IBRD only: Gross capital formation (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, IBRD only's gross capital formation (% of GDP) fell 0.54 percentage points on 2023 (from 32.93% to 32.39%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.67 percentage points in 1970 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.38 percentage points in 1961. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

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 as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

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 weighted average.

All 65 values

Gross capital formation (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Algeria — 45.27% (2025)
• Bahrain — 28.36% (2024)
• Djibouti — 1.55% (2025)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 12.89% (2025)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 41.77% (2025)
• Iraq — 19.14% (2024)
• Israel — 24.35% (2025)
• Kuwait — 15.1% (2024)
• Lebanon — 1.44% (2024)
• Libya — 14.27% (2025)
• Malta — 18.71% (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for IBRD only

• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$129.32 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$11.74 billion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (current US$) — US$11.25 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 26.13% (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$) — US$10.56 trillion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 24.53% (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) — 1.61% (2025)
• Trade (% of GDP) — 49.3% (2025)
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is IBRD only's gross capital formation (% of GDP)?

32.39% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1960?

It is up 7.22 percentage points from 25.16% in 1960. The highest value was 34.27% in 2021 and the lowest 18.34% in 1962.

Is the latest change in gross capital formation (% of GDP) unusual for IBRD only?

In 2024, IBRD only's gross capital formation (% of GDP) fell 0.54 percentage points on 2023 (from 32.93% to 32.39%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.21 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.74 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, 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).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NE.GDI.TOTL.ZS, 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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