Dhaka: Countries with annual incomes of $1,046 to $4,125 are called lower-middle income countries. According to the World Bank’s latest estimates of Gross National Income per capita (GNI), Bangladesh has moved up to a lower-middle income economy from a lower-income country.

Bangladesh, a low-income country until the latest WB report, has continued to show improved economic performance in terms of GNI, says the WB report.

Apart from Bangladesh, three other countries have got their income status upgraded—Kenya, Myanmar, and Tajikistan.

GNI is a broad-based measure of income generated by a nation’s residents from international and domestic activity. GNI per capita measures the average amount of resources available to persons residing in a given economy, and reflects the average economic well-being of a population.

Each year on 1 July, the World Bank revises the income classification of the world’s economies based on estimates of GNI per capita for the previous year. The World Bank also uses the updated GNI per capita estimates in its operational classification of economies that determines lending eligibility.

‘While we need to measure development progress in different ways, income-based measures, such as GNI, remain the central yardstick for assessing economic performance,’ said Kaushik Basu, World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President.