Data Notes

Unless otherwise specified, dollar amounts are current U.S. dollars. A billion is a thousand million.

The data used in this report cover a range of time periods and are from more than 100 countries (both developing and industrial).

Unless otherwise specified, geographic regions are those used by the World Bank in its analytical and operational work and are defined as follows:

sub-Saharan Africa countries south of the Sahara except Africa.

East Asia and the Pacific: low- and middle-income economies of East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Europe and Central Asia. middle-income European countries and the countries that formed the former Soviet Union.

Latin America anti the Caribbean all American and Caribbean economies south of the United States.

Middle East and North Africa all the economies of North Africa and the Middle East.

South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India. Myantnar, Nepal, Pakistan. and Sri Lanka.