Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average)

The DEC alternative conversion factor is the underlying annual exchange rate (the price of one country’s currency in relation to another country's currency) used for the World Bank Atlas method. As a rule, it is the official exchange rate reported in the IMF's International Financial Statistics. Exceptions arise where further refinements are made by World Bank staff. It is expressed in local currency units per U.S. dollar.

Exchange rates represent the nominal value of a national currency expressed in terms of the value of another currency. The nominal value of a national currency in a specific month or year is defined as Local Currency Units (LCU). Standard Local Currency Units (SLC) are the values of an old national currency expressed in terms of the most recent national currency against the US dollar. Annual exchange rates data are expressed as SLC and LCU against the US dollar. Monthly exchange rates data are expressed as LCU against the US dollar.

Net foreign assets are the sum of foreign assets held by monetary authorities and deposit money banks, less their foreign liabilities. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This series is expressed in local currency units.

Inflation as measured by the consumer price index reflects the annual percentage change in the cost to the average consumer of acquiring a basket of goods and services that may be fixed or changed at specified intervals, such as yearly.

Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.

Real effective exchange rate is the nominal effective exchange rate (a measure of the value of a currency against a weighted average of several foreign currencies) divided by a price deflator or index of costs. This indicator is an index series where 2010=100.