Journal profile · Multiple
World Development
ISSN 0305-750X · eISSN 1873-5991 · Elsevier
World Development: CAS Zone 1 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.97; hybrid open access; APC about USD 5,895; 322 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
World Development is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare, International Development and Aid and Income, Poverty, and Inequality, together about 23.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Browse through a wide range of high-quality academic journals offered by Elsevier, including open access options, to enrich your research journey.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Poverty, Education, and Child WelfareSocial Sciences10%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences6.9%
- Income, Poverty, and InequalitySocial Sciences6.2%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.1%
- Global trade and economicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.5%
- Microfinance and Financial InclusionEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.4%
- Agricultural risk and resilienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.2%
- Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource ManagementEnvironmental Science4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Economics Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Development Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Economics | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 4.97LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.03LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 354OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 7,023OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 5.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 52.46%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 293LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,931 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 210 | 135 | 105 |
| 2025 | 322 | 194 | 1,153 |
| 2024 | 309 | 202 | 3,496 |
| 2023 | 263 | 168 | 5,296 |
| 2022 | 302 | 182 | 8,394 |
| 2021 | 356 | 199 | 14,773 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 4,780 / GBP 4,470 / JPY 3,830 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- ISSN
- 0305-750X
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-5991
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about World Development
What CAS zone is World Development in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, World Development is in Zone 1 of Economics, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Economics / Development Studies; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of World Development?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.97; CiteScore 9.3, h-index 354.
Which databases index World Development?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, World Development is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is World Development open access, and what is the APC?
World Development is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 5,895.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .