High-income economy

A high-income economy is a country or area where people earn a lot of money on average. To be called a high-income economy, a place needs to have a gross national income (GNI) per person above $13,935 for the year 2026, based on data from 2024. This way of measuring uses something called the World Bank's Atlas method.

As of 2025, about 87 places around the world are considered high-income economies. Some big, well-known countries like the United States, Germany, and Japan are in this group. But there are also smaller places such as Andorra, Bahrain, and some Caribbean islands that make high incomes from tourism or selling resources.

Other groups, like the Central Intelligence Agency or the International Monetary Fund, look at more than just how much money people make when they decide if a country is "developed" or "advanced." For example, the United Nations says that some high-income countries are still considered developing. The GCC countries are one example of this. Even though Vatican City is its own country, it is not classified by the World Bank as a high-income economy.

List of high-income economies (for 2026 fiscal year)

According to the World Bank, 87 countries and areas are called "high-income economies." This means they had a certain amount of money earned per person in 2024 — $13,935 or more. The list includes both big countries and smaller places.

Some places used to be high-income but are not anymore. The years they were on the list are shown in parentheses. For example, the Netherlands Antilles was part of this group from 1994 to 2009 before it dissolved in 2010, and was succeeded by Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Historical thresholds

The high-income threshold started in 1989 at US$6,000 in 1987 prices. Each year, the threshold changed based on average inflation in big countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, and the eurozone. This kept the threshold the same in real value over time. To avoid countries being right on the line, numbers are rounded.

The table below shows the high-income threshold from 1987 onward. Countries with a GNI per capita above this line are called "high-income economies" by the World Bank.