The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and is surrounded by fierce debate. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita; countries with high gross domestic product The gross domestic product or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living, though its use as a stand-in for measuring the standard of living has (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion is industrialization Industrialisation is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from a pre-industrial society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and; countries in which the tertiary The tertiary sector of the economy is one of the three economic sectors, the others being the secondary sector (approximately manufacturing) and the primary sector (extraction such as mining, agriculture and fishing). The general definition of the tertiary sector is producing a service instead of just an end product, in the case of the secondary and quaternary sectors of industry The quaternary sector of the economy is an extension of the three-sector hypothesis of industry. It principally concerns the following services: information generation, information sharing, consultation, education and research and development. It is sometimes incorporated into the tertiary sector but some argue that intellectual services are dominate would thus be described as developed. More recently another measure, the Human Development Index The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used as an index to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate developed (high development), developing (middle development), and underdeveloped (low development) countries. The statistic is composed from statistics for Life Expectancy, Education, and GDP collected at, which combines with 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. However, many anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by whichever measure is used.

Countries not fitting such definitions are classified as developing countries Developing country is a term generally used to describe a nation with a low level of material well being. There is no single internationally-recognized definition of developed country, and the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries, with some developing countries having high average standards of living.

Similar terms

Terms similar to developed country include advanced country, industrialized country, more developed country (MDC), more economically developed country (MEDC), Global North country, first world country, and post-industrial country. The term industrialized country may be somewhat ambiguous, as industrialization Industrialisation is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from a pre-industrial society into an industrial one. It is a part of a wider modernisation process, where social change and economic development are closely related with technological innovation, particularly with the development of large-scale energy and is an ongoing process that is hard to define. The term MEDC is one used by modern geographers to specifically describe the status of the countries referred to: more economically developed. The first industrialised country was Britain, followed by Belgium (Wallonia), Germany, United States, France and other Western European Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe. Another definition was created during the Cold War countries. According to some economists An economist is a professional 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 many sub-fields, ranging from the broad philosophical theories to the focused study of minutiae within specific markets, such as Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. One of the youngest economics professors in the history of Harvard University, Sachs became renowned for implementing economic shock therapy throughout the developing world and in Eastern Europe, and subsequently for his work on the challenges, however, the current divide between the developed and developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20^th century.^[1]

Definition

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, former Secretary General of the United Nations, defined a developed country as follows. " A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment."^[2] But according to the United Nations Statistics Division The United Nations Statistics Division , under the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), serves as the central mechanism within the Secretariat of the United Nations to supply the statistical needs and coordinating activities of the global statistical system. The Division is overseen by the United Nations Statistical,

There is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in the United Nations The United Nations Organization or simply United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of system.^[3]

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.^[4]

The UN also notes

In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in North America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania Oceania is a geographical, and often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville.[dubious – discuss] The term is also sometimes used to denote a continent comprising Australia and proximate Pacific islands,, and Europe are considered "developed" regions or areas. In international trade statistics, the Southern African Customs Union The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa is also treated as a developed region and Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the as a developed country; countries emerging from the former Yugoslavia Yugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the western part of Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century are treated as developing countries; and countries of eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and even volatile, as there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region". A related UN paper adds that "every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct& and of the Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств, СНГ, tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, SNG) is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union (code 172) in Europe are not included under either developed or developing regions.^[3]

According to the classification from IMF The International Monetary Fund is the intergovernmental organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rate and the balance of payments. It is an organization formed with a stated objective of stabilizing international exchange before April 2004, all the countries of Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and even volatile, as there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region". A related UN paper adds that "every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct& (including Central European countries which still belongs to "Eastern Europe Group" in the UN institutions) as well as the former Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Mongolia Mongolia (pronounced /mɒŋˈɡoʊliə/; Mongolian: Монгол улс , literally Mongol country/nation, ) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It borders Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only 38, were not included under either developed or developing regions, but rather were referred to as "countries in transition"; however they are now widely regarded (in the international reports) as "developing countries". In the 21^st century, the original Four Asian Tigers These regions were the first newly industrialized countries, noted for maintaining exceptionally high growth rates and rapid industrialization between the early 1960s and 1990s. In the 21st century, all four regions have since graduated into advanced economies and high-income economies. These regions are still the world's fastest growing which are the^[5] regions (Hong Kong Hong Kong is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China; the other is Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million), and the countries ^[5][6] Taiwan The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia comprising the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor islands located off the east coast of mainland China. Neighbouring states include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south, Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres north of the equator, in the Southeast Asian region of the Asian continent. It is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north, and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. A and^[5][6] South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국, pronounced [tɛːhanminɡuk̚] ( listen)), is a country in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul. South Korea lies in a temperate climate^{[5][5][6][6][7][8]}) are considered "developed" region or areas, along with Cyprus Cyprus (pronounced /ˈsaɪprəs/ ; Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipros]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipriaˈci ðimokraˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti) is an Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey,^[6] Israel Israel , officially the State of Israel (Hebrew: מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medīnat Yisrā'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan and the,^[6] and Slovenia Slovenia /sloʊˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija, [reˈpublika sloˈveːnija] (help·info)), is a country in Central Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the southwest, Croatia on the south and east, Hungary on,^[6] considered "newly developed countries".

Human Development Index

The UN HDI The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used as an index to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate developed (high development), developing (middle development), and underdeveloped (low development) countries. The statistic is composed from statistics for Life Expectancy, Education, and GDP collected at is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and 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." A few examples are Italy and the United States. Despite a relatively large difference in GDP per capita, both countries rank roughly equal in term of overall human development.^[9] Since 1980, Norway After World War II, Norway experienced rapid economic growth, with the first two decades due to the Norwegian shipping and merchant marine and domestic industrialization, and from the early 1970s, a result of exploiting large oil and natural gas deposits that had been discovered in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Today, Norway ranks as the (2001–2006 and 2009), Japan Japan is an island state in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is (1990–91 and 1993), Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland b. ^ Iceland, the Faeroes and Greenland were formally Norwegian possessions until 1814 despite 400 years of Danish monarchy beforehand (2007–08) have had the highest HDI score. Countries with a score of over 0.800 are considered to have a "high" standard of human development. The top 38 countries have scores ranging from 0.902 in Malta Malta /ˈmɔːltə/ , officially the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia, with the Strait of Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east to 0.971 in Norway After World War II, Norway experienced rapid economic growth, with the first two decades due to the Norwegian shipping and merchant marine and domestic industrialization, and from the early 1970s, a result of exploiting large oil and natural gas deposits that had been discovered in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Today, Norway ranks as the.^[10]

Many countries listed by IMF or^[11] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.9 (as of 2007). Many countries^[12] possessing an HDI of 0.9 and over (as of 2007), are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2009) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2007).

The latest index was released on October 5, 2009 and covers the period up to 2007. The following are the 38 countries classified as possessing a "Very high human development" with an HDI at or above 0.900.^[13]

Other lists of Developed Countries

Only three institutions have produced lists of "developed countries". The three institutions and their lists are the UN list (shown above), the CIA^[14] list and the FTSE Group's list, whose list is not included because its association of developed countries with countries with both high incomes and developed markets is not deemed as directly relevant here.^[15] However many institutions have created lists which are sometimes referred to when people are discussing developed countries. The IMF identifies 34 "advanced economies",^[6] The OECD, also widely known as the 'developed countries club' ^[16][17][18] has 30 members. The World Bank identifies 66 "high income countries". The EIU's Quality-of-life survey and a list of countries with welfare states are also included here. The criteria for using all these lists and for countries' inclusion on these lists are often not properly spelt out, and several of these lists are based on old data.

IMF advanced economies

According to the International Monetary Fund the following 34 countries are classified as "advanced economies":^[6]

The CIA has a modified version of an old version of the IMF's list of Advanced Economies. The CIA notes that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover"^[14] some smaller countries. They are:

The CIA list does not include Cyprus, Czech Republic, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia which have all been added to the IMF's list since the CIA's made its presumptions about the IMF list, but it includes Turkey.

Development Assistance Committee members

There are 24 members—selected 23 OECD member countries and the European Commission—in the Development Assistance Committee,^[20] a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries.^[21] As of 2010^[update], the following OECD member countries are DAC members:

The DAC membership excludes the following OECD members: Czech Republic, Hungary, Iceland, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey.

High-income OECD members

There are 27 High-income OECD members,^[22] although there are four other OECD members (Mexico, Poland, Turkey, and Chile) that are not high-income members. These countries are listed as upper-middle-income economies. Estonia, Israel and Slovenia, being high income economies, were invited to join OECD in May 2010^[23]. As of 2010, the High-income OECD membership is as follows:

21 countries in Europe:

2 countries in Asia:

2 countries in North America:

2 countries in Oceania:

World Bank high-income economies

"High income economies" are defined by the World Bank as countries with a Gross National Income per capita of $11,906 or more in 2008.^[24] According to the United Nations definition some high income countries may also be developing countries. Thus, a high income country may be classified as either developed or developing.^[25]

According to the World Bank, the following 67 countries and territories are classified as "high-income economies":^[26][27][28]

High-income economy not classified by World Bank:

• Holy See^{[citation needed]}

Quality-of-life survey

Research about standards of living and quality of life by the Economist Intelligence Unit resulted in a quality-of-life index. As of 2005, the highest ranked countries are:^[29]

See also

• Developed market
• Emerging markets

References

1. ^ Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty. The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-045-9.
2. ^ http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/G_05_00.htm
3. ^ ^{a b} "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings (footnote C)". United Nations Statistics Division. revised 17 October 2008. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#ftnc. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
4. ^ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/economics/78/East-Asian-Tigers-.html
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information, October 2009.
7. ^ http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1018.html
8. ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98c62f1c-850f-11dd-b148-0000779fd18c.html
9. ^ "UN. (2006). Human Development Report.". http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/flash/statistics_hdi.cfm. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
10. ^ "UN. (2008). Human Development Index: A Statistical Update.". http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/news/title,15493,en.html. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
11. ^ The official classification of "advanced countries" is originally made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF list doesn't deal with non-IMF members. The CIA intends to follow IMF list but adds few countries which aren't dealt with by IMF due to their not being IMF members. By May 2001, the advanced country list of the CIA was more comprehensive than the original IMF list. However, since May 2001, three additional countries (Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia) have been added to the original IMF list, thus leaving the CIA list not updated.
12. ^ Namely sovereign states, i.e. excluding Macau: In 2003 the government of Macau calculated its HDI as being 0.909 (the UN does not calculate Macau's HDI); In January 2007, the People's Daily reported (from China Modernization Report 2007): "In 2004...Macau...had reached the level of developed countries". However, Macau is not recognized by any international organisation as a developed/advanced territory, while the UNCTAD organisaion (of the UN), as well as the CIA, classify Macao as a "developing" territory. The World Bank classifies Macau as a high income economy (along with developed economies as well as with few developing economies).
13. ^ [1]
14. ^ ^{a b} CIA (2008). "Appendix B. International Organizations and Groups. World Factbook.". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
15. ^ http://www.ftse.com/Indices/Country_Classification/Downloads/FTSE_Country_Classification_Sept_09_update.pdf The Developed Countries Glossary entry reads: "The following countries are classified by FTSE as developed countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States."
16. ^ http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no160/104.shtml
17. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19971214/34850733.html
18. ^ http://www.esri.go.jp/en/forum1/minute/minute26-e.html
19. ^ World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, October 2009, second paragraph, line 9–10.
20. ^ http://www.oecd.org/document/38/0,3343,en_2649_34603_1893350_1_1_1_1,00.html
21. ^ DAC website >> "The DAC in Dates", On the DAC's self-description, see the introductory letter. On other events, refer to the relevant section by date.
22. ^ http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20421402~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html
23. ^ [2]
24. ^ "World Bank, Country Classification". http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20420458~menuPK:64133156~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-11.
25. ^ "UN. (2005). UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics.". http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/tdstat30_enfr.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
26. ^ World Bank - Country Groups. Accessed on July 11, 2009
27. ^ World Bank - Country Classification. Accessed on October 12, 2008, last paragraph, line 4.
28. ^ Country classification table, World Bank. Accessed on line December 22, 2008.
29. ^ The world in 2005: The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, The Economist. Accessed on line January 8, 2007.

External links

• IMF (advanced economies)
• The Economist (quality of life survey)
• The World Factbook (developed countries)
• United Nations Statistics Division (definition)
• United Nations Statistics Division (developed regions)
• World Bank (high-income economies)

Categories: Country classifications | Human geography | Economic geography | Development | Lists of countries

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