Economics

Wealth of Nations

Overview

The Changing Wealth of Nations (CWON) 2021 offers a comprehensive wealth database from 146 nations which spans from 1995 to 2018. The wealth data includes a range of assets. For example, one can select human capital such as employed males, and employed females as well as various types of natural capital such as; agricultural land, mangroves, among others. The database has a Data Explorer tool (data visualization dashboard) which simplifies the process of extracting and visualizing data of your choice by using its unique features.

Available Data File Formats
CSV, EXCEL, PDF, PNG, JPEG, and SVG vector image

Accessibility

This is an open data source for public use

https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data

How to retrieve data by example;

Scenario

Imagine you want to analyze the wealth outcomes in seven different countries. Let's say, you want to consider how natural capital e.g; "agricultural land (cropland)" and/or human capital such as "employed male" has/have evolved in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brazil, Bolivia, Belgium, and Canada from 1995 to 2018.

Step-by-step

1. Visit The Changing Wealth of Nations - World Bank via

https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data

2. Scroll down to "Data Explorer" and click on "Country trends" (note; select the tab that suits your analysis). Below the menu bar, you can extract the data by selecting the variable - natural capital from "Select Theme", the type of natural capital (agricultural land: cropland) from "Select indicator" and the countries of your choice from "Select Country". After selecting all required variables from each category, the dashboard would automatically generate a chart for you to analyze.

Note: You can do the same for human capital or any other variable using the same approach. You also have the option to select either "Total" or "Per capita" that is ("Total" gives you the total value of natural capital whilst "Per capita" gives you the value of the natural capital per person)

3. You can print/download the chart by clicking on the "dropdown menu" box (small box with three lines) to the top right corner of the chart.

4. From the "dropdown menu" box, you can also download the data of the chart in any format of your choice (Excel, CSV, etc.). Below is the raw data on natural capital (agricultural land; cropland) per capita in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Bolivia, Belgium, and Canada from 1995 to 2018.

Be sure to consult with the source website on how to correctly cite your data. For this scenario, the citation APA would look something like this;

World Bank. (2021). Natural capital, agricultural land; cropland (constant 2018 US $), per capita. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2021: Managing Assets for the Future, Washington, DC: World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/changing-wealth-of-nations/data