Learn how FinData’s indicators are compiled and its composite indices constructed. Full details are in the methodology note and the reproducibility package.
FinData draws mainly on data from international organizations (for example, the World Federation of Exchanges and the World Bank) and commercial providers (for example, Fitch and Bloomberg).
Each indicator is checked for outliers and unreliable observations. Suspect values are corrected against credible external sources where possible and otherwise treated as missing. Every modification is documented in the reproducibility package.
The economies considered for the indices are World Bank members, plus Hong Kong SAR, China and Taiwan, China. An economy is included if at least 25 percent of its core indicator observations are available over 2015–2024. On this basis, 147 of 218 economies are covered for 2000–2024.
FinData follows a minimum-necessary-imputation principle:
Any remaining gaps are left missing.
Indicators are winsorized at the 5th and 95th percentiles and rescaled to 0–1 using min-max normalization over all economies and years, so that higher values always indicate greater development. Indicators are averaged within each segment and dimension, and higher-level indices are equal-weight averages of the indices below them.
The indices were tested against alternative treatments of missing data and an alternative normalization method. The selected approach balances plausibility against income and human development, stability of economy rankings over time, coverage, and interpretability.
