The statistical annex reports statistics for nearly all world countries, and also aggregations of indicators over country groups developed for benchmarking and analysis. The table indicating the countries that belong to each group is among the files available in the annex. The country groups featured in the analysis are the following:
The five regions of the African Union (Central Africa, East Africa, North Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa, as defined by the Abuja Treaty)
Africa and benchmark country groupings (Africa, Asian countries excluding high-income countries, Latin America and Caribbean countries, and the World)
Resource-rich countries
Countries that obtain a significant fraction of their GDP from underground natural-resource extraction are referred to as “resource-rich”. These resource endowments can have major implications for economic, political, and social development. In this report, countries are identified as resource-rich based on whether, over the previous decade, the estimated contribution of the extraction of hydrocarbons, coal and minerals to economic output exceeds 10% of GDP in at least five years.
The World Bank divides the countries of the world into four categories based on GNI per capita, using their Atlas Method:1 low-income countries, lower middle-income countries, upper middle-income countries, and high-income countries.
The report provides a breakdown between countries that are landlocked, countries that have a portion of coastline, and island nations. Gaining access to world trade can be complicated by a country’s access to the ocean or lack thereof, while island nations have been shown to have different development patterns than other coastal nations. In addition to this three-way breakdown of countries, this report provides data on countries deemed “Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC)” and “Small Island Developing States (SIDS)” by the UN Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS).2
The UN-OHRLLS classifies some countries as “Least Developed Countries (LDC)”. This categorisation of countries was officially established in 1971, by the UN General Assembly, and represents countries that face low levels of socio-economic development. Countries are designated as LDC countries based on income criteria, the health and education of their populations, and their economic vulnerability.
The OECD studies fragility as a multi-dimensional concept of risks that could pose a critical challenge to the ability of countries to achieve their development aspirations, in particular the goals outlined by the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Based on the results of this research, presented in the OECD States of Fragility report, countries are categorised as being “fragile” or “extremely fragile”.
Partnerships of countries formed for the purposes of regional integration or co-operation that have economic or political significance and that are particularly relevant to an analysis of African economic performance are included here. This includes the eight Regional Economic Communities (REC) recognised by the African Union, as well as other regional and international organisations, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR), the European Union (EU) and the OECD that serve as benchmarks. Aggregate figures for PALOP (Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, the Portuguese-speaking African countries) were included in response to a request from members of this country grouping.
