{ "title": "World Economic Outlook Database for April 2005", "publication": "World Economic Outlook", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april", "overlayPath": "/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april/index.md", "summary": "The WEO database is created during the biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) exercise. Selected series that are available in the WEO publication are now available on this website.", "sections": [ { "heading": "About the WEO database and production", "content": "- The WEO database is created during the biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) exercise, which begins in January and June and results in the April and September WEO publication.\n- Selected series from the WEO publication are released on the website on the day of the WEO press conference.\n- The WEO exercise is coordinated by the World Economic Studies Division in the Research Department.\n- Projections and analysis are an integral element of the IMF's surveillance of economic development and policies in member countries and of the global economic system.\n- The survey of prospects and policies is the product of a comprehensive interdepartmental review drawing primarily on information IMF staff gather through consultations with member countries.\n- WEO projections are prepared by IMF country economists based on internationally consistent assumptions about world economic activity, exchange rates, and conditions in international financial and commodity markets.\n- Advanced economies and the largest developing countries which account for 90 percent of world output provide a full set of projections for each WEO exercise.\n- Most smaller countries provide updates of key variables for each WEO exercise and a full set of projections at the time of the IMF's regular Article IV consultations unless world developments necessitate more frequent updates." }, { "heading": "Key updates and historical changes (selected)", "content": "- April 2005:\n - Data for Afghanistan are included.\n - The base year for time series expressed in index form has been re-indexed to 2000.\n - El Salvador currency has been changed to dollar.\n - London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) series are included for euro area, Japan and the United states.\n - The purchasing power parity (PPP) weights have been updated to reflect the most up-to-date PPP conversion factor provided by the World Bank.\n- September 2004:\n - The European Union added 10 new member nations on May 1, 2004, enlarging the group to a total of 25 countries: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia.\n- April 2004:\n - The former three-way split of the world has been revised to two categories: “advanced economies” and “other emerging market and developing countries.”\n - Turkey and Malta are now included in Central and Eastern Europe.\n - Timor-Leste, Dem. Rep. of is now included in the WEO database.\n - Current account balance projections are now included for all countries.\n - The PPP weights updated to reflect new price surveys using the new benchmark year of 2000.\n- Other historical notes:\n - April 2003: Growth and inflation projections for Serbia and Montenegro are included.\n - September 2003: No changes were introduced.\n - September 2002: Growth and inflation projections are included for all countries through 2003.\n - Multiple earlier adjustments to group compositions and classifications are noted for 2001 and 2002." }, { "heading": "Data conventions and availability", "content": "- End dates of country-specific series correspond to those appearing in the WEO publication.\n- Series expressed in index form are based on 2000=100 except for the GDP deflator, which is expressed in the base year of each country's national accounts.\n- Not all data appearing in the WEO publication are disseminated through the site; additional data may be released over time.\n- Domestic economy series are expressed in billions of national currency units.\n- External accounts series are expressed in billions of U.S. dollars.\n- Missing data are indicated by \"N/A\".\n- Unavailable data are indicated by a blank." }, { "heading": "Data coverage by series (high-level)", "content": "- Gross Domestic Product, Constant Prices (national currency and annual percent change)\n - Real GDP is expressed in billions of national currency units; the base year is country-specific.\n - Annual percentages of constant price GDP are year-on-year changes.\n - Group aggregates are available in growth rate form only because aggregates are created from percent changes rather than levels.\n - Chain-weighted methodology applies for listed countries; earlier data for specified years are based on unrevised national accounts (see country-specific notes).\n - The percent changes in 2002 for Cameroon are calculated over a period of 18 months.\n- Gross Domestic Product, Current Prices (national currency and U.S. dollars)\n - GDP is expressed in billions of national currency units and in U.S. dollars based on currency conversions and exchange rate projections described for groups.\n- Per Capita GDP (constant and current prices; national currency and U.S. dollars)\n - Derived by dividing GDP by total population as specified per measure.\n- GDP Deflator (index and annual percent change)\n - Derived by dividing current price GDP by constant price GDP; data expressed in the base year of each country's national accounts.\n- Output Gap (ratio to potential GDP)\n - Output gaps for advanced economies are calculated as actual GDP less potential GDP as a percent of potential GDP; estimates are subject to significant margin of uncertainty.\n- Savings and Investment (percent of GDP)\n - Based on national accounts; country group composites calculated as sum of U.S. dollar values for relevant countries.\n- GDP Based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Valuation\n - Data form the basis for country weights used to generate WEO country group composites; IMF is not a primary source for PPP data.\n- Inflation (consumer prices; index and annual percent change)\n - Data are averages for the year, not end-of-period data; index is based on 2000=100.\n - Euro area countries and the United Kingdom use Eurostat's harmonized index of consumer prices.\n - New Zealand: excluding interest rate components.\n - Data for Islamic Republic of Iran refer to fiscal year.\n- Unemployment Rate (percent)\n - United States projections adjusted to reflect survey techniques adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in January 1994.\n- General Government Fiscal Balances and Structural Balances (national currency and ratio to GDP or potential GDP)\n - Data are on a national income accounts basis; structural balances defined as actual budget position less cyclical effects.\n - Country-specific methodological notes: Australia, Austria, France, Ireland, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, and euro area aggregates have special treatments noted.\n - Excludes certain one-off receipts and sizable asset sale transactions (country-specific percent-of-GDP adjustments listed).\n- General Government Gross and Net Debt (national currency and ratio to GDP)\n - Net debt comprises end-year gross liabilities minus government assets on a consolidated account basis.\n - Germany: data before 1990 refer to west Germany; beginning in 1995 Treuhandanstalt debt equivalent to 8 percent of GDP is taken over by general government with associated debt service of ½ to 1 percent of GDP.\n- Net Capital Flows (U.S. dollars)\n - Net private capital flows comprise net direct investment, net portfolio flows, and other long- and short-term net investment flows including official and private borrowing.\n - Definitions and composition notes for group aggregates and regional definitions (e.g., \"Total Emerging Markets\", \"Emerging Asia\", \"Middle East\") provided; example figures: in 2003, net private capital flows to emerging Asia were US$107.0 billion while other private capital flows net to the region amounted to US$35.0 billion; recapitalization of two large commercial banks in China with foreign reserves of the Bank of China (US$45 billion) is noted.\n - Change in reserves: a minus sign indicates an increase.\n- External Debt and Debt Service (U.S. dollars and percent of exports and GDP)\n - Expressed in billions of U.S. dollars for the group of other emerging market and developing countries only; total debt includes all short- and long-term debt; debt-service payments include interest and amortization.\n- Current Account Balance (U.S. dollars and percent of U.S. dollar GDP)\n - Based on the IMF Balance of Payments Manual (5th edition, 1993); world total reflects errors, omissions, and exclusion of some entities; euro area calculated as sum of individual euro area countries.\n- Trade Volumes and Terms of Trade (annual percent change)\n - Trade volumes are trade values deflated by unit value to obtain constant price data; base year of underlying data is 2000.\n- Average Petroleum Spot Price (APSP)\n - APSP is an equally weighted average of WTI, Brent, and Dubai; price ordering noted: WTI Brent Dubai; descriptions of delivery locations and characteristics provided.\n- London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR, percent)\n - Six-month rate for the United States and Japan; three-month rate for the euro area.\n- Country information file\n - Provides information on each country's currency, base year of national accounts, and IMF and ISO country codes." }, { "heading": "WEO groups, aggregates, and composite construction", "content": "- Two major country groups: “advanced economies” and “other emerging market and developing countries.”\n- Classification is not strictly criteria-based but has evolved to facilitate analysis; some countries are not included in the groups (examples given).\n- Country group composites are either sums or weighted averages of individual country data.\n- Multiyear averages of growth rates are expressed as compound annual rates of change unless otherwise indicated.\n- Weighting conventions:\n - Exchange rates, interest rates, and growth rates of monetary aggregates: weighted by GDP converted to U.S. dollars at market exchange rates (averaged over preceding three years) as a share of group GDP.\n - Other domestic-economy data: weighted by GDP at PPPs as a share of total world or group GDP.\n - Euro area domestic-economy composites: aggregates of national source data using weights based on 1995 ECU exchange rates.\n - Composite unemployment rates and employment growth: weighted by labor force as a share of group labor force.\n - External economy composites: sums of individual country data after conversion to U.S. dollars at average market exchange rates for balance of payments data and at end-of-year market exchange rates for debt denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars.\n - Changes in foreign trade volumes and prices: arithmetic averages of percentage changes for individual countries weighted by U.S. dollar value of exports or imports as a share of total world or group exports or imports." }, { "heading": "Differences from International Financial Statistics (IFS)", "content": "- WEO data are provided to the Research Department at the time of the WEO exercise, not on a continual basis; historical data and projections are based on information gathered by IMF country economists and are staff estimates.\n- IFS data are gathered as part of an ongoing data collection in which member country statistical agencies provide public statistics to the IMF.\n- Because of differences in data collection techniques, methodology, focus, and timing, data in IFS and WEO may differ." }, { "heading": "Contact and additional notes", "content": "- Queries about the WEO database should be sent to the e-mail address weo@imf.org\n- The site provides the most frequently requested information from the WEO database consistent with the data published in the World Economic Outlook." } ], "bullets": [ "The WEO database is created during the biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) exercise, which begins in January and June and results in the April and September WEO publication.", "Selected series from the WEO publication are released on the website on the day of the WEO press conference.", "The WEO exercise is coordinated by the World Economic Studies Division in the Research Department.", "Projections and analysis are an integral element of the IMF's surveillance of economic development and policies in member countries and of the global economic system.", "The survey of prospects and policies is the product of a comprehensive interdepartmental review drawing primarily on information IMF staff gather through consultations with member countries.", "WEO projections are prepared by IMF country economists based on internationally consistent assumptions about world economic activity, exchange rates, and conditions in international financial and commodity markets.", "Advanced economies and the largest developing countries which account for 90 percent of world output provide a full set of projections for each WEO exercise.", "Most smaller countries provide updates of key variables for each WEO exercise and a full set of projections at the time of the IMF's regular Article IV consultations unless world developments necessitate more frequent updates.", "April 2005:", "September 2004:", "April 2004:", "Other historical notes:", "End dates of country-specific series correspond to those appearing in the WEO publication.", "Series expressed in index form are based on 2000=100 except for the GDP deflator, which is expressed in the base year of each country's national accounts.", "Not all data appearing in the WEO publication are disseminated through the site; additional data may be released over time.", "Domestic economy series are expressed in billions of national currency units.", "External accounts series are expressed in billions of U.S. dollars.", "Missing data are indicated by \"N/A\".", "Unavailable data are indicated by a blank.", "Gross Domestic Product, Constant Prices (national currency and annual percent change)", "Gross Domestic Product, Current Prices (national currency and U.S. dollars)", "Per Capita GDP (constant and current prices; national currency and U.S. dollars)", "GDP Deflator (index and annual percent change)", "Output Gap (ratio to potential GDP)", "Savings and Investment (percent of GDP)", "GDP Based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) Valuation", "Inflation (consumer prices; index and annual percent change)", "Unemployment Rate (percent)", "General Government Fiscal Balances and Structural Balances (national currency and ratio to GDP or potential GDP)", "General Government Gross and Net Debt (national currency and ratio to GDP)", "Net Capital Flows (U.S. dollars)", "External Debt and Debt Service (U.S. dollars and percent of exports and GDP)", "Current Account Balance (U.S. dollars and percent of U.S. dollar GDP)", "Trade Volumes and Terms of Trade (annual percent change)", "Average Petroleum Spot Price (APSP)", "London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR, percent)", "Country information file", "Two major country groups: “advanced economies” and “other emerging market and developing countries.”", "Classification is not strictly criteria-based but has evolved to facilitate analysis; some countries are not included in the groups (examples given).", "Country group composites are either sums or weighted averages of individual country data.", "Multiyear averages of growth rates are expressed as compound annual rates of change unless otherwise indicated.", "Weighting conventions:", "WEO data are provided to the Research Department at the time of the WEO exercise, not on a continual basis; historical data and projections are based on information gathered by IMF country economists and are staff estimates.", "IFS data are gathered as part of an ongoing data collection in which member country statistical agencies provide public statistics to the IMF.", "Because of differences in data collection techniques, methodology, focus, and timing, data in IFS and WEO may differ.", "Queries about the WEO database should be sent to the e-mail address weo@imf.org", "The site provides the most frequently requested information from the WEO database consistent with the data published in the World Economic Outlook.", "[Emerging Market and Developing Countries: Net Capital Flows (PDF)](/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/table1_2.pdf){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}" ], "related": [ { "title": "Emerging Market and Developing Countries: Net Capital Flows", "role": "document", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/table1_2.pdf", "binary": { "path": "/external/pubs/ft/weo/2005/01/data/table1_2.pdf", "mime": "application/pdf" } } ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april/index.md", "json": "/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/weo/weo-database/2005/april/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-10-01T03:11:57.198Z" }