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 The World Economic Outlook (WEO) database contains selected macroeconomic data series from the statistical appendix of the World Economic Outlook report, which presents the IMF staff's analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups and in many individual countries. The WEO is released in April and September/October each year. Use this database to find data on national accounts, inflation, unemployment rates, balance of payments, fiscal indicators, trade for countries and country groups (aggregates), and commodity prices whose data are reported by the IMF. Data are available from 1980 to the present, and projections are given for the next two years. Additionally, medium-term projections are available for selected indicators. For some countries, data are incomplete or unavailable for certain years. The World Economic Outlook (WEO) database is now available in SDMX format from our Entire Dataset page. For more information about SDMX, please visit SDMX.org Changes to the April 2018 Database In the April 2018 WEO, there has been a similar exercise as of October 2017 to improve the net debt data to bring the data into better alignment with the definition of net debt in the IMF GFS Manual 2014 (GFSM 2014). 
 
 
 
 

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 Qatar is on track to lose its status as the richest place in the world to the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau. 
 
 The global casino hub’s economy will reach the equivalent of about $143,116 per person by 2020, according to projections from the International Monetary Fund. That will put Macau ahead of the current No. 1 Qatar, which will reach $139,151 in the same time frame. 
 
 A former Portuguese outpost on the southern tip of China, Macau has become a gambling mecca since returning to Chinese control almost two decades ago. It’s the only place in China where casinos are legal, turning it into a magnet for high-rollers from the mainland. Macau’s gross domestic product has more than tripled from about $34,500 per capita in 2001, the IMF data shows. 
 
 Rich Getting Richer By 2020 these will be the richest places on earth, the IMF says Source: IMF World Economic Outlook database, as of April 2018. 
 
 The wealth gap between the two places is also expected to widen beyond 2020, with Macau’s GDP per capita set to reach about $172,681 by 2023, according to data compiled from the April edition of the IMF’s Global Economic Outlook database. Qatar’s, meanwhile, will grow to just $158,117. 
 
 Elsewhere, financial hub Singapore’s GDP per capita is expected to top six digits by next year and is on track to grow to about $117,535 by 2023, while Hong Kong -- across the water from Macau -- will touch almost $80,000 by that time, the IMF projections show. 
 
 Three European countries -- Luxembourg, Ireland, and Norway -- made the top 10 places expected to be the world’s wealthiest by 2020, while the U.S. came in at No. 12. 

 Just when you thought it was safe to store away the superlatives to describe its meteoric rise to the top of world gaming, Macau is set to outdo itself by becoming the richest place on the planet. 
 
 Fresh data from the Inter­national Monetary Fund (IMF) ­predicted that by 2020, the city would overtake oil-rich Qatar with the highest per-capita gross domestic product of any country or jurisdiction on earth. 
 
 The IMF’s World Economic Outlook Update – published at the end of last month – expected ­continuing economic growth in the casino hub would see it leapfrog Qatar by 2020. 
 
 This year the IMF ranked ­Macau, with a US$122,489 per capita GDP, second behind Qatar, for which it said the equivalent ­figure was US$128,702. Singapore was ranked fourth with US$98,014, just behind Luxembourg with US$110,870 while Hong Kong took 10th place with a per capita GDP of US$64,533. 
 
 However, by 2020, Hong Kong’s sister SAR – which outstripped Las Vegas to become the world’s richest casino destination several years ago – would become the richest place in the world with a per capita GDP of US$143,116, leaving Qatar, with a paltry US$139,151, in its wake. 
 
 The IMF forecast assumed a period of sustained growth which would see Macau continue to open up a gap on its rivals until 2023. 
 
 However, Macau lawyer and social commentator Sérgio ­Almeida Correia, wrote in his blog: “In terms of quality of life, green areas, pollution, education, health, sport, renewable energies, recycling of urban waste, hygiene and cleanliness of public spaces, accessibility for disabled people, road cycling, public transport might not rank quite as high by any means.” 
 
 With a population of just over 650,000, packed into just 30.8 sq km, Macau also holds top spot as the most densely populated place on Earth, according to the United Nations. The tight squeeze means the casino city has 21,322 people per square kilometre packed into its bustling streets. 
 
 Hong Kong, the fourth most densely populated place on the planet behind Monaco and Singapore, packs in 6,490 people per square kilometre. 
 
 However, within its most dense areas, such as Mong Kok, the population density is more than 120,000 people per square kilometre, according to the Population Division of the United ­Nations Department of ­Economic and Social Affairs.
– A "gambling mecca" is set to oust Qatar as the richest place on Earth, per the International Monetary Fund's newest stats. Bloomberg reports that the IMF's World Economic Outlook database has pegged Macau as the planet's wealthiest place, with its economy on track to reach the equivalent of $143,116 by 2020. Qatar, meanwhile, will come in at $139,151 by then. Macau, an autonomous region that holds the only legal casinos in China, is also set to even further outpace Qatar by 2023, with an expected GDP per capita of $172,681 to Qatar's $158,117. The South China Morning Post describes Macau's "meteoric rise to the top of world gaming" as the reason behind its newfound status, though a Macau social commentator and attorney says the region has a lot to improve on in many areas, including quality of life, education, health, and pollution. Luxembourg, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam round out the IMF's top five, while the US takes the No. 12 spot in the rankings.