![IMF advanced economies and UN least developed countries](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/IMF_advanced_economies_and_UN_least_developed_countries.svg)
A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country
) is a
sovereign state
A sovereign state or sovereign country, is a political entity represented by one central government that has supreme legitimate authority over territory. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, defined te ...
that has a high
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
,
developed economy
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...
and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...
(GDP),
gross national product
The gross national income (GNI), previously known as gross national product (GNP), is the total domestic and foreign output claimed by residents of a country, consisting of gross domestic product (GDP), plus factor incomes earned by foreign ...
(GNP), the
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. A point of reference of US$20,000 in 2021 USD
nominal GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...
per capita for the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) is a good point of departure, it is a similar level of development to the United States in 1960.
Developed countries have generally more advanced
post-industrial economies, meaning the
service sector provides more wealth than the
industrial sector. They are contrasted with
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
, which are in the process of
industrialisation or are pre-industrial and almost entirely
agrarian, some of which might fall into the category of
Least Developed Countries. As of 2015, advanced economies comprise 60.8% of global GDP based on
nominal values and 42.9% of global GDP based on
purchasing-power parity (PPP) according to the IMF.
Definition and criteria
![Map of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita in 2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Map_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita_in_2022.svg)
Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is the income per capita; countries with the high
gross domestic product
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is oft ...
(GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion is
industrialisation; countries in which the
tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
and
quaternary sectors of industry dominate would thus be described as developed. More recently, another measure, the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, wh ...
(HDI), which combines an economic measure, national income, with other measures, indices for life expectancy and education has become prominent. This criterion would define developed countries as those with a very high (HDI) rating. The index, however, does not take into account several factors, such as the
net wealth per capita or the relative
quality of goods in a country. This situation tends to lower the ranking of some of the most advanced countries, such as the
G7 members and others.
According to the
United Nations Statistics Division
The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), formerly the United Nations Statistical Office, serves under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) as the central mechanism within the Secretariat of the United Nations ...
:
There is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
system.
And it notes that:
The designations "developed" and "developing" are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.
Nevertheless, the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...
considers that this categorization can continue to be applied:
The developed economies broadly comprise Northern America and Europe, Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Similar terms
Terms linked to the concept ''developed country'' include "advanced country", "industrialized country", "'more developed country" (MDC), "more economically developed country" (MEDC), "
Global North
Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003
* ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007
* ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989
* ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015
* Bruno ...
country", "
first world country", and "post-industrial country". The term industrialized country may be somewhat ambiguous, as
industrialisation is an ongoing process that is hard to define. The first industrialized country was the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, followed by
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Later it spread further to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and other
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
an countries. According to some
economist
An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics.
The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...
s such as
Jeffrey Sachs
Jeffrey David Sachs () (born 5 November 1954) is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst, and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is known for his work ...
, however, the current divide between the developed and
developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20th century.
Mathis Wackernagel
Mathis Wackernagel is a Swiss-born sustainability advocate. He is President of Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability think tank with offices in Oakland, California; Brussels, Belgium, and Geneva, Switzerland. The think-tank ...
calls the binary labeling of countries as "neither descriptive nor explanatory. It is merely a thoughtless and destructive endorsement of GDP fetish. In reality, there are not two types of countries, but over 200 countries, all faced with the same laws of nature, yet each with unique features."
A 2021 analysis proposes the term ''emerged'' to describe markets, economies, or countries that have graduated from
emerging market
An emerging market (or an emerging country or an emerging economy) is a market that has some characteristics of a developed market, but does not fully meet its standards. This includes markets that may become developed markets in the future or wer ...
status, but have not yet reached the level equivalent to developed countries. Multinational corporations from these emerging markets present unique patterns of overseas expansion and knowledge acquisition from foreign countries.
Economy lists by various criteria
Human Development Index (HDI)
![Countries with Very High HDI in the 2019 Human Development Index Report](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Countries_with_Very_High_HDI_in_the_2019_Human_Development_Index_Report.svg)
The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges an economy's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and being a prosperous economy, the UN points out that the HDI accounts for more than income or productivity. Unlike GDP per capita or per capita income, the HDI takes into account how income is turned "into education and health opportunities and therefore into higher levels of human development."
Since 1990,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
(2001–2006, 2009–2019),
Japan (1990–1991 and 1993),
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(1992 and 1994–2000) and
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
(2007–2008) have had the highest HDI score.
The following countries ranked from 1 to 66 in the year 2021 are considered to be of "very high human development":
High-income economies
Some institutions have produced lists of developed countries: the UN (list shown above), the CIA,
and some providers of stock market indices (the
FTSE Group
FTSE International Limited trading as FTSE Russell ( "Footsie") is a British provider of stock market indices and associated data services, wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and operating from premises in Canary Wharf. It operat ...
,
MSCI
MSCI Inc. is an American finance company headquartered in New York City. MSCI is a global provider of equity, fixed income, real estate indexes, multi-asset portfolio analysis tools, ESG and climate products. It operates the MSCI World, MSCI ...
,
S&P,
Dow Jones,
STOXX, etc.). The latter is not included here because its association of developed countries with countries with both high incomes and
developed market
In investing, a developed market is a country that is most developed in terms of its economy and capital markets. The country must be high income, but this also includes openness to foreign ownership, ease of capital movement, and efficiency of ma ...
s is not deemed as directly relevant.
[The Developed Countries Glossary](_blank)
entry reads: "The following countries are classified by FTSE as developed countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States."
However, many other institutions have created more general lists referred to when discussing developed countries. For example, the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
(IMF) identifies 39 "advanced economies".
[World Economic Outlook](_blank)
, International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
, September 2011, p. 165. The
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
's 37 members are known as the "developed countries club". The
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
identifies 81 "high income countries".
Other standards, such as the 30-50 Club (GDP per capita over $30,000 and population over 50 million) have been developed to categorize highly developed and influential countries.
World Bank high-income economies
![High-income economies 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/High-income_economies_2019.png)
According to the World Bank the following 80 countries and territories are classified as "high-income economies". As of the 2022 fiscal year, high-income economies are those that had a GNI per capita of $12,696 or more in 2020.
[https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups , ]World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
. Accessed on 8 July 2021.
36 countries and territories in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
:
20 countries and territories in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
:
15 countries and territories in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
:
eight countries and territories in
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
:
one country in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
:
nine former high-income economies:
* Between 1994 and 2009, as a part of the .
# Dissolved on 10 October 2010, succeeded by Curaçao and Sint Maarten
Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the nort ...
.
High-income OECD members
According to the World Bank, the following 34 members are classified as "OECD High-Income":
26 countries in Europe:
three countries in the Americas:
three countries in Asia:
two countries in Oceania:
Development Assistance Committee members
![DAC members](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/DAC_members.svg)
There are 29
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
member countries and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
—in the
Development Assistance Committee
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the ...
(DAC),
[Peer reviews of DAC members – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development](_blank)
. Oecd.org. Retrieved 22 October 2013. a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding
development aid
Development aid is a type of foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political development of developing countries. Closely-related concepts include: develop ...
and
poverty reduction
Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.
Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics cl ...
in
developing countries
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
.
[DAC website >> "The DAC in Dates"](_blank)
, On the DAC's self-description, see the introductory letter. On other events, refer to the relevant section by date. The following OECD member countries are DAC members:
23 countries in Europe:
two countries in the Americas:
two countries in Asia:
two countries in Oceania:
IMF advanced economies
![IMF advanced economies 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/IMF_advanced_economies_2008.svg)
According to the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
, 40 countries and territories are officially listed as "advanced economies",
with the addition of 7
microstates
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law.Warrington, E. (1994). "Lilliputs ...
and dependencies modified by the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
which were omitted from the IMF version :
28 countries and dependencies in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
classified by the IMF, 6 others given by the CIA :
seven countries and territories in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
:
three countries and territories in the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
classified by the IMF, one territory given by the CIA :
two countries in
Oceania
Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
:
d The CIA has modified an older version of the IMF's list of 38 Advanced Economies, noting that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover the following nine smaller countries of Andorra, Bermuda, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Holy See, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino
... San Marino (2012) and Andorra (2021) were later included in the IMF's list.
Paris Club members
![Map of Paris Club](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Map_of_Paris_Club.png)
There are 22 permanent members in the
Paris Club
The Paris Club (french: Club de Paris) is a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries. As debtor countries undertake ...
(french: Club de Paris), a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.
15 countries in Europe:
three countries in the Americas:
three countries in Asia:
one country in Oceania:
Comparative table (2022)
Comparative table of countries with a "very high" human development (0.800 or higher), according to
UNDP
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
; "advanced" economies, according to the
IMF; "high income" economies, according to the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...
; and income per capita (purchasing power parity) higher than $22,000, according to the
IMF.
Rankings
The list below features some outstanding countries selected from the comparative table above with average data of quality (best place in rankings) and quantity (considered in how many of the 36 rankings) with an average between quality and quantity greater than 60%.
See also
*
Digital divide
*
First World privilege
First World privilege is any advantages accrued by an individual by virtue of being a national of a First World country.
Overview
First-World privilege is often explicitly maintained by legal means such as immigration laws and trade barriers. F ...
*
First World problem
__NOTOC__
First World problem is an informal term for the issues in First World nations that are complained about in response to the perceived absence of more pressing concerns. Although it has been described as "a subset of the fallacy of relat ...
*
Fourth World
*
Globalization
Globalization, or globalisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is the process of foreign relation ...
*
G8
*
G7
*
List of countries by wealth per adult
This is a list of countries of the world by wealth per adult or household, from sources such as Credit Suisse's annual ''Global Wealth Databook'' See table 3-1 for all countries, on pages 119-122, for mean and median wealth, Gini coefficient, ...
*
Multinational corporation
A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
*
Western Bloc
The Western Bloc, also known as the Free Bloc, the Capitalist Bloc, the American Bloc, and the NATO Bloc, was a coalition of countries that were officially allied with the United States during the Cold War of 1947–1991. It was spearheaded by ...
Notes
References
External links
*
IMF(advanced economies)
(developed countries)
United Nations Statistics Division(definition)
(developed regions)
World Bank(high-income economies)
{{Authority control
Economic country classifications
Human geography
Economic geography
Country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...
Lists of countries
Imperialism studies