The World Economic Outlook (WEO) database contains selected macroeconomic data series from the statistical appendix of the World Economic Outlook report, which presents the IMF staff's analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups and in many individual countries. The WEO is released in April and September/October each year.

Use this database to find data on national accounts, inflation, unemployment rates, balance of payments, fiscal indicators, trade for countries and country groups (aggregates), and commodity prices whose data are reported by the IMF.

World Economic Outlook on Google Public Data Explorer

Data are available from 1980 to the present, and projections are given for the next two years. Additionally, medium-term projections are available for selected indicators. For some countries, data are incomplete or unavailable for certain years.

World Economic Outlook on Google Public Data Explorer offers select indicators from the latest online WEO database, such as GDP growth and inflation.

Changes to the October 2014 Database
  • The WEO has adopted the sixth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). Notable changes include the following: (1) Merchanting has been reclassified from services to exports of goods. (2) Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others (goods for processing in the BPM5) and maintenance and repair services (repairs on goods in the BPM5) have been reclassified from goods to services. (3) Migrants’ transfers have been removed from capital transfers in the capital account because a change in ownership is no longer imputed. (4) Reverse investment in direct investment has been reclassified so as to present assets and liabilities on a gross basis. (5) A separate financial derivatives category is now included in the financial account, whereas previously it was a subitem under portfolio investment. In addition, the conventional sign for increases in assets (and liabilities) within the financial account is now positive, and balances are now computed as net acquisition of financial assets minus net incurrence of financial liabilities.
  • With the adoption of the BPM6, the WEO online database now includes, where available, the current account balance, imports of goods and services, exports of goods and services, financial account balance, net direct investment, net portfolio investment, net financial derivatives, net other investment, and change in reserves series for all country groups. Subsequently, the private financial flows series that were available in the previous versions of the WEO online database have been removed.
  • Not all countries have converted to the BPM6 standard and a few still use versions older than the BPM5. Historical data are subject to change when countries adopt the latest standard. During this transition period, some country groups’ aggregates are not available. Please refer to Table G in the WEO's Statistical Appendix, which lists the Balance of Payments statistical standard for each country.
  • Following the recent release of the 2011 International Comparison Program (ICP) survey for new purchasing-power-parity benchmarks, the WEO’s estimates of purchasing-power-parity weights and GDP valued at purchasing power parity have been updated. For more detail, see “Revised Purchasing Power Parity Weights” in the July 2014 WEO Update.
  • As in the April 2014 WEO, data for Syria are excluded from 2011 onward because of the uncertain political situation.
  • Because of the ongoing IMF program with Pakistan, the series from which the nominal exchange rate assumptions can be calculated are not made public, as the nominal exchange rate is a market-sensitive issue in Pakistan.
  • Data for Latvia, which were previously excluded from the euro area aggregates because of data constraints, are now included.
  • Projections for Ukraine, which were previously excluded because of the crisis, are once again included.
  • As in the April 2014 WEO, the consumer price projections for Argentina are excluded because of a structural break in the data. Please refer to note 5 in Table A7 of the October 2014 WEO Statistical Appendix for further details.