Compare 217 countries by the data that matters
Side-by-side profiles, rankings and health-system insights across 48 World Bank, WHO & OECD indicators, one neutral, fully-sourced reference for 217 countries.
The global picture
The gap between countries is stark: GDP per capita runs about 1,332× from Burundi to Monaco, and people live roughly 32 years longer in Monaco than in Nigeria.
- 1,332×
- GDP-per-capita gap, richest to poorest
- 32 yrs
- life-expectancy spread
- 217
- countries, fully sourced
- 48
- indicators compared
Every figure on PlainCountries is read live from official World Bank, WHO, ILO and OECD releases, no estimates, with the data year shown on each page.
Global Economic Positioning, 4-Quadrant View
A representative slice of 40 countries plotted on GDP per capita (log scale, x-axis) against the Human Development Index (y-axis). Bubble area scales with population; color encodes World Bank income tier; gold rings mark OECD members.
Sources: World Bank WDI (GDP per capita, population), UNDP Human Development Report 2024 (HDI). See the methodology page for indicator definitions and data ingestion cadence.
Explore Topics
Demographics
7Population, growth rates, urbanization, and density
Economy
9GDP, income, trade, and economic indicators
Health
7Life expectancy, mortality, and healthcare access
Education
6Enrollment, literacy, and educational attainment
Environment
5Emissions, energy use, and natural resources
Infrastructure
5Internet access, electricity, and transport
Social
6Poverty, inequality, employment, and governance
Labor & Wages
3Data Guides
Learn how to interpret and compare global development data from the World Bank and WHO.
Understanding Development Indicators
What the World Bank WDI tracks and how indicators reveal development progress.
How to Compare Countries Fairly
PPP vs. nominal GDP, per capita measures, and common pitfalls in cross-country analysis.
Global Health Indicators Explained
WHO GHO data, life expectancy, infant mortality, and health-income relationships.
Live Data Products
Country indicators from World Bank, WHO, and OECD. Every number updates automatically when the source is refreshed. See all live data.
Browse all 217 countries
Per-country profiles with population, GDP, life expectancy, healthcare spending, education, and 50+ indicators — sourced from World Bank WDI / WHO GHO / OECD Health.
Live dataCountry rankings
Sort all countries by GDP per capita, life expectancy, healthcare spending, physician density, and other live indicators.
Decision toolCountry comparison tool
Side-by-side comparison of any two countries across 50+ economic, health, and demographic indicators.
About this data
How PlainCountries works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainCountries covers 217 countries and territories across all regions of the world, with 48 development indicators and 175,328 individual data points, using the World Bank Open Data catalog, the WHO Global Health Observatory, and OECD statistics. Every figure on this site traces back to these official, publicly available international datasets.
Editorial process
- Source. Pull country-level indicators directly from the World Bank, WHO, and OECD public APIs.
- Verify. Each record keeps its original country and indicator codes, so every figure traces back to the issuing organization's own release.
- Publish. Compile per-country profiles, rankings, and comparisons in context, always linking back to the official source so readers can verify our numbers against it.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainCountries is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the World Bank, WHO, OECD, or any government. We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement. Found a figure that looks wrong? Use the contact page with the page URL and the value that looks off, we compare it against the published source and correct our pipeline (not just the single page) if the error is on our side. See our editorial & corrections policy and methodology for the full process and source attribution.
Frequently asked
What data sources does PlainCountries use?
PlainCountries uses data from the World Bank Open Data catalog and the WHO Global Health Observatory. These are official, publicly available datasets maintained by international organizations.
How many countries are covered?
PlainCountries covers 217 countries and territories across all regions of the world, with 48 development indicators and 175,328 individual data points.
How current is the data?
Data spans from 2000 to 2024, with the latest available year varying by indicator and country. Most economic indicators are updated annually by the World Bank.
Can I compare two countries?
Yes. Visit the Compare page and select any two countries to see a side-by-side comparison across all available indicators, grouped by topic.
Is PlainCountries free to use?
Yes. PlainCountries is completely free. All data comes from public, open-access government and international organization sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
What data sources does PlainCountries use?
PlainCountries uses data from the World Bank Open Data catalog and the WHO Global Health Observatory. These are official, publicly available datasets maintained by international organizations.
How many countries are covered?
PlainCountries covers 217 countries and territories across all regions of the world, with 48 development indicators and 175,328 individual data points.
How current is the data?
Data spans from 2000 to 2024, with the latest available year varying by indicator and country. Most economic indicators are updated annually by the World Bank.
Can I compare two countries?
Yes. Visit the Compare page and select any two countries to see a side-by-side comparison across all available indicators, grouped by topic.
Is PlainCountries free to use?
Yes. PlainCountries is completely free. All data comes from public, open-access government and international organization sources.