1.4 Trends in long-term economic
development About the data
Definitions
Data sources
About the data
The long-term trends shown in this table provide a view of the relative rates of change
of key social and economic indicators over the past 31 years. Like all averages, they
reflect the general tendency but may disguise considerable year-to-year variation,
especially in economic indicators. In viewing these growth rates, it may be helpful to
keep in mind that a quantity growing at 2.3 percent a year will double in 30 years, while
a quantity growing at 7 percent a year will double in 10 years.
All the indicators shown here appear elsewhere in the World Development Indicators.
For more information about them, see About the data for tables 1.1 (gross national
product and GNP per capita), 2.1 (population), 2.3 (labor force), 4.1 (value added by
industrial origin), 4.8 (exports of goods and services), and 4.9 (private consumption).
Definitions
Average annual growth rates of gross national product, value added,
private consumption, gross domestic fixed investment, and exports of goods and
services are calculated from data in 1987 constant prices using the least-squares
method. See Statistical methods for more information on the calculation of growth rates.
Gross national product is the sum of value added by all resident
producers plus any taxes (less subsidies) that are not included in the valuation of output
plus net receipts of primary income (employee compensation and property income) from
nonresident sources. Growth is calculated from constant price GNP in national currency
units. GNP per capita is gross national product divided by midyear
population. Average annual growth of total population and labor force is
calculated using the exponential endpoint method. Labor force comprises
all people who meet the International Labour Organizations definition of the
economically active population. 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 industrial origin of value added is determined by
the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), revision 2. Agriculture
is the value added of ISIC major divisions 15. Industry is
the value added of ISIC division 1015. Services is the value
added in ISIC divisions 1537. Private consumption is the market
value of all goods and services, including durable products, purchased or received as
income in kind by households and nonprofit institutions. It excludes purchases of
dwellings but includes imputed rent for owner-occupied dwellings. Exports
of goods and services is the value of all goods and market services provided to the
rest of the world.
Data sources
The indicators here and throughout the rest of the book have been compiled by World
Bank staff from primary and secondary sources. More information about the indicators and
their sources can be found in the About the data, Definitions, and Data
sources entries that accompany each table in subsequent sections.
THE WORLD BANK METHODOLOGY:
----- On External Debt
Definitions
Debt
indicators
----- On WORLD DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS
Size of the economy
Quality of life
Development progress
Trends in long-term development
Long-term structural change
Key indicators for other economies
Population
Land use and deforestation
Growth of output
Credit, investment and expenditures
Integration with the global economy
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