World Bank offers roadmap to avoid 'middle-income trap'

Washington: More than 100 countries, including China, are at risk of entering a middle income trap and failing to become wealthy nations, the World...

Washington: More than 100 countries, including China, are at risk of entering a "middle-income trap" and failing to become wealthy nations, the World Bank said Thursday as it unveiled a "comprehensive roadmap" to reach high-income status.

In its 2024 World Development Report, the Bank said countries usually hit such a "trap" when they reach around 10 percent of annual US GDP per capita -- roughly $8,000 today -- which can prove tough to move past.

With more than 100 countries representing more than 75 percent of the world's population currently classified as middle-income, tackling the issue will prove key for economic development in the decades ahead, the Bank added.

"The battle for global economic prosperity will largely be won or lost in middle-income countries," World Bank Group chief economist Indermit Gill said in a statement, calling for a "fresh approach."

"First focus on investment; then add an emphasis on infusion of new technologies from abroad; and, finally, adopt a three-pronged strategy that balances investment, infusion, and innovation," he said.