A
high-income economy is defined by the
World Bank as a country with a
gross national income per capita above US$12,735 in 2014, calculated using the
Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "
First World" and "
developed country", the technical definitions of these terms differ. The term "first world" commonly refers to countries that aligned themselves with the
U.S. and
NATO during the
cold war. Several institutions, such as the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or
International Monetary Fund (IMF), take factors other than high
per capita income into account when classifying countries as "developed" or "advanced economies". According to the
United Nations, for example, some high-income countries may also be developing countries. The
GCC countries, for example, are classified as developing high-income countries. Thus, a high-income country may be classified as either developed or
developing. Although the
Holy See is a
sovereign state, it is not classified by the World Bank under this definition.