organized in unincorporated or owner-operated ventures that are not captured by surveys aimed at the formal sector. Even in large industries, where regular surveys are more likely, evasion of excise and other taxes and nondisclosure of income lower the estimates of value added. Such problems become more acute as countries move from state control of industry to private enterprise, because new firms and growing numbers of established firms fail to report. In accordance with the System of National Accounts, output should include all such unreported activity as well as the value of illegal activities and other unrecorded, informal, or small-scale operations. Data on these activities need to be collected using techniques other than conventional surveys of firms.

Longdefinition: Manufacturing refers to industries belonging to ISIC divisions 15-37. Value added is the net output of a sector after adding up all outputs and subtracting intermediate inputs. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or depletion and degradation of natural resources. The origin of value added is determined by the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 3. Note: For VAB countries, gross value added at factor cost is used as the denominator.

Statisticalconceptandmethodology: Gross domestic product (GDP) represents the sum of value added by all its producers. Value added is the value of the gross output of producers less the value of intermediate goods and services consumed in production, before accounting for consumption of fixed capital in production. The United Nations System of National Accounts calls for value added to be valued at either basic prices (excluding net taxes on products) or producer prices (including net taxes on products paid by producers but excluding sales or value added taxes). Both valuations exclude transport charges that are invoiced separately by producers. Total GDP is measured at purchaser prices. Value added by industry is normally measured at basic prices.