Put the source to work.
Explore a country through clearly defined economic, social, and infrastructure measures. Use the observation year and source notes to decide which comparisons help answer your question.
Why it matters
Comparable national facts help leaders put a market in context. Dates, definitions, and missing values matter as much as the headline number.
What country conditions should you understand first?
Imagine a business is considering two countries for its first international project. Economic size, trade, internet use, and investment can help it prepare. One measure tells one part of the story. The year, definition, and reporting coverage tell you how to read that part.
Start with the Country Data Lab for same-year comparisons and Country Readiness for the published four-measure score. You can also check the current World Bank response. A newer response may revise a past observation; it does not silently change the fixed scoring edition.
Three steps you can take
- Choose a measure that matches your question and read its definition.
- Compare countries at the same year and keep regional aggregates outside country rankings.
- Record the observation year and retrieval date, and use direct business evidence to evaluate a specific opportunity.
Read the source: World Bank: World Development Indicators. This reference explains the source or research context; the inventory figures below come from the reviewed NDS package.
Know what you are looking at.
- Indicators in reviewed local backbone
- 1,486
- Metadata economies
- 217
- Regional and other aggregates
- 48
- Website selection
- 12 reported indicators and 4 calculated measures
Use these figures to understand the package reviewed on October 20, 2026. The results section below tells you which comparisons you can explore here and which still need source work. A source guide is different from a complete table of published observations.
How to use the evidence
Exclude regional aggregates from country rankings. Preserve the full source definitions, units, periods, and notes.
The website uses a separately dated official snapshot retrieved October 20, 2026. Country Readiness V1 is an NDS calculation from four explicitly selected measures in that snapshot.
Available results and rankings
- The Country Data Lab and country profiles show connected source observations.
- Country Readiness V1 publishes 121 scores with dated inputs and a separate validation audit.
- The Country Data Lab now includes the complete local WDI definitions, methodology, and available source notes for all 12 connected indicators.
Coverage and limits
- Coverage varies by indicator and year. The local backbone did not contain an NDS-certified Commercial Diplomacy ranking.
- The new country-readiness score is not a World Bank ranking and does not establish partnership performance.
Other source guides
Commercial Diplomacy Index™ · National Data System · Source and method guide · October 20, 2026