
Developed and Developing Countries are terms used to describe the different levels of economic development in countries around the world. Developed countries are typically high-income countries with well-developed infrastructure and a high standard of living.
What countries are considered developing?
Developing countries list. Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Angola Anguila Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia/Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Rep. Chad Chile
What are the top 10 developed countries?
Top 10 Most Developed Countries
- France. France is a developed country and has one of the world’s largest economies. ...
- United Kingdom. As the 11th-largest world economy, Canada has a diverse economic base. ...
- Brazil. Brazil, as of 2016, has a population of 209.4 million and a GDP of 1.775 trillion. ...
- Indonesia. ...
- Russia. ...
- Germany. ...
- Japan. ...
- India. ...
- United States. ...
- China. ...
Which countries are developing nations?
Developing countries list. Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Angola Anguila Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados ...
What are some examples of developing countries?
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Cambodia
- Chad
- Ethiopia
- Haiti
- Kiribati
- Liberia

What is considered a developed country?
A developed country—also called an industrialized country—has a mature and sophisticated economy, usually measured by gross domestic product (GDP) and/or average income per resident. Developed countries have advanced technological infrastructure and have diverse industrial and service sectors.
What are 3 developed countries?
Developed Countries List 2022RankCountryHuman Development Index 20191Norway0.9572Switzerland0.9553Ireland0.9554Hong Kong0.949110 more rows
What are 3 differences between developed and developing countries?
Loved by our communityThe countries which are independent and prosperous are known as Developed Countries. ... Developed Countries have a high per capita income and GDP as compared to Developing Countries.In Developed Countries the literacy rate is high, but in Developing Countries illiteracy rate is high.More items...•
What are Developed Countries example?
Examples of developed nations include the United States, the United Kingdom, and the majority of Western and Northern Europe, such as Germany, France, Denmark, and Sweden.
Why is China not a developed country?
However, given the rise in China's per capita income to become an upper middle-income country according to the World Bank and the country's alleged use of unfair trade practices such as preferential treatment for state enterprises, data restrictions and inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights, a number ...
What is difference between developed country and developing country?
A country having an effective rate of industrialization and individual income is known as Developed Country. Developing Country is a country which has a slow rate of industrialization and low per capita income. Infant mortality rate, death rate and birth rate is low while the life expectancy rate is high.
What are 5 characteristics of a developing country?
Common Characteristics of Developing EconomiesLow Per Capita Real Income.High Population Growth Rate.High Rates of Unemployment.Dependence on Primary Sector.Dependence on Exports of Primary Commodities.
What are 5 characteristics of a developed country?
Characteristics of Developed CountriesHas a high income per capita. Developed countries have high per capita incomes each year. ... Security Is Guaranteed. ... Guaranteed Health. ... Low unemployment rate. ... Mastering Science and Technology. ... The level of exports is higher than imports.
How do we classify developed and developing countries?
Low- and middle-income economies are usually referred to as developing economies, and the Upper Middle Income and the High Income are referred to as Developed Countries....Low income: $1,025 or less.Lower middle income: $1,026 to $4,035.Upper middle income: $4,036 to $12,475.High income: $12,476 or more.
Is China a developed country?
China is now an upper-middle-income country. It will be important going forward that poverty alleviation efforts increasingly shift to addressing the vulnerabilities faced by the large number of people still considered poor by the standards of middle-income countries, including those living in urban areas.
Is Japan a developed country?
Japan is one of the largest and most developed economies in the world. It has a well-educated, industrious workforce and its large, affluent population makes it one of the world's biggest consumer markets.
Is Russia a developed country?
Russia is still a developing nation because of the following reasons: Low GDP—the GDP of any economy is used to measure its development. Russia's GDP is borderline on most developed country metrics, meaning that it has not passed the threshold needed to be considered developed.
Is Japan a developed country?
Japan is one of the largest and most developed economies in the world. It has a well-educated, industrious workforce and its large, affluent population makes it one of the world's biggest consumer markets.
Is China a developed country?
China is now an upper-middle-income country. It will be important going forward that poverty alleviation efforts increasingly shift to addressing the vulnerabilities faced by the large number of people still considered poor by the standards of middle-income countries, including those living in urban areas.
Is Russia developed country?
Russia is still a developing nation because of the following reasons: Low GDP—the GDP of any economy is used to measure its development. Russia's GDP is borderline on most developed country metrics, meaning that it has not passed the threshold needed to be considered developed.
Is Russia a 3rd world country?
By the first definition, some examples of second world countries include: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and China, among others.
What Makes a Country Developed?
The United Nations sorts countries based on economic and social factors. They have three categories of countries:
The Difference Between Developed and Developing Countries
One of the most striking differences between the countries in the various categories of this system is the strength of their economy. Differences in the economic status of these countries are associated with differences in the general economic prosperity of their citizens.
Additional Questions
Define economic inequality. If there was zero economic inequality, what could be said about the citizens of that country?
Why do people in developing countries strive to move up the ladder of development?
In other words, people in developing countries strive to move up the ladder of development in order both to meet basic needs and to have the opportunity to lead richer, more fulfilling lives.
What is Development?
The definition of development is fundamental to the comparison of developed and developing countries. The United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) annual Human Development Report (HDR) defines human development as, “the expansion of people’s freedoms and capabilities to lead lives that they value and have reason to value. It is about expanding choices. Freedoms and capabilities are a more expansive notion than basic needs.” In other words, people in developing countries strive to move up the ladder of development in order both to meet basic needs and to have the opportunity to lead richer, more fulfilling lives.
How much has HDI increased in developing countries?
Most developing countries have made great progress over the past several decades judging by improvements to their HDIs. The average HDI increased by 41 percent overall and 60 percent for the lower quartile of developing countries since 1970. The rapid development of the BRIC countries from 1980 to 2011 is reflected in HDI increases ...
What is the HDI of a low human development country?
For the lower levels of development, HDI losses due to inequality range from 12.2 to 43.5 percent for “medium human development” countries and 27.4 to 41.6 percent for “low human development” countries.
What is the definition of development?
Development refers to developing countries working their up way up the ladder of economic performance, living standards, sustainability and equality that differentiates them from so-called developed countries. The point at which developing countries become “developed” comes down to a judgment call or statistical line in the sand that is often based on a combination of development indicators.
How does inequality affect development?
Inequality plays an important role in evaluating development statistics. While country averages can indicate overall progress, they can also obscure large numbers of people who may have been left out of the gains enjoyed by others. The UNDP has refined its approach to measuring human development by adjusting for several dimensions of inequality. The 2010 HDR introduced three new multidimensional measures of inequality and poverty: 1) Inequality-adjusted HDI (IHDI); 2) Gender Inequality Index (GII); and 3) Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Even for so-called “very high human development” countries, inequality adjustments result in HDI losses ranging from a low of 5.0 percent for the Czech Republic to a high of 19.5 percent for Argentina. For the lower levels of development, HDI losses due to inequality range from 12.2 to 43.5 percent for “medium human development” countries and 27.4 to 41.6 percent for “low human development” countries.
What are Developed Countries?
Developed countries refer to the countries who have already got massive development with terms to their economy, education, employment, sense of security. The countrymen of developed countries enjoy the higher per capita income level and have more stability in their economic sector. In other word developed countries are also called ‘post-industrial country’ and ‘first-world country. The income of such countries doesn’t depend on the agriculture sector as they have a top-modernized industrial sector which generates most of the money. The developed countries have higher Human development index (HDI), GDP and GNP, and capita income level. That means the people of the developed countries are well secured economically and no sudden collapse can take place in their economy as they are not the fuel exporter or the agriculture depending countries. Other than that, the developed countries have a higher standard of living regarding the education, medical facilities and also have higher life expectancy rate. The infant mortality, death rate, and birth rate are quite low as compared to the least developed or developing countries.
What are the differences between developed and developing countries?
Developed Countries vs. Developing Countries 1 The developed countries are the countries which have a higher standard of living, higher per capita income level and stability in their economic condition. On the other hand, developing countries are the countries having a moderate standard of living, low per capita income level with the slow rate of industrialization. 2 The unemployment and poverty rate are quite low in developed countries as compared to the developing countries. 3 Developed countries generate revenues through the industrial sector, whereas developing countries fill their banks through their agriculture and service sectors. 4 Developed countries have stable economic growth and are not dependent on others while directly or indirectly, developing countries are dependent on the developed countries for economic growth. 5 The standard of living is quite high in the developed countries as they have an equal distribution of income, whereas the standard of living of developing countries is in between low and moderate as there is an unequal distribution of income. 6 Infant mortality, birth rate and death rate are low in the developed countries and at the same time they have higher life expectancy rate.
Why is the standard of living in developed countries so high?
The standard of living is quite high in the developed countries as they have an equal distribution of income, whereas the standard of living of developing countries is in between low and moderate as there is an unequal distribution of income. Infant mortality, birth rate and death rate are low in the developed countries and at ...
Why are developing countries dependent on developed countries?
Directly or indirectly, developing countries are dependent on the developed countries for the sake of their economic growth. The developing countries have low life expectancy rate, and have higher birth and death rate.
What are the two most prominent economies in the world?
Two of the most prominent economies worldwide are the developed and developing countries. As both the words tells that one shows the mark of achievement of the development and the other refers to the journey en route towards getting developed status. The developed countries are the countries which have a higher standard of living, ...
How do developed countries generate revenue?
Developed countries generate revenues through the industrial sector. Developing countries fill their banks through their agriculture and service sectors. Developed countries have stable economic growth and are not dependent on others. Directly or indirectly, developing countries are dependent on the developed countries for economic growth.
How are poverty and unemployment different in developed countries?
Developed countries generate revenues through the industrial sector, whereas developing countries fill their banks through their agriculture and service sectors.
What Is a Developing Country?
A nation is typically considered to still be "developing" if it does not meet the socioeconomic criteria listed above. Simply put, these are most often countries with a lower income, an underdeveloped industrial base, a lower standard of living, and a lack of access to modern technology. As a result, developing nations frequently experience a lack of jobs, food, clean drinking water, education, healthcare, and housing. 11
Which countries are considered developing countries?
All developing countries were located in either Africa, Asia, or Latin America and the Caribbean. 12 . Due to definitional discrepancies, countries such as Mexico, Greece, and Turkey are considered developed by some organizations and developing by others.
What Does HDI Mean?
Another measuring device, the human development index (HDI), was developed by the UN as a metric to assess the social and economic development levels of a given country. HDI quantifies life expectancy, educational attainment, and income into a standardized number between zero and one; the closer to one, the more developed the country. No minimum requirement exists for developed status, but most developed countries have HDIs of 0.8 or higher. 18
How is GDP per capita calculated?
GDP per capita is calculated by dividing a country's GDP by its total population.
How many countries are considered developed in 2020?
4 . According to the UN, in 2020, 35 countries were considered "developed.". All developed countries were located in either North America, Europe, or "Developed Asia and Pacific.".
What is the human development index?
The human development index (HDI) is a metric developed by the United Nations that's used to assess the social and economic development levels of countries based on life expectancy, educational attainment, and income, which serves as an alternate means of assessing a nation's development status.
How many countries are developing in 2020?
According to the UN, in 2020, 126 countries were considered "developing." All developing countries were located in either Africa, Asia, or Latin America and the Caribbean. 12
What is a developing country?
Developing countries as generally defined contain both low-income and middle-income countries. It will be interesting to compare the gap between the developing countries as a whole on the one side and high income developed countries.
What is the commonality between developing and poor countries?
It is often said that there is a good deal of commonality among diversity among the developing nations. One significant aspect of the differences among the poor and developing countries is with to regard to economic growth and development achieved by them since 1960s.
What is the average per capita income of low income countries?
In low income countries containing 846 million population average per capita income of $ 1,387 PPP as against average per capita income of $ 37,760 PPP of high income countries having population of 1,302 million in 2012. This is indeed a very large development gap between the low income countries and high income countries. Developing countries as generally defined contain both low-income and middle-income countries. It will be interesting to compare the gap between the developing countries as a whole on the one side and high income developed countries.
What is the development gap in the world economy?
The Development Gap and Income Distribution in the World Economy: An important feature of world economy is that world’s income is distribution extremely unequally between different countries and people.
How many countries are there in the world?
As explained above, the World Bank in its annual World Development Report classifies different 188 countries of the world into:
Which country will catch up with the developed countries in 2050?
China and India, the two fastest growing countries of the world, are expected to catch up with the developed countries by 2050. Economics, Economic Development, Developed and Developing Countries. Technological Progress and Economic Growth | Economics. Effects of Tariffs on Terms of Trade | International Economics.
Does per capita income reflect development status?
Further, classifying different countries according to the size of their per capita income does not reflect their permanent development status. A country’s per capita may rise with time as development proceeds further and therefore its development status may shift from low income to middle income or middle income to high income category.
How to define a country as either developed or developing?
The best way to define a country as either developed or developing is to use both economic and social measurements. One method of combining both types of measurements is the one used by the United Nations, known as the Human Development Index (HDI).
How to differentiate a developing country from a developed country?
As previously mentioned, there are several ways to differentiate a developing country from a developed country. One of those ways is based purely on economic output. The World Bank in particular determines a country’s development status based on GNI (gross national income) per capita.
What are the indicators used to determine if a country is developing or developing?
Sometimes, it is economic criteria that are used. In other cases, social indicators, such as life expectancy and education levels are used to determine if a country is developed or developing. Generally speaking, developing countries have both lower economic and social indicators overall than developed countries.
What is the GNI per capita of a developed country?
Many if not most of the countries generally considered to be developed countries are classified by the World Bank as being high-income countries, which all have a GNI per capita of at least $12,536 USD.
Which countries have a higher life expectancy?
In fact, several countries that have a lower GNI per capita than the US have higher life expectancies. These include Cuba, the Maldives, Barbados, Poland, and Lebanon, all of which are classified as upper-middle-income countries. This example proves that using one economic indicator to determine a country’s development status does not tell the whole story. After all, how can the Maldives, a country that is considered a developing country by other measures, have a higher life expectancy than a country like the US, which is universally considered to be a developed country?
What is the best way to assess a country's development?
The percentage of a population's country working in primary sectors like agriculture is another way to assess its development. There are other economic factors that can be used to distinguish between a developing country and a developed country.
What is the most comprehensive measure of a country's development?
The United Nations' Human Development Index (HDI) is the most comprehensive measure of a country's development, integrating both social and economic measurements. Most of the world's countries are still considered developing countries. There is no universally agreed-upon way of defining what a developing country is.

What Is Development?
Human Development Index
- The UNDP’s Human Development Index (HDI) is probably the most widely recognized tool for measuring development and comparing the progress of developing countries. The HDI scores and ranks each country’s level of development based on three categories of development indicators: income, health and education. Most developing countries have made great progress over the pa…
Life on Less Than $1-$2 Per Day
- Despite the encouraging progress of developing countries around the world, there is much work left to be done. Far too many people have not shared enough in the development progress to date. Some 2.47 billion people or 43 percent of the total population of the developing world lived on less than $2 per day in 2008 according to World Bank calculations from February, 2012. Of thos…
Inequality
- Inequality plays an important role in evaluating development statistics. While country averages can indicate overall progress, they can also obscure large numbers of people who may have been left out of the gains enjoyed by others. The UNDP has refined its approach to measuring human development by adjusting for several dimensions of inequality. The 2010 HDR introduced three …
Other Approaches to Assessing Development and Developing Countries
- Some organizations have devised other approaches to evaluating the progress of developed and developing countries. The London-based Legatum Institute describes its Prosperity Index as “the world’s only global assessment of prosperity based on both income and well-being.” The Legatum Prosperity Index scores and ranks countries’ prosperity based on eight “foundations for national …
Sustainable Development
- The issue of sustainability adds another dimension to the concept of development. The UNDP defines sustainable human development as, “the expansion of substantive freedoms of people today while making reasonable efforts to avoid seriously compromising those of future generations.” Environmental conservation is a critical component of sustainable development. I…
A Positive, Useful Yardstick
- Development is a hopeful concept that provides a vision for a better future. Development indicators and indexes are useful tools for measuring progress and identifying areas for improvement. Regardless of definitions and statistics, all countries can embrace the charge of developing countries by taking action to expand opportunities, eliminate inequities and enhance …
A wealthy nation isn't synonymous with a developed one
- It's difficult to determine how best to quantify the difference between developed and developing …
While some have the potential to be more accurate than others, none of them are inherently wrong to use. To further complicate matters, most countries are large, complex entities that can't be neatly categorized. As a result, there are several nations that exhibit characteristics of more tha… - Even the experts have yet to agree on a consistent definition. For instance, the United Nations (U…
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), on the other hand, takes several different factors into account when determining whether a nation is an advanced economy, an emerging market and developing economy, or a low-income developing country. The World Bank uses gross national i…
What Is a Developed Nation?
- A nation is typically considered to be "developed" if it meets certain socioeconomic criteria. In so…
According to the UN, in 2022, 36 countries were considered "developed." All developed countries were located in either North America, Europe, or "Developed Asia and Pacific." 5 - Developed countries typically share several other characteristics:
Their birth and death rates are stable. They do not have very high birth rates because, thanks to quality medical care and high living standards, infant mortality rates are low. Families do not feel the need to have large numbers of children due to the expectation that some will not survive. 6
What Is a Developing Nation?
- A nation is typically considered to still be "developing" if it does not meet the socioeconomic crit…
According to the UN, in 2022, 126 countries were considered "developing." All developing countries were located in either Africa, Asia, or Latin America and the Caribbean. 12 - Due to definitional discrepancies, countries such as Mexico, Greece, and Turkey are considered …
Development status determines which countries have a right to receive development aid under the rules of a multilateral or bilateral agency, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO). This is likely the primary reason why there are so many varied definitions of "developed" versus " develo…
Which Countries Have the Highest GDP per Capita?
- GDP represents the total monetary or market value of all the finished goods and services produc…
While useful for acquiring a snapshot of the world's economic powerhouses, this metric by itself is typically insufficient. Every country is obviously going to have a different population, which means that looking exclusively at GDP can distort the truth and/or be so obvious as to be meaningless. …
What Does HDI Mean?
- Another measuring device, the Human Development Index (HDI), was developed by the UN as a …
The life expectancy aspect of the HDI is calculated at the time of birth, which is equal to zero when life expectancy is 20 and equal to one when life expectancy is 85. Education is measured according to the mean years of schooling for residents of a country and the expected years of s…
Development Status of the Top 25 Countries by GDP
- Here is our analysis of the development status of the top 25 countries by GDP as of 2021, organi…
GDP (2021): $1.54 trillion 21 - Population (2021): 25.74 million 16
GDP per Capita (2021): $59,934 17
What Defines a Developed Nation?
- A developed nation is defined as one where citizens have easy access to quality healthcare and education, advanced technology and infrastructure, diverse and well-balanced economic sectors, such as industrial, service, and agriculture, and a relatively high gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita.
What Is an Example of a Developed Nation?
- Examples of developed nations include the United States, the United Kingdom, and the majority of Western and Northern Europe, such as Germany, France, Denmark, and Sweden.
What Is the Most Developed Country in the World?
- According to the United Nation Development Programme's Human Development Insights report, Switzerland is the most developed country in the world, with the highest HDI value: 0.962. 18