As every year, the World Bank proceeded, on July 1, 2020, to update its classification of the different countries by income group. This classification allows the countries of the world to be grouped into four categories: low-income countries, lower-middle-income countries, upper-middle-income countries, and high-income countries.
The classification is based on the calculation of each country’s gross national income for the previous year. It takes into account economic characteristics such as the rate of economic growth, the rate of inflation, the exchange rate and the rate of population growth.
Based on data at the end of 2019, the World Bank announced Benin’s transition to the category of lower middle income economies. For the first time in its history, Benin is leaving the category of low-income countries and joining the group of countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Morocco. Benin is therefore part of the very small group of seven (0710) countries in the world that have benefited this year from an improvement in their classification by the World Bank. This is a major event in the country’s economic history.
This glowing result follows an increase in its gross national income per capita from US $ 870 in the last update to US $ 1,250. It is supported by all of the reforms implemented by the Government since 2016, resulting in a continuous acceleration in the pace of national wealth creation. It is also supported by improvements to the national accounts system, in particular the rebasing of national accounts finalized in 2019, which made it possible to refine the estimate of national wealth.
This World Bank decision confirms the positive outlook and the strength of the country’s economic fundamentals, while several African countries have moved to a lower category. Beyond the image of the country which is significantly improved internationally, this classification strengthens the credibility of Benin and enhances its ability to attract the investments necessary to improve the living conditions of its population.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance