World development data, made comparable

Read a market in context,
not as a single number.

Compare long-term economic and digital indicators with the source year, methodology and missing data kept visible.

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World Bank data

Latest comparable view

Current account balance

Net current transactions with the rest of the world relative to GDP. How to read this indicator

% of GDP
Recent observations. Years with no reported value remain blank.
YearUnited Arab EmiratesUnited States
2025Not available-3.63%
202414.48%-4.05%
202313.13%-3.34%
2022Not available-3.81%
2021Not available-3.62%
2020Not available-2.78%
2019Not available-2.05%
2018Not available-2.13%
2017Not available-1.87%
2016Not available-2.11%

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Retrieved 2026-08-26. Values can be revised by the source.

01

Why the year matters

A country can look stronger simply because one series is newer. We display each observation year instead of pretending every value is current.

02

Change needs a baseline

The latest number alone says little about direction. Every card compares it with an available observation roughly five years earlier.

03

National data has limits

These indicators describe whole economies. They do not capture city-level costs, sector regulation or the experience of an individual company.

Learn the method

Read the measure before the ranking

Original guides to the definitions and traps behind familiar country statistics.

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