Six economies have moved into higher income groups in the World Bank’s latest classification, with Jordan, Micronesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam joining the upper-middle-income category and Togo moving up from low-income status.
The changes are part of the World Bank Group’s 2026-2027 country income classifications, which cover 218 economies and are based on gross national income (GNI) per person recorded in 2025. The new classifications took effect in July 2026 and will remain in place until the end of June 2027.
The World Bank said the upgrades were driven by different economic developments across the six countries, including recovery from major crises, strong export growth, changes to population estimates and updates to national economic data.
"Since 1987, the global income classification landscape has changed significantly, with the share of economies classified as low-income declining from 30% to 11%," the World Bank said.
Viet Nam was among the strongest performers in the latest review, helped by continued growth in its export-driven economy. Its exports rose by more than 15% in both 2024 and 2025, while GDP expanded by 7% in 2024 and 8% in 2025.
The country's GNI also increased at an average annual rate of 10% between 2021 and 2025, supporting its move from the lower-middle-income group to the upper-middle-income category.
The Philippines also moved into the upper-middle-income group after recording steady growth across its economy. GDP increased by an average of 5.8% each year over the five-year period, with expansion spread across major industries instead of being dependent on one sector.
Sri Lanka's upgrade came after the country continued to recover from the severe economic crisis experienced in 2022. Real GDP grew by 5% in 2025, with the recovery supported by activity across several industries as well as stronger performance in financial and tourism services.
Micronesia also moved up, although the World Bank described its progress as modest and steady. The economy has been recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, with construction and agriculture providing much of the growth.
However, falling net primary income reduced part of the gains made during the recovery.
Jordan's new classification was largely the result of changes to how the size of its economy was measured. A rebasing exercise carried out by the country's Department of Statistics found that the economy was nearly 10% larger than earlier estimates had shown.
The revision followed the use of updated surveys, additional data sources and improved methods for compiling national accounts.
Togo's move from low-income to lower-middle-income status was mainly influenced by a change in its population estimate after the 2022 census. The revised figure reduced the estimated population by 11.7%, raising income per person even though total income did not increase by the same amount.
The World Bank also noted that Togo's GDP grew by 5.9% in 2025, adding to the country's improved income position.
The World Bank places economies into four broad groups: low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income and high-income. The classifications are based on GNI per capita calculated using the Atlas methodology, which helps reduce the effect of short-term movements in exchange rates.
"The update matters because the classifications inform which countries can access concessional loans and development assistance, and help governments, researchers and a wide range of international organizations track economic progress worldwide," the World Bank explained.
The income groups are reviewed every year using new economic and population information, changes in national accounts and revisions to underlying data. The income thresholds are also adjusted to take inflation into account.
The World Bank said the classifications should not be viewed as a complete measure of development because income levels do not capture every part of a country's economic and social progress.
However, it said four decades of annual income data provide a useful way of following changes in the global economy and measuring how countries' income levels have evolved over time.