Now Russian is a High Income country, according to the Woeld Bank

The World Bank has published its income classification for fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023–June 30, 2024). According to the publication, Russia has been moved into the category of high-income countries, which the bank values at more than $14,000 per capita.

According to last year’s report, in 2023, gross national income per capita increased from $12,830 (1.1 million rubles) per year to $14,250 (1.2 million rubles) per year compared to 2022. Last year, the bank classified Russia as an upper-middle-income country. Here is the trend of Russian per capita income:

The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups: high, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low. In calculating gross national income per capita, the bank uses the Atlas method, which uses a conversion factor (the average value of the country’s exchange rate for one year and the previous two years, adjusted for the difference in inflation rates between the country and European countries). countries, Japan, and the United States).

The bank explained Russia’s move into this category through increased defense spending, the restoration of activity in trade, the financial sector, and construction.

Along with Russia, Bulgaria and Palau also joined the list of high-income countries. Ukraine, Algeria, Mongolia, and Iran also saw improvements, moving from lower-middle-income to upper-middle-income countries, although Ukraine remains low-income relative to Russia.

In 2023, according to Rosstat, the average per capita income of Russians was 53.1 thousand rubles. Last year, the incomes of the richest 10 percent of the population exceeded those of the least wealthy 10 percent by 14.8 times. The average per capita income was 40.1 thousand rubles.

It still remains a mystery how Western sanctions are making Russians poorer. Certainly, defense spending is weighing on national wealth, but this does not seem to be falling but is growing.