The World Bank WDI Framework
The World Development Indicators (WDI) framework serves as the premier global benchmark for monitoring the state of nations and the well-being of their people. By integrating 200 key indicators across diverse sectors—ranging from economic growth and environmental sustainability to poverty reduction and social equity—this comprehensive data ecosystem provides policymakers, researchers, and citizens with the vital evidence needed to address complex global challenges. As a unified diagnostic tool, the WDI framework transforms raw statistics into a coherent narrative of human progress, ensuring that development efforts are both measurable and impactful on a global scale.
Key Pillars of the WDI Framework
To better understand how these 200 indicators are organized, they are typically grouped into six primary thematic areas:
Poverty and Inequality: Tracking income distribution and basic living standards.
People: Focus on health, education, and gender equality.
Environment: Measuring natural resources, pollution, and climate resilience.
Economy: Analyzing GDP growth, trade, and fiscal stability.
States and Markets: Evaluating business climate, infrastructure, and governance.
Global Links: Monitoring international debt, financial flows, and tourism.
Driving Data-Informed Decisions
The true power of the World Bank WDI Framework lies not just in the volume of data it collects, but in its ability to foster transparency and accountability across the globe. By providing a common language for development, these 200 indicators empower nations to benchmark their successes, identify critical gaps, and align their national strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In an increasingly interconnected world, the WDI remains an indispensable compass, guiding the international community toward a future that is more equitable, resilient, and data-driven.
World Bank World Development Indicators (WDI)
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Marine & Water | 1. Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters) |
| 2. Fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels (%) | |
| 3. Aquaculture production (metric tons) | |
| 4. Capture fisheries production (metric tons) | |
| 5. Total fisheries production (metric tons) | |
| 6. Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) | |
| 7. Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita ($m^3$) | |
| Biodiversity & Land | 8. Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) |
| 9. Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territory) | |
| 10. Bird species, threatened (number) | |
| 11. Fish species, threatened (number) | |
| 12. Mammal species, threatened (number) | |
| 13. Plant species (higher), threatened (number) | |
| 14. Forest area (% of land area) | |
| 15. Forest area (sq. km) | |
| Climate & Emissions | 16. $CO_2$ emissions (metric tons per capita) |
| 17. Total greenhouse gas emissions (kt of $CO_2$ equivalent) | |
| 18. Methane emissions (kt of $CO_2$ equivalent) | |
| 19. Nitrous oxide emissions (thousand metric tons of $CO_2$ eq) | |
| 20. Other greenhouse gas emissions (kt of $CO_2$ equivalent) | |
| 21. PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure ($\mu g/m^3$) | |
| Energy & Infrastructure | 22. Access to electricity (% of population) |
| 23. Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy) | |
| 24. Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity) | |
| 25. Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) | |
| 26. Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) | |
| Economic Context | 27. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) |
| 28. Adjusted savings: natural resources depletion (% of GNI) | |
| 29. Adjusted savings: net forest depletion (% of GNI) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Poverty & Equality | 30. Proportion of population living below $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) |
| 31. Multidimensional Poverty Index (headcount ratio) | |
| 32. Income share held by lowest 20% | |
| 33. Gini index (Measure of income inequality) | |
| 34. Proportion of people living in slums (% of urban population) | |
| Education & Literacy | 35. Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) |
| 36. Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) | |
| 37. Government expenditure on education, total (% of GDP) | |
| 38. School enrollment, primary and secondary (gender parity index) | |
| 39. Trained teachers in primary education (% of total teachers) | |
| Health & Demographics | 40. Life expectancy at birth, total (years) |
| 41. Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | |
| 42. Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) | |
| 43. Prevalence of undernourishment (% of population) | |
| 44. Incidence of HIV (% of uninfected population ages 15-49) | |
| 45. Physicians (per 1,000 people) | |
| Economic Growth | 46. GDP growth (annual %) |
| 47. GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) | |
| 48. Gross capital formation (% of GDP) | |
| 49. Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) | |
| 50. Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) | |
| Global Links & Tech | 51. Personal remittances, received (% of GDP) |
| 52. Foreign direct investment, net inflows (% of GDP) | |
| 53. Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | |
| 54. High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) | |
| 55. Fixed broadband subscriptions (per 100 people) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Industry & Innovation | 56. Manufacturing value added (% of GDP) |
| 57. Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) | |
| 58. Researchers in R&D (per million people) | |
| 59. Patent applications, residents | |
| 60. Medium and high-tech manufacturing (% of manufacturing value added) | |
| Sustainable Cities | 61. Urban population (% of total population) |
| 62. PM2.5 air pollution, population-weighted exposure ($\mu g/m^3$) | |
| 63. Access to improved sanitation facilities (% of population) | |
| 64. Population living in areas where elevation is below 5m (%) | |
| 65. Passenger cars (per 1,000 people) | |
| Governance & Security | 66. Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) |
| 67. Military expenditure (% of GDP) | |
| 68. Statistical Performance Index (overall score 0-100) | |
| 69. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%) | |
| 70. Time required to start a business (days) | |
| Global Partnerships | 71. Net official development assistance (ODA) received (current US$) |
| 72. Debt service (PPG and IMF only, % of exports of goods, services and primary income) | |
| 73. Merchandise trade (% of GDP) | |
| 74. Customs and other import duties (% of tax revenue) | |
| 75. Logistics Performance Index: Overall (1=low to 5=high) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Financial Sector | 76. Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) |
| 77. Broad money (% of GDP) | |
| 78. Stocks traded, total value (% of GDP) | |
| 79. Real interest rate (%) | |
| 80. Bank nonperforming loans to total gross loans (%) | |
| 81. Automated teller machines (ATMs) (per 100,000 adults) | |
| Labor & Employment | 82. Labor force participation rate, total (% of population ages 15+) |
| 83. Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) | |
| 84. Vulnerable employment, total (% of total employment) | |
| 85. Wage and salaried workers, total (% of total employment) | |
| 86. Children in employment, total (% of children ages 7-14) | |
| 87. Labor productivity (GDP per person employed, constant PPP $) | |
| Social Protection | 88. Coverage of social protection and labor programs (% of population) |
| 89. Adequacy of social safety net benefits (% of total welfare) | |
| 90. Public spending on social protection (% of GDP) | |
| 91. Pension beneficiaries (% of population ages 65+) | |
| 92. Benefit incidence, social insurance to poorest quintile (%) | |
| Gender & Social | 93. Proportion of women in managerial positions (%) |
| 94. Firms with female participation in ownership (%) | |
| 95. Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) | |
| 96. Women who believe a husband is justified in beating his wife (%) | |
| 97. Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) | |
| Agriculture & Food | 98. Agricultural land (% of land area) |
| 99. Arable land (hectares per person) | |
| 100. Fertilizer consumption (kilograms per hectare of arable land) | |
| 101. Agricultural machinery, tractors (per 100 sq. km of arable land) | |
| 102. Cereal yield (kg per hectare) | |
| 103. Food production index (2014-2016 = 100) | |
| External Debt/Trade | 104. Total debt service (% of GNI) |
| 105. Short-term debt (% of total external debt) | |
| 106. Foreign direct investment, net outflows (% of GDP) | |
| 107. Terms of trade adjustment (constant LCU) | |
| 108. Net barter terms of trade index (2015 = 100) | |
| 109. Export value index (2015 = 100) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Public Sector & Policy | 110. Government effectiveness: Percentile rank (0-100) |
| 111. Control of corruption: Percentile rank (0-100) | |
| 112. Rule of law: Percentile rank (0-100) | |
| 113. Voice and accountability: Percentile rank (0-100) | |
| 114. Regulatory quality: Percentile rank (0-100) | |
| 115. Political stability and absence of violence (Score) | |
| Macroeconomic Stability | 116. Central government debt, total (% of GDP) |
| 117. Total reserves (includes gold, current US$) | |
| 118. Current account balance (% of GDP) | |
| 119. Tax revenue (% of GDP) | |
| 120. Real effective exchange rate index (2010 = 100) | |
| Social Justice & Health | 121. Prevalence of stunting, height for age (% of children < 5) |
| 122. Prevalence of wasting, weight for height (% of children < 5) | |
| 123. Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) | |
| 124. Incidence of tuberculosis (per 100,000 people) | |
| 125. Out-of-pocket health expenditure (% of current health expenditure) | |
| Infrastructure & Tech | 126. Logistics Performance Index: Quality of trade infrastructure |
| 127. Electric power transmission and distribution losses (%) | |
| 128. Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking (%) | |
| 129. Secure Internet servers (per 1 million people) | |
| 130. High-technology exports (current US$) | |
| Energy & Climate | 131. Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) |
| 132. Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2017 PPP GDP) | |
| 133. Methane emissions in agriculture (thousand metric tons) | |
| 134. Nitrous oxide emissions in agriculture (thousand metric tons) | |
| 135. Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) | |
| Education Quality | 136. Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) |
| 137. Pupil-teacher ratio, primary | |
| 138. Children out of school, primary | |
| 139. PISA scales in reading, math, and science (Average) | |
| 140. School enrollment, tertiary (% gross) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Migration & Displacement | 141. Net migration (total number of people) |
| 142. Refugees by country of origin (number) | |
| 143. Refugees by country of asylum (number) | |
| 144. Internally displaced persons, new displacement (conflict/violence) | |
| 145. Internally displaced persons, new displacement (disasters) | |
| 146. Recruitment cost borne by employee (% of yearly income) | |
| Health Systems | 147. Universal health coverage (UHC) service coverage index |
| 148. Number of people pushed below $2.15/day by health spending | |
| 149. Community health workers (per 1,000 people) | |
| 150. Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) | |
| 151. Cause of death, by non-communicable diseases (% of total) | |
| 152. Mortality from CVD, cancer, diabetes between exact ages 30-70 (%) | |
| Food & Social Safety | 153. Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity (SDG 2.1.2) |
| 154. Children with acute respiratory infection taken to a health provider (%) | |
| 155. Children (0-59 months) with diarrhea receiving ORS (%) | |
| 156. Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) | |
| 157. Exclusive breastfeeding (% of children under 6 months) | |
| Global Partnership (SDG 17) | 158. Total official development assistance (ODA) disbursed (current US$) |
| 159. Volume of remittances (US$) as a % of GDP | |
| 160. Average transaction cost of sending remittances (%) | |
| 161. Debt service on external debt, public and publicly guaranteed (%) | |
| 162. Fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions (per 100) | |
| 163. Export value index (2015 = 100) | |
| Environmental Risk | 164. Disaster risk reduction score (0-100) |
| 165. Population living in areas where elevation is below 5m (%) | |
| 166. Annual freshwater withdrawals, agriculture (% of total) | |
| 167. Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as % of resources | |
| Human Rights & Data | 168. Proportion of children under 5 whose births have been registered |
| 169. Statistical Capacity score (Country assessment 0-100) | |
| 170. Open Data Inventory (ODIN) score | |
| 171. Completeness of death registration with cause-of-death info (%) | |
| Advanced Economic | 172. Adjusted net savings, including particulate emission damage (% GNI) |
| 173. Total natural resources rents (% of GDP) | |
| 174. Research and development expenditure (% of GDP) | |
| 175. High-technology exports (current US$) |
| Category | Indicator Name |
| Agricultural Inputs | 176. Surface area (sq. km) |
| 177. Agricultural irrigated land (% of total agricultural land) | |
| 178. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added per worker (constant 2015 US$) | |
| 179. Food production index (2014-2016 = 100) | |
| 180. Livestock production index (2014-2016 = 100) | |
| States & Markets | 181. Market capitalization of listed domestic companies (% of GDP) |
| 182. S&P Global Equity Indices (annual % change) | |
| 183. New businesses registered (number) | |
| 184. Cost of business start-up procedures (% of GNI per capita) | |
| 185. Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) | |
| Logistics & Infrastructure | 186. Logistics Performance Index: Ease of arranging competitively priced shipments |
| 187. Logistics Performance Index: Frequency with which shipments reach consignee | |
| 188. Container port traffic (TEU: 20 foot equivalent units) | |
| 189. Air transport, passengers carried (number) | |
| 190. Air transport, freight (million ton-km) | |
| Environmental Risk | 191. Droughts, floods, extreme temperatures (% of population, average 1990-2009) |
| 192. GHG net emissions/removals by LUCF (Mt of $CO_2$ equivalent) | |
| 193. Energy use (kg of oil equivalent) per $1,000 GDP (constant 2017 PPP) | |
| 194. $CO_2$ emissions from liquid fuel consumption (kt) | |
| 195. $CO_2$ emissions from gaseous fuel consumption (kt) | |
| Demographics & Data | 196. Age dependency ratio, young (% of working-age population) |
| 197. Age dependency ratio, old (% of working-age population) | |
| 198. Refugee population by territory of asylum (number) | |
| 199. Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) | |
| 200. Statistical Performance Index (SPI): Data Services (0-100 score) |
A Blueprint for Sustainable Development
Ultimately, the World Bank WDI Framework is more than a statistical repository; it is a vital diagnostic tool for the planet’s health and prosperity. By condensing the complexities of global shift into 200 integrated indicators, the framework bridges the gap between abstract policy and lived reality. It provides the empirical foundation necessary to turn data into action, ensuring that no population is left behind in the pursuit of sustainable growth. As we look toward future challenges, the WDI will continue to evolve, offering the clarity and insight required to build a more prosperous and inclusive world for all.
