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p. 33 of 33 BACK | NEXT Foreword, Acronyms and Abbreviations, Definitions I. Developing Asia and the World II. Economic Trends and Prospects in Developing Asia III. Economic Scenarios for Asia Statistical Appendix

Asian Development Outlook 2004 Update

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Statistical Appendix
Statistical Notes and Tables

The Statistical Appendix presents six selected economic indicators: gross domestic product (GDP) growth (A1), inflation rate (A2), merchandise exports and imports growth (A3 and A4), and current account and fiscal balance as shares of GDP (A5 and A6), for the 42 developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank. The DMCs are grouped into five subregions: East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific. These six tables are a subset of the accounts included in the Statistical Appendix of Asian Development Outlook 2004 (ADO 2004).

For growth rate of GDP (A1), inflation (A2), and current account balance as a share of GDP (A5), levels of gross national income (GNI) in current US$ using the World Bank Atlas method are used as weights to calculate the subregional and regional averages. These are the same weights as used in the computation of subregional and regional averages in ADO 2004. Tables on growth rates of merchandise exports and imports (A3 and A4) do not incorporate weights in the computation of averages; regional and subregional averages in these two tables are computed on the basis of a consistent sum, which means that if there are missing country data for a given year, the sum of the prior year used for computing the growth rate excludes the corresponding country data.

The GNI data, in current US$, for DMCs from 2001 to 2002 were obtained from the World Bank Group WDI Data Query (http://devdata.worldbank.org/data-query/). The same weights used in ADO 2004 are applied in the computation of regional and subregional averages. Data for 2002, as the most recent data available, are used as weights for 2003, 2004, and 2005. The GNI data, in current US$, for three of the DMCs are unavailable, namely Cook Islands; Taipei,China; and Tuvalu. For these economies, weights were estimated using GDP at current prices.

The following paragraphs look at the tables in greater detail.

Table A1: Growth Rate of GDP (% per year). This shows annual growth rates of GDP valued at constant market prices, factor costs, or basic prices. GDP at market prices is the aggregation of the value added of all resident producers at producers’ prices including taxes less subsidies on imports plus all nondeductible value-added or similar taxes. Factor cost measures differ from market price measures in that they exclude taxes on production and include subsidies. Basic price valuation is the factor cost plus some taxes on production, such as property and payroll taxes, and less some subsidies, such as labor-related subsidies but not product-related subsidies. Most DMCs use constant market price valuation. South Asian countries predominantly use constant factor costs, including Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, while Maldives’ GDP valuation is at basic prices. Among the Pacific countries, Fiji Islands, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu employ constant factor cost valuation. For Hong Kong, China, the computations of real GDP and sector growth rates are based on volume indexes, while GDP sector growth rates for Solomon Islands are based on GDP production indexes.

Table A2: Inflation (% per year). Except for India, which reports the wholesale price index; Kiribati and Solomon Islands, which use the retail price index; and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), which uses the implicit GDP deflator, annual inflation rates presented are based on consumer price indexes. For most DMCs, the reported inflation rates represent period averages except for Bhutan, Cook Islands, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam, which use end-of-period data. The data for Singapore are on a calendar year basis, yet the base year used for the computation of inflation rates is November 1997-October 1998. For Sri Lanka, inflation is calculated using the new Sri Lanka consumer price index, which measures all-island price movements and uses an updated basket of goods with 1995-1997 as the base period. The consumer price indexes of the following countries are for a given city or group of consumers only: Cambodia is for Phnom Penh, Kiribati is for Tarawa, Palau is for Koror State, Republic of Marshall Islands is for Majuro, Solomon Islands is for Honiara, and Nepal is for urban consumers.

Tables A3 and A4: Growth Rates of Merchandise Exports and Imports (% per year). The annual growth rates of exports and imports, in terms of merchandise goods only, are shown in these tables. Data are in million US$, primarily obtained from the balance of payments account of each DMC. Exports in general are reported on a free-on-board (f.o.b.) basis, when they are valued at the customs frontier of the exporting country plus export duties and the costs of loading the goods onto the carrier unless the latter is borne by the carrier. It excludes the cost of freight and insurance beyond the customs frontier. For Cambodia, exports refer to domestic exports. Import data are reported either on an f.o.b. or c.i.f. (cost, insurance, freight) basis. On a c.i.f. basis, the value of imports includes the cost of international freight and insurance up to the customs frontier of the importing country. It excludes the cost of unloading the goods from the carrier unless it is borne by the carrier.

For East Asia, imports are valued on an f.o.b. basis except for Mongolia, which records them on a c.i.f. basis. Imports are valued on an f.o.b. basis for Indonesia, Malaysia, and Viet Nam while for the rest of the Southeast Asian countries, imports are valued on a c.i.f. basis. Bhutan and India record imports on a c.i.f. basis while Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka value them on an f.o.b. basis. For most of the Central Asian republics, all imports are costed on an f.o.b. basis. For the Pacific, Micronesia, Kiribati, Palau, Tonga, and Vanuatu report imports on an f.o.b. basis while imports of Cook Islands, Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste are recorded on a c.i.f. basis.

Table A5: Balance of Payments on Current Account (% of GDP). The current account balance is the sum of the balance of trade for merchandise, net trade in services and factor income, and net transfers. In the case of Bhutan, GDP for the previous calendar year is used as the denominator. In this table, the reported current account levels are divided by GDP valued at current US$ prices.

Table A6: Fiscal Balance of the Central Government (% of GDP). Fiscal balance is the difference between central government revenues and expenditures presented in nominal local currency. The difference is also computed as a share of GDP. Data variations may arise due to statistical discrepancies, e.g., balancing items for both central and local governments, and differences in the concept used in the individual computations of revenues and expenditures as compared with the calculation of the fiscal balance. For Thailand, the fiscal balance is a cash balance composed of the budgetary balance and nonbudgetary balance. Some off-budget accounts are included in the computation of the fiscal balance for Turkmenistan.

Central government revenues comprise all nonrepayable receipts, both current and capital, plus grants. These amounts are computed as a share of GDP at current prices. For the Republic of Korea (Korea), revenues incorporate the repayment on government-guaranteed debts. The revenue data series for Taipei,China was revised in view of the inclusion of the items “Retention of Previous Fiscal Years” and “Special Budget” in the revenue items. For Singapore, revenues refer to receipts credited to Consolidated Revenue Account, Development Fund Account, and Sinking Fund Account, including investment income, capital receipts, and investment adjustments. In some countries, other revenue items are included or excluded in the reported revenue figures: social security contributions are excluded for Korea; grants are excluded for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam; capital receipts are excluded but revenues from disinvestment are included for India; current revenues only are included for Bangladesh and Pakistan; grants and privatization proceeds are excluded for Sri Lanka; the Oil Fund is included for Azerbaijan; sales from assets are excluded for the Fiji Islands; Revenue Equalization Reserve Fund income is excluded for Kiribati; and Consolidated Investment Fund drawdowns are included for Tuvalu. For Kazakhstan, privatization proceeds are treated as financing items rather than revenues in 2002.

Central government expenditures comprise all nonrepayable payments to both current and capital expenses, plus net lending. These amounts are computed as a share of GDP at current prices. The expenditure data series for Taipei,China was revised in view of the inclusion of the items “Retention of Previous Fiscal Years” and “Special Budget” in the expenditure items. For Singapore, expenditures refer to outlays made from the Consolidated Revenue Account, Development Fund Account, and Sinking Fund Account plus lending minus repayments. For Thailand, expenditures refer to budgetary expenditures excluding externally financed expenditures and corresponding borrowing. For Bangladesh, expenditures include a residual. One-time expenditures are excluded but a statistical discrepancy is included for Pakistan. For Tuvalu, Tuvalu Trust Fund transfers are excluded.

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