World Data

This is a collection of country level data from a variety of sources.

This data is available in CSV, GeoJSON, and zipped shapefile format.

Short field names for the shapefile version are in parentheses after the full field names.

Polygons

Natural Earth. 2022. Admin 0 - Countries, version 5.0.0. Accessed 5 February 2022. https://www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/10m-cultural-vectors/.

Identifiers

ISO3 (ISO3)

A set of standardized three-letter country codes.

https://www.iso.org/iso-3166-country-codes.html.

Name (NAME)

Country name from the Natural Earth polygon data above

Official Name (OFFNAME)
UN Country Code (UNCODE)

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2022. Country codes/names. Accessed 5 February 2022. https://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/iso3list/en/.

Attributes

Population MM (POP)

Estimated 2021 population in millions

The World Bank. 2021. Population, total. Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.

GDP B Dollars (GDP)

2020 gross domestic product in billions of current US dollars

2019 values used if 2020 data not available.

"Gross domestic product (GDP) is the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country’s borders in a specific time period" (Investopedia 2022).

The World Bank. 2021. GDP (current US$) Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD.

GNI B PPP (GNI)

2020 gross national income in purchasing power parity current international dollars

"Gross National Income (GNI) is the total amount of money earned by a nation's people and businesses. It is used to measure and track a nation's wealth from year to year. The number includes the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) plus the income it receives from overseas sources" (Investopedia 2022).

The World Bank. 2021. GNI, PPP (current international $). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.MKTP.PP.CD.

GDP per Capita (GDPCAPITA)

2020 gross domestic product per capita in purchasing power parity current international dollars

The World Bank. 2021. GDP per capita, PPP (current international $). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD.

Gini Index (GINI)

The Gini index is a measure of income distribution with 0 being perfect equality and 100 being perfect equality.

This data is the latest available data for each country in the period 2016 - 2019.

The World Bank. 2022. Gini index (World Bank estimate). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI.

Primary Energy Quads (ENERGYQD)

2020 total primary energy use in quadrillion BTU (quads)

bp. 2021. Statistical Review of World Energy. Accessed 5 February 2022. https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html.

MM BTU per Capita (MMBTUCAP)

MM BTU per Capita (BTUCAPITA)

Most recent data is used out of the years 2014 - 2015. Most values are 2015.

kg oil equivalent multiplied by 39683.2 to get BTU.

The World Bank. 2022. Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE

Teen Birth Rate (TEENBIRTH)

2019 rate of births per 1,000 women ages 15 - 19

The World Bank. 2021. Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.ADO.TFRT.

Percent Female Legislators (FEMLEGIS)

2019 percentage of national legislators who are female

The World Bank. 2021. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SG.GEN.PARL.ZS.

Infant Mortality (INFNTMORT)

2019 rate of infants per 1,000 live births who died before their first birthday

The World Bank. 2021. Mortality rate, infant (per 1,000 live births)

Accessed 5 February 2022. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN.

HDI (HDI)

The 2019 HDI ranges from zero to one, with one being a higher level of development.

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.

United Nations Development Program. 2020. Human Development Index (HDI). Accessed 5 February 2020. https://hdr.undp.org/en/content/download-data.

Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The results are given on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

Transparency International. 2022. 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index. Accessed 12 May 2022. https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021.

Happiness Index (GNH)

The 2021 happiness "Ladder score" ranges from zero to eight, with eight being the highest level of happiness.

"The World Happiness Report is a publication of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, powered by data from the Gallup World Poll and Lloyd’s Register Foundation, who provided access to the World Risk Poll." It is the continuation of the idea of gross national happiness conceptualized by King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan in 1972.

Helliwell, John F., Richard Layard, Jeffrey Sachs, and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, eds. 2021. World Happiness Report 2021. New York: Sustainable Development Solutions Network. https://worldhappiness.report/.

Happy Planet Index (HAPPYPLAN)

This 2019 data ranges from 24.3 (worst) to 62.1 (best).

"The Happy Planet Index is a measure of sustainable wellbeing, ranking countries by how efficiently they deliver long, happy lives using our limited environmental resources."

Wellbeing Economy Alliance. 2022. Happy Planet Index. https://happyplanetindex.org/.

Freedom Score 2023
Freedom Score 2021
Freedom Status 2023

Data is from the 2021 and 2023 Freedom in the World reports.

Global Freedom Score ranges from 0 (least free) to 100 (most free).

Global Freedom Status is a categorization of the Global Freedom Score into Free, Partially Free, or Not Free.

"The Freedom in the World report is composed of numerical ratings and supporting descriptive texts for 195 countries and 15 territories. External analysts assess 210 countries and territories, using a combination of on-the-ground research, consultations with local contacts, and information from news articles, nongovernmental organizations, governments, and a variety of other sources. Expert advisers and regional specialists then vet the analysts’ conclusions. The final product represents the consensus of the analysts, advisers, and Freedom House staff."

Freedom House. 2021. Freedom in the World. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world.

Freedom House. 2023. Freedom in the World 2023. Accessed 7 January 2023. https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world.

Economic Freedom Index 2021
Economic Freedom Index 2023

2023 report data ranking countries on a scale of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free) based on four groups of 12 quantitative and qualitative factors:

Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness)
Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health)
Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom)
Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom)

Each of the twelve economic freedoms within these categories is graded on a scale of 0 to 100. A country’s overall score is derived by averaging these twelve economic freedoms, with equal weight being given to each. More information on the grading and methodology can be found in the appendix.

The Heritage Foundation is a conservative Washington DC based think-tank founded in 1973 with a mission "to formulate and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense."

The Heritage Foundation. 2023. 2023 Index of Economic Freedom. https://www.heritage.org/index/ranking.

STC Health Index (STCHEALTH)

2021 health index on a scale of zero (worst) to one (best) based on a variety of metrics, including life expectancy, health care access, sanitation, health conditions, and food security.

Stephane Tajick Consulting. 2021. The 2021 STC Health Index. https://globalresidenceindex.com/hnwi-index/health-index/.

Prosperity Index (PROSPER)

The Legatum Institute Prosperity Index (tm) 2021 is an index on a scale of zero (worst) to 100 (best) based on a set of quality of life factors.

The Legatum Institute is a London-based think-tank with a bold vision to create a global movement of people committed to creating the pathways from poverty to prosperity and the transformation of society.

The Legatum Institute. 2021. The Legatum Prosperity Index (tm) 2021. https://www.prosperity.com/rankings.

Colonial End (COLEND)
Colonial Years (COLYEARS)
Colonial Transformation (COLTRANS)

These are three values from a compendium of data on European colonialsm of the Global South up through the middle 20th century.

Colonial End is the end year of colonial occupation.
Colonial Years is the number of years of colonial occupation.
Colonial Transformation is an index of the level to which the colonizer transformed the colony on a scale of zero (least) to 100 (most).

Ziltener, P., Künzler, D., and Walter, A. 2017. Research Note: Measuring the Impacts of Colonialism: A New Data Set for the Countries of Africa and Asia. Journal of World-Systems Research, 23(1), 156-190. https://doi.org/10.5195/jwsr.2017.683.