The World Bank was established in 1944 in order to help developing countries by making low interest loans and outright grants available for development projects. It comprises the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association. In addition to the development projects, the World Bank also sponsors research in economic development. The World Bank publishes the World Tables annually, and also publishes many reports on special topics each year. Data on the CD-ROM versions are in decompressed format, accessing and viewing these data is relatively simple and fast.
All products contain technical notes and extensive glossaries.
Availability CD-ROM, issued annually. Data through 1995 will be released in the fall of 1996. Data Available World Data from World Bank provides in one source the indicators provided in their World Tables and World Debt Tables, and Social Indicators of Development. Level of Coverage Time series are available at the annual level on over 700 different indicators for over 200 countries. Social Indicators data are available from 1965, and others are available from 1970.