The World Bank indicator NY.ADJ.DKAP.GN.ZS measures the replacement value of fixed capital used up in production as a percentage of gross national income (GNI). For 2021, the country-and-economy file contains 186 reported values and 31 source-missing rows. The median reported value is 12.50% of GNI and the mean is 13.12%.
Despite the indicator being listed under adjusted savings, it is not an adjusted-savings rate on its own. Consumption of fixed capital is one accounting component that represents the economic value of produced assets that is used up through production, aging and normal obsolescence. A high percentage therefore does not mean that a country has “better” or “worse” savings; it means the estimated capital consumption is large relative to GNI.
Table of Contents
What the indicator measures
Consumption of fixed capital is the national-accounts concept used to estimate the decline in the current value of buildings, machinery, equipment and other produced fixed assets as they are used in production. It is related to depreciation in business accounting, but the national-accounts measure is designed for the economy as a whole and follows standardized concepts rather than the tax or bookkeeping rules of individual firms.
The denominator is GNI, not GDP. GNI starts from domestic production and adjusts for primary income received from and paid to the rest of the world. That matters for cross-country comparisons: the same amount of fixed-capital consumption can produce a lower percentage when GNI is large and a higher percentage when GNI is smaller. A difference in the ratio is therefore not evidence that physical assets literally wear out faster in one country.
The indicator also differs from gross fixed capital formation. Gross fixed capital formation is an investment flow showing additions and major improvements to fixed assets. Consumption of fixed capital is the value of the existing produced asset base that is used up. Looking at the two together can be informative, but they answer different questions.
Most 2021 observations lie between 5% and 20% of GNI
The median across the 186 reported observations is 12.50%, while the mean is 13.12%. The first quartile is 8.68% and the third quartile is 17.15%, so the middle half of the distribution spans roughly 8.68% to 17.15%. The mean sits above the median because a smaller group of high observations stretches the upper tail.
By broad bands, 12 observations are below 5%, 46 are from 5% to under 10%, 57 are from 10% to under 15%, and 51 are from 15% to under 20%. Another 15 fall between 20% and 25%, 4 between 25% and 30%, and only 1 reaches 30% or more. This makes the central mass of the distribution more representative than the full minimum-to-maximum range.
The highest reported values are not a single economic type
Ireland has the highest 2021 observation at 34.64% of GNI. It is followed by Equatorial Guinea at 26.57%, China at 26.53%, the Republic of the Congo at 25.73%, and Japan at 25.20%. The top group mixes economies with very different income levels, industrial structures and sizes, which is a warning against treating a high ratio as the product of one common cause.
Several mechanisms can push the ratio upward. An economy with a large stock of machinery, infrastructure or other produced assets may record substantial capital consumption. A fall or weakness in GNI can also increase the percentage even without an equivalent increase in the numerator. Asset age profiles, national-accounts estimates and the composition of production matter as well. The indicator itself does not separate these mechanisms.
| Country or economy | Share of GNI |
|---|---|
| Ireland | 34.64% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 26.57% |
| China | 26.53% |
| Congo, Rep. | 25.73% |
| Japan | 25.20% |
| Switzerland | 23.99% |
| Liberia | 23.88% |
| Gabon | 23.71% |
| Mozambique | 23.23% |
| Czechia | 22.33% |
Low values are not automatically a sign of stronger performance
At the other end, Bangladesh records 1.23%, Bhutan 1.64%, Côte d’Ivoire 3.16%, Niger 3.59% and Guyana 3.63%. These figures mean that the estimated replacement value of fixed capital used up in production is small relative to GNI. They do not by themselves show that capital is more productive, that investment is more efficient, or that the economy is more sustainable.
A low ratio can occur in an economy with a smaller produced-capital base, less capital-intensive activity, a younger or differently composed asset stock, or simply a larger denominator relative to the estimated capital-consumption flow. Differences in statistical capacity and national-accounts estimation can also affect cross-country comparability, especially at the extremes.
| Country or economy | Share of GNI |
|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 1.23% |
| Bhutan | 1.64% |
| Cote d’Ivoire | 3.16% |
| Niger | 3.59% |
| Guyana | 3.63% |
| Bermuda | 3.80% |
| Pakistan | 3.99% |
| Jordan | 4.24% |
| Kiribati | 4.33% |
| Congo, Dem. Rep. | 4.39% |
The map shows country differences rather than one simple regional pattern
The map places the same 2021 values on a simplified world boundary layer. Some relatively high values appear in parts of Europe and East Asia, but high and low observations also sit next to one another within Africa, Asia and the Americas. The cross-country pattern is therefore more mixed than a simple continent-by-continent story.
For the map, missing source values are not replaced with zero. In addition, the simplified Natural Earth geometry does not contain separate shapes for every small island or territory that the World Bank reports as an economy. Blank areas can therefore mean either no 2021 source value or no separate geometry in the simplified map; they should never be interpreted as 0%.
Coverage matters: 186 values and 31 preserved missing rows
The country-and-economy master contains 217 rows. Of those, 186 have a usable 2021 observation and 31 remain source-missing. Preserving those missing rows is essential. Filling them with zero would create false low observations, pull down the mean, distort the histogram and paint missing areas as if the World Bank had measured a zero capital-consumption share.
The World Bank list includes sovereign states as well as some separately reported economies and territories. The 186 reported observations should therefore not be described as 186 sovereign countries. They are the reporting country/economy units in this World Bank comparison for the selected year.
How this component fits into adjusted savings
Adjusted savings is designed to move beyond a narrow financial-saving measure by accounting for changes in produced, human and natural capital. Consumption of fixed capital is a deduction because part of the existing produced capital stock is being used up. Other components can include gross national savings, education expenditure, natural-resource depletion and damage from pollution. The sign or level of adjusted savings cannot be inferred from this one component alone.
A more complete interpretation compares the capital-consumption ratio with measures such as gross fixed capital formation, national saving, GNI growth and the structure of production. For example, an economy can have both high investment and high fixed-capital consumption if it is simultaneously adding large amounts of new capital and using up a large existing asset base. Another economy may show low values for both because its produced-capital stock and industrial structure are different.
Practical cautions when comparing countries
First, this is a one-year snapshot. Pandemic-era disruptions and uneven income rebounds affected 2021 GNI differently across economies, so the denominator can move in ways that temporarily change the ratio. Second, capital-consumption estimates depend on asset lives, price measures and the underlying national-accounts system. Third, a percentage does not reveal the absolute amount of capital being consumed: a very large economy can have a middle-range percentage and still record a large value in currency terms.
For those reasons, the indicator works best as a screening measure rather than a league table. The median, interquartile range, missing-data status and related investment indicators provide a more stable basis for comparison than rank alone. A time series would also help distinguish persistent structural differences from a temporary one-year movement.
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, NY.ADJ.DKAP.GN.ZS. The comparisons here use the official 2021 observations in the supplied country/economy file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a higher fixed-capital-consumption share mean worse economic performance?
No. It shows how large the estimated replacement value of fixed capital used up in production is relative to GNI. It is not a direct score of performance or savings quality.
Is this the same as gross fixed capital formation?
No. Gross fixed capital formation measures additions and major improvements to fixed assets, while consumption of fixed capital measures the value of existing produced assets used up.
Should missing countries be treated as 0%?
No. Thirty-one country/economy rows are source-missing for 2021 and must remain missing rather than being converted into false zero observations.
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