The “What’s New” series accompanies the World Development Indicators database updates and provides information about which indicators have been added, updated, or removed in the database and details about these changes to help people make better use of the data.
1. Data updates
On April 15, 2025, the World Development Indicators (WDI) database was updated. This release features the latest data for:
- ▪ Macroeconomic indicators sourced from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), including Current account balance (BoP, current US$), Central government debt, total (% of GDP), Tax revenue (% of GDP), Inflation, consumer prices (annual %), and Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average). The indicators featuring data on international trade in goods (by partner country), including Merchandise exports to low- and middle-income economies within region (% of total merchandise exports), have also been updated.
- ▪ Energy consumption and access as well as electricity generation such as Electric power consumption (kWh per capita), as well as Access to electricity (% of population) (SDG indicator 7.1.1);
- ▪ Protected area indicators including Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area);
- ▪ Emissions data for the LULUCF sector, including derived indicators, such as Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions including LULUCF;
- ▪ Statistics on children and gender, covering child malnutrition such as Prevalence of stunting, height for age (modeled estimate, % of children under 5) (used to track SDG Target 2.2);
- ▪ Health indicators including child/adolescent mortality, child malnutrition, health expenditure, mortality (suicide mortality, and mortality due to major non-communicable diseases), health risks (tobacco use) and reproductive health (contraceptive use, demand for family planning satisfied).
A list of indicators included in this update can be accessed here and the data is available through the Open Data site, DataBank, the Data
Catalog, and via API.
Listed below are the indicator additions and deletions for the first quarter of 2025.
2. New indicators
In the fourth quarter of 2024, 43 new greenhouse gas emissions indicators and 2 sex-disaggregated Internet use indicators were added to WDI.
Business Ready (B-READY)
In the April database update, 43 new indicators were added to the WDI featuring data from the Business Ready (B-READY) project. B-READY is a new World Bank Group initiative that assesses the global business and investment climate. It replaces and improves upon the discontinued Doing Business project.
B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and analytical framework that highlights the factors supporting private sector development, not only by promoting the interests of individual firms but also by advancing the well-being of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment.
The methodology is structured around three pillars—Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency—which are further broken down into 10 key topics relevant for the business environment. These topics include Business Entry, Business Location, Utility Services, Labor, Financial Services, International Trade, Taxation, Dispute Resolution, Market Competition, and Business Insolvency. The new WDI indicators include overall scores for each pillar, topic-specific scores, and disaggregated pillar scores within each of the ten topics.
B-READY is based on a rigorous data collection process, incorporating tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report and data cover 50 economies and are the first in a planned series. Further iterations will expand geographical coverage and refine the methodology over time, supporting reform efforts, policy guidance, and analytical research.
The Doing Business indicators previously included in the WDI have now been archived.
Forcibly displaced people
The World Development Indicators (WDI) have recently expanded to include a comprehensive set of indicators on forcibly displaced people, sourced from data published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These indicators offer detailed insights into forced displacement and support the monitoring of SDG Target 10.7 on facilitating safe and orderly migration. The new data covers multiple types of forced displacement, shedding light on the vulnerabilities faced by refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people (IDP), and others in need of international protection. It also highlights the social and economic pressures on host communities and countries.
This expansion reflects a more structured approach to capturing the different dimensions of forced displacement. A key advancement is the broader representation of displaced populations, not only enhancing the coverage of refugees and IDPs but also including asylum-seekers and individuals in transit or awaiting legal recognition. The s indicators are mapped by both the country or territory of asylum and origin, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of forced displacement by distinguishing between the pressures faced by host countries and the scale and patterns of displacement in countries or territories of origin.
3. New publications
Check out these recent blogs and stories featuring data from the World Development Indicators database:
▪ Empowering development through data on forced displacement (blog featuring new indicators on forcibly displaced people)
▪ Why is the fight against tuberculosis far from over? The answer in four charts (story highlighting the latest data on TB)
▪ Inside the World Development Indicators: How do we select the indicators? (blog explaining the framework used to choose indicators for the WDI)