ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Modified gross national income

Modified Gross National Income (GNI) is a way to measure a country's income, but we need to understand what income is first. Income is the money that you make or earn by working, selling things or investments. Just like you have income, countries also have income which is called Gross National Income (GNI).

GNI is the total amount of money that a country earns from all the things that people sell or make in that country, including the money that comes in from other countries. But sometimes, things like natural disasters, wars, and diseases can interrupt a country's output, and this impacts the country's ability to earn money. So, in order to measure a country's true income, we need to modify (make changes to) the GNI by adding some things and taking away some things.

For instance, if a country has a lot of foreign-owned companies operating within its borders, the profits that these companies earn will be added to the GNI, because that money is still considered a part of the country's income every year. However, if a portion of the country's income is going towards paying off its debt, it must be subtracted from the GNI as it does not add to national resources. Modifying GNI also accounts for things like non-monetary output, such as when parents take care of their children or when people grow their own food to eat, as these activities do not contribute to the country's GNI.

So, in summary, Modified Gross National Income (GNI) is a way of measuring a country's income after modifying different factors that impact the country's ability to earn money every year, including foreign investments, debts, and non-monetary output.