> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.macrovisonomics.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Indicators Reference

> Complete guide to economic indicators and metrics

# Indicators Reference

MACROVISONOMICS provides access to thousands of economic indicators from 14+ active sources including World Bank, FRED, IMF, OECD, Eurostat, ECB, ILO, WHO, BIS, DBnomics, and Statistics Canada. This guide covers the most commonly used indicators.

## Indicator Categories

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Economy" icon="coins">
    GDP, GNI, trade, investment
  </Card>

  <Card title="Employment" icon="briefcase">
    Unemployment, labor force, wages
  </Card>

  <Card title="Prices" icon="tag">
    Inflation, CPI, deflators
  </Card>

  <Card title="Demographics" icon="users">
    Population, life expectancy
  </Card>

  <Card title="Health" icon="heart-pulse">
    Health spending, mortality
  </Card>

  <Card title="Environment" icon="leaf">
    CO2, energy, resources
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Economic Indicators

### Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

| Indicator                     | Code              | Unit             |
| ----------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------------- |
| GDP (current US\$)            | NY.GDP.MKTP.CD    | US Dollars       |
| GDP (constant 2015 US\$)      | NY.GDP.MKTP.KD    | US Dollars       |
| GDP growth (annual %)         | NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG | Percentage       |
| GDP per capita (current US\$) | NY.GDP.PCAP.CD    | US Dollars       |
| GDP per capita, PPP           | NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD | International \$ |

<Tip>
  **When to use which GDP measure:**

  * **Current US\$**: Comparing countries in today's dollars
  * **Constant US\$**: Tracking real growth (inflation-adjusted)
  * **PPP**: Comparing living standards across countries
  * **Per capita**: Normalizing for population differences
</Tip>

### Trade & Investment

| Indicator                                | Code              | Unit       |
| ---------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------- |
| Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) | NE.EXP.GNFS.ZS    | Percentage |
| Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) | NE.IMP.GNFS.ZS    | Percentage |
| Trade (% of GDP)                         | NE.TRD.GNFS.ZS    | Percentage |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows   | BX.KLT.DINV.CD.WD | US Dollars |
| Current account balance (% of GDP)       | BN.CAB.XOKA.GD.ZS | Percentage |

### Government & Debt

| Indicator                          | Code              | Unit       |
| ---------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------- |
| Government expenditure (% of GDP)  | NE.CON.GOVT.ZS    | Percentage |
| Tax revenue (% of GDP)             | GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS | Percentage |
| External debt stocks (% of GNI)    | DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS | Percentage |
| Central government debt (% of GDP) | GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS | Percentage |

## Employment Indicators

| Indicator                                    | Code           | Unit       |
| -------------------------------------------- | -------------- | ---------- |
| Unemployment, total (% of labor force)       | SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS | Percentage |
| Unemployment, youth (% of youth labor force) | SL.UEM.1524.ZS | Percentage |
| Labor force participation rate               | SL.TLF.CACT.ZS | Percentage |
| Employment in agriculture (% of total)       | SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS | Percentage |
| Employment in industry (% of total)          | SL.IND.EMPL.ZS | Percentage |
| Employment in services (% of total)          | SL.SRV.EMPL.ZS | Percentage |

## Price & Inflation Indicators

| Indicator                             | Code              | Unit       |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------- |
| Inflation, consumer prices (annual %) | FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG    | Percentage |
| Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %)    | NY.GDP.DEFL.KD.ZG | Percentage |
| Consumer price index (2010 = 100)     | FP.CPI.TOTL       | Index      |
| Official exchange rate (LCU per US\$) | PA.NUS.FCRF       | LCU        |

## Demographic Indicators

| Indicator                         | Code              | Unit       |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------- |
| Population, total                 | SP.POP.TOTL       | Number     |
| Population growth (annual %)      | SP.POP.GROW       | Percentage |
| Life expectancy at birth          | SP.DYN.LE00.IN    | Years      |
| Birth rate (per 1,000 people)     | SP.DYN.CBRT.IN    | Per 1,000  |
| Death rate (per 1,000 people)     | SP.DYN.CDRT.IN    | Per 1,000  |
| Fertility rate (births per woman) | SP.DYN.TFRT.IN    | Births     |
| Urban population (% of total)     | SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS | Percentage |

## Health Indicators

| Indicator                        | Code              | Unit                  |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------- | --------------------- |
| Health expenditure (% of GDP)    | SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS | Percentage            |
| Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) | SH.MED.BEDS.ZS    | Per 1,000             |
| Physicians (per 1,000 people)    | SH.MED.PHYS.ZS    | Per 1,000             |
| Mortality rate, infant           | SP.DYN.IMRT.IN    | Per 1,000 live births |
| Mortality rate, under-5          | SH.DYN.MORT       | Per 1,000 live births |

## Education Indicators

| Indicator                              | Code              | Unit       |
| -------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ---------- |
| Education expenditure (% of GDP)       | SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS | Percentage |
| School enrollment, primary (% net)     | SE.PRM.NENR       | Percentage |
| School enrollment, secondary (% net)   | SE.SEC.NENR       | Percentage |
| Literacy rate, adult (% of people 15+) | SE.ADT.LITR.ZS    | Percentage |

## Environment Indicators

| Indicator                                 | Code              | Unit        |
| ----------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------- |
| CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)    | EN.ATM.CO2E.PC    | Metric tons |
| CO2 emissions (kt)                        | EN.ATM.CO2E.KT    | Kilotons    |
| Renewable energy consumption (% of total) | EG.FEC.RNEW\.ZS   | Percentage  |
| Forest area (% of land area)              | AG.LND.FRST.ZS    | Percentage  |
| Energy use (kg oil equivalent per capita) | EG.USE.PCAP.KG.OE | kg oil eq   |

## Understanding Indicator Units

| Unit Type         | Meaning                          | Example                     |
| ----------------- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------- |
| **Current US\$**  | Value at today's prices          | GDP, Trade volume           |
| **Constant US\$** | Inflation-adjusted (base year)   | Real GDP growth             |
| **PPP**           | Purchasing Power Parity adjusted | Living standard comparisons |
| **% of GDP**      | Share of total economy           | Government spending         |
| **Per capita**    | Per person                       | CO2 emissions/person        |
| **Per 1,000**     | Rate per thousand people         | Birth rate, Hospital beds   |
| **Index**         | Relative to base year            | CPI (2010=100)              |

## Finding Indicators

### By Topic

Use the category filters:

* Economic Growth
* Trade & Finance
* Employment & Labor
* Prices & Inflation
* Demographics & Population
* Health
* Education
* Environment

### By Search

Type natural language queries:

* "GDP growth" → GDP growth rate indicators
* "unemployment" → Unemployment indicators
* "carbon emissions" → CO2/GHG indicators

### By Code

If you know the indicator code, search directly using any source's format:

* "NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG" → World Bank: GDP growth (annual %)
* "GDPC1" → FRED: Real Gross Domestic Product
* "UNRATE" → FRED: Civilian Unemployment Rate
* "UNE\_DEAP\_SEX\_AGE\_RT" → ILO: Unemployment rate by sex and age
* "WHOSIS\_000001" → WHO: Life expectancy at birth