The work presented here represents the most recent achievement in a long-term program to estimate wealth and its components for a large set of countries.
In speaking of wealth we are returning to the ideas of the classical economists, who viewed land, labor, and produced capital as the primary factors of production. The estimates presented here measure total wealth as composed by:
- Produced capital - the sum of machinery, equipment, structures (including infrastructure), and urban land;
Natural capital - including land resources, forests and sub-soil assets; Intangible capital - a wide array of assets such as human capital, quality of institutions, and governance.
Methods and Tools for Wealth Estimation
Estimating Natural Capital: A guide - 2006 (PDF, 177 kb)
Wealth Estimate Worksheet - an example of methodology, formulas and assumptions used to create wealth estimates. (Excel, 67 kb)
The composition of wealth across income groups
Source: World Bank, 2006, Where is the wealth of nations?, Washington DC
In all countries, intangible capital is, by far, the largest share of wealth. However, for the poorest countries, natural capital is more important than produced capital. This suggests that properly managing natural resources must be a key part of development strategies, particularly since the poorest households in those countries are usually the most dependent on these resources.
Wealth Estimates Data
The World Bank publishes this data every five years. Data for 2005 will be available in the Fall of 2010.Â
Wealth estimates by country: 2000 (82 kb)
Wealth composition by region and income group: 2000 (29 kb)
Natural capital composition by region and income group: 2000 (33 kb)
 |
RSS