Developing country
A country with a less-developed industrial base and lower HDI, though definitions vary widely.
The term "developing country" generally refers to a nation with a less advanced industrial base and a lower Human Development Index than a developed country, though no single definition is universally accepted. It is also unclear exactly which countries belong in this category. Related terms like low- and middle-income country (LMIC) and newly emerging economy (NEE) focus only on economic factors. The World Bank sorts economies into four income groups based on gross national income per capita: high, upper-middle, lower-middle, and low. Sub-groupings of developing countries include least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and small island developing states. Countries at the opposite end are typically called high-income or developed countries.
Quick Facts
- Classification basis
- Gross national income per capita (World Bank)
- Income groups
- High
- upper-middle
- lower-middle
- low
- Alternative terms
- LMIC
- NEE
- Global South
- Common characteristics
- Lower access to safe water
- sanitation
- healthcare; higher poverty
- pollution
- infectious diseases
- Imf focus
- Income and other factors (e.g., advanced vs. emerging/developing), not solely financial integration
- Wto rule
- Accepts any country's self-declaration as 'developing'
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
There are controversies over the terms' use, as some feel that it perpetuates an outdated concept of 'us' and 'them'. In 2015, the World Bank declared that the 'developing/developed world categorization' had become less relevant and that they would phase out the use of that descriptor. Instead, their reports will present data aggregations for regions and income groups. The term 'Global South' is used by some as an alternative term to developing countries. Developing countries tend to have some characteristics in common, often due to their histories or geographies. These are the characteristics captured by the data and definitions of the World Bank and the United Nations. On the other hand, the IMF classification focuses solely on financial integration and stability and not on the overall level of social and economic development of a country. It is also reflected by the IMF terminology that uses markets/economies and not countries. Moreover, the adoption of the Euro has earned several European countries an immediate upgrade by IMF to being a developed economy (a standard practice by the IMF) based on the larger financial integration without considering any other factors of economic or social development.
Reader's Guide
Among other characteristics, developing or low and medium income countries (as defined by the World Bank) commonly have lower levels of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, energy poverty, higher levels of pollution (e.g., air pollution, littering, water pollution, open defecation); higher proportions of people with tropical and infectious diseases (neglected tropical diseases); more road traffic accidents; and generally poorer quality infrastructure. In addition, there are often high unemployment rates, widespread poverty, widespread hunger, extreme poverty, child labour, malnutrition, homelessness, substance abuse, prostitution, overpopulation, civil disorder, human capital flight, a large informal economy, high crime rates (extortion, robbery, burglary, murder, homicide, arms trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, kidnapping, rape), high incarceration rates, low education levels, economic inequality, school desertion, inadequate access to family planning services, teenage pregnancy, many informal settlements and slums, corruption at all government levels, and political instability. Unlike developed countries, developing countries lack the rule of law. Access to healthcare is often low. People in developing countries usually have lower life expectancies than people in developed countries, reflecting both lower income levels and poorer public health. The burden of infectious diseases, maternal mortality, child mortality and infant mortality are typically substantially higher in those countries. The effects of climate change are expected to affect developing countries more than high-income countries, as most of them have a high climate vulnerability or low climate resilience. Phrases such as 'resource poor setting' or 'low-resource setting' are often used when referring to healthcare in developing countries. Developing countries often have lower median ages than developed countries. Population aging is a global phenomenon, but population age has risen more slowly in developing countries. Development aid or development cooperation is financial aid given by foreign governments and other agencies to support developing countries' economic, environmental, social, and political development. If the Sustainable Development Goals which were set up by United Nations for the year 2030 are achieved, they would overcome many problems.
The Elusive Definition
The question of what makes a nation developed has no single, universally accepted answer. Multiple international bodies—the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Bank, the Development Assistance Committee, the International Monetary Fund, the Paris Club, and the UN Industrial Development Organization—each offer their own classification frameworks. Commonly cited benchmarks include gross domestic product, gross national income, per capita income, the degree of industrialization, the breadth of infrastructure, and overall standard of living. Yet the United Nations Statistics Division itself acknowledges that no established convention exists within the UN system for designating countries as developed or developing, noting that such labels are meant for statistical convenience rather than as a judgment on a nation's progress. The UN Conference on Trade and Development nonetheless maintains the categorization, broadly grouping Northern America, Europe, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand into the developed camp. This patchwork of definitions means that the exact roster of developed nations shifts depending on which institution's yardstick you consult.
Beyond the Numbers: The Human Development Index
While income-based metrics like GDP per capita have long dominated the conversation, the Human Development Index has emerged as a more holistic yardstick. By weaving together national income, life expectancy, and educational attainment, the HDI attempts to capture how a country converts its economic output into tangible human well-being. The United Nations emphasizes that this approach goes beyond raw productivity, measuring how income translates into health and learning opportunities. However, the HDI is not without blind spots. It does not factor in net wealth per capita or the relative quality of goods available to citizens, a gap that some argue artificially depresses the rankings of highly advanced economies, including several G7 members.
Economic Architecture and Global Weight
Developed nations are distinguished by their post-industrial economic structure, in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors—services, finance, technology, and knowledge industries—generate more wealth than manufacturing and other secondary activities. This stands in sharp contrast to developing nations, which are still in the process of industrialization or remain largely agrarian, some falling into the category of least developed countries.
Labels, History, and Critique
The vocabulary surrounding this concept is remarkably fluid. Alongside developed country, one encounters advanced country, industrialized country, more developed country, more economically developed country, Global North country, first world country, and post-industrial country. The term industrialized carries a particular ambiguity because industrialization is an ongoing process rather than a fixed endpoint. Historically, the United Kingdom was the first nation to industrialize, followed by Belgium, with the process later spreading to Germany, the United States, France, and other Western European states. Yet economist Jeffrey Sachs has argued that the current sharp divide between the developed and developing worlds is largely a twentieth-century construction. The binary framing has drawn pointed criticism: Mathis Wackernagel has called the labeling neither descriptive nor explanatory, describing it as a thoughtless and destructive endorsement of GDP fetish that obscures the reality of over 200 distinct nations, each governed by the same natural laws yet shaped by unique circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the World Bank sort economies into developing versus developed tiers?
The World Bank divides national economies into four tiers—high-income, upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income, and low-income—using gross national income per capita as the measuring stick. The three lower tiers are what people commonly lump together as 'developing.'
What other terms do people use instead of 'developing country'?
You will often see the labels LMIC (low- and middle-income country), NEE (newly emerging economy), or Global South used in place of 'developing country.' These alternatives tend to focus specifically on the economic dimension rather than implying a broader developmental gap.
What common challenges are associated with developing countries?
Nations in this category typically face more limited access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and quality healthcare, alongside higher rates of poverty, pollution, and infectious disease. These traits are general tendencies rather than absolute rules for every country in the group.
How does the WTO decide whether a country counts as developing?
Under WTO rules, any member nation can simply declare itself as a developing country, and that self-identification is accepted at face value. There is no external verification process or fixed income threshold the organization enforces for this status.
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