High income: Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, High income's gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$) rose 1.1% on 2023 (from US$13.53 trillion to US$13.68 trillion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +2.5% and a typical year strayed about 4.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.7% in 1984 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.2% in 2009. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$288.13 billion a year. A straight line explains 91% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$14.73 trillion for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$159.73 billion, against US$638.38 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Gross capital formation includes acquisitions less disposals of produced assets for purposes of fixed capital formation, inventories or valuables. This indicator is expressed in constant prices, meaning the series has been adjusted to account for price changes over time. The reference year for this adjustment is 2015. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: Because policymakers have tended to focus on fostering the growth of output, and because data on production are easier to collect than data on spending, many countries generate their primary estimate of GDP using the production approach. Moreover, many countries do not estimate all the components of national expenditures but instead derive some of the main aggregates indirectly using GDP (based on the production approach) as the control total. Data on capital formation may be estimated from direct surveys of enterprises and administrative records or based on the commodity flow method using data from production, trade, and construction activities.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 55 values

Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$) in nearby economies

• Algeria — US$118.45 billion (2025)
• Bahrain — US$12.01 billion (2024)
• Djibouti — −US$82.41 million (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$44.09 billion (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$184.32 billion (2025)
• Iraq — US$14.54 billion (2024)
• Israel — US$103.93 billion (2025)
• Kuwait — US$23.28 billion (2024)
• Lebanon — US$89.93 million (2024)
• Libya — US$7.95 billion (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for High income

• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$1.87 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$76.88 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$60.73 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$53,997 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$42,653 (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$76.76 trillion (2025)
• GDP (annual % growth) — 1.91% (2025)
• GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.49% (2025)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Austria (current US$) — US$327,620 (2023)
• Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Belgium (current US$)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is High income's gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$)?

US$13.68 trillion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 252% from US$3.89 trillion in 1970 (2.36% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$13.68 trillion in 2024 and the lowest US$3.89 trillion in 1970.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.GDI.TOTL.KD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Organizations and/or Central Banks; National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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