Developing country

A developing country, also called a less developed country or an underdeveloped country, is a nation or a sovereign state with a less developed industrial base and a low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries.^[1] There are no universally agreed-upon criteria for what makes a country developing versus developed and which countries fit these two categories,^[2] although there are general reference points such as a nation's GDP per capita compared with other nations. Also the general term less-developed country should not be confused with the specific least developed country. The term "developing" describes a currently observed situation and not a dynamic or expected direction of progress. Since the late 1990s developing countries tended to demonstrate higher growth rates than the developed ones.^[3]

There is criticism for using the term developing country. The term implies inferiority of a developing country or undeveloped country compared with a developed country, which many countries dislike. It assumes a desire to develop along the traditional Western model of economic development which a few countries, such as Cuba and Bhutan, choose not to follow.^[4] An alternative measurement that has been suggested is that of gross national happiness. Countries on the boundary between developed and developing are often categorized under the term newly industrialized countries.^[5][6][7][8]

According to authors such as Walt Whitman Rostow developing countries are in transition from traditional lifestyles towards the modern lifestyle which began in the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the 2016 edition of its World Development Indicators, the World Bank made a decision to no longer distinguish between “developed” and “developing” countries in the presentation of its data. Nobody has ever agreed on a definition for these terms in the first place.^[9]

Definition

Various terms are used for whatever is not a developed country. Terms used include less developed country or less economically developed country, and for the more extreme, least developed country or least economically developed country.

Criteria for what is not a developed country can be obtained by inverting the factors that define a developed country:

• people have lower life expectancy
• people have less education and literacy rate
• people have less money (income)
• women have higher fertility rate and pregnancy

Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, defined a developed country as "one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment."^[10] But according to the United Nations Statistics Division,

There is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in the United Nations system.^[2]

The designations "developed" and "developing" are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgment about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.^[11]

The UN also notes,

In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in northern America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania and western Europe are considered "developed" regions or areas. In international trade statistics the Southern African Customs Union is also treated as a developed region and Israel as a developed country.The countries emerging from the former Yugoslavia are generally treated as developing countries and countries of Central Europe and of the Commonwealth of Independent States (code 172) in Europe are not included under either developed.^[2]

On the other hand according to the classification from International Monetary Fund (IMF) before April 2004, all countries of Central and Eastern Europe (including Central European countries that still belongs to the "Eastern Europe Group" in the UN institutions) as well as the former Soviet Union (USSR) countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Mongolia, were not included under either developed or developing regions, but rather were referred to as "countries in transition". They are however widely regarded (in the international reports) as "developing countries".

The IMF uses a flexible classification system that considers "(1) per capita income level, (2) export diversification—so oil exporters that have high per capita GDP would not make the advanced classification because around 70% of its exports are oil, and (3) degree of integration into the global financial system."^[12]

The World Bank classifies countries into four income groups. These are set each year on July 1. Economies were divided according to 2016 GNI per capita using the following ranges of income:^[13]

• Low income countries had GNI per capita of US$1,025 or less.
• Lower middle income countries had GNI per capita between US$1,026 and US$4,035.
• Upper middle income countries had GNI per capita between US$4,036 and US$12,236.
• High income countries had GNI per capita above US$12,237.

Since 2016 the World Bank no longer divide countries into two groups according to the out-dated concept of developed and developing ^[13]

Along with the current level of development, countries may be classified by how much this has changed over some amount of time.^[14] This may be by absolute numbers or country ranking.

• countries that were more less-developed, and are less less-developed (also developing country)
• countries that were less-developed, and are about the same (developing country)
• countries that were less less-developed, and are more less-developed (developing country)

Measure and concept of development

The development of a country is measured with statistical indexes such as income per capita (per person) ,(gross domestic product) per capita, life expectancy, the rate of literacy, freedom index and others. The UN has developed the Human Development Index (HDI), a compound indicator of some above statistics, to gauge the level of human development for countries where data is available. The UN sets Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) from a blueprint developed by all of the world's countries and leading development institutions, in order to evaluate growth.^[15]

Developing countries are, in general, countries that have not achieved a significant degree of industrialization relative to their populations, and have, in most cases, a medium to low standard of living. There is a strong association between low income and high population growth.

The terms utilized when discussing developing countries refer to the intent and to the constructs of those who utilize these terms. Other terms sometimes used are less developed countries (LDCs), least economically developed countries (LEDCs), "underdeveloped nations" or Third World nations, and "non-industrialized nations". Conversely, developed countries, most economically developed countries (MEDCs), First World nations and "industrialized nations" are the opposite end of the spectrum.

To moderate the euphemistic aspect of the word developing, international organizations have started to use the term less economically developed country (LEDCs) for the poorest nations—which can, in no sense, be regarded as developing. That is, LEDCs are the poorest subset of LDCs. This may moderate against a belief that the standard of living across the entire developing world is the same.

The concept of the developing nation is found, under one term or another, in numerous theoretical systems having diverse orientations — for example, theories of decolonization, liberation theology, Marxism, anti-imperialism, and political economy.

Another important indicator is the sectoral changes that have occurred since the stage of development of the country. On an average, countries with a 50% contribution from the Secondary sector of Manufacturing have grown substantially. Similarly countries with a tertiary Sector stronghold also see greater rate of Economic Development.

Some researchers in development economics, such as Theodore Schultz who won a Nobel Prize in 1979, have found that literate farmers in developing countries are more productive than illiterate farmers. They therefore recommend investing in human capital (education, health, etc.) as an effective tool for economic development. Others, such as Mohammed Tamim, believe that economic development is measurable in educational level from primary school to the university. They noticed that wherever the educational level is raised, the level of development is also raised. They conclude that the percentage of the schooled population is proportional to the economic growth rate and inversely proportional in the demographic growth rate. The Take-Off of Walt Whitman Rostow can start in a country if its population is completely schooled. It is therefore necessary for the organization of a worldwide education program, itself conditioned by another worldwide program of birth control and the establishment of a worldwide organization for the implementation of this development strategy.^[16]

Trends

Priority health risks in developing countries

• Unsafe water
• Indoor smoke
• Tropical and infectious diseases
• Air pollution
• Climate change
• Road traffic accidents
• Unintentional poisoning^[17]

Future trends and emerging issues

• Population growth in the urban areas of poor countries.
• Rapid environmental and health hazards.
• Traffic fatalities and air pollution.
• Non communicable diseases.
• Physical inactivity leading to death.
• Increased and intensified industrial and agricultural production and emission of toxic chemicals directly into the soil, air, and water.
• Unsustainable use of energy resources.
• Climate change-related health impacts leading to the loss of biodiversity and affecting the ecosystem.
• High dependency on natural resources for livelihood, leading to unsustainable exploitation or depletion of those resources
• Least access to clean water.^[18]

Factors stimulating growth

• Human Capital ^[19][20]
• Trade Policy: Countries with more restrictive policies have not grown as fast as countries with open and less distorted trade policies.^[20][21]
• Investment: Investment has a positive effect on growth.^[20]
• Knowledge Gap ^[20]

Factors hindering growth

• Illness/Disease (malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, etc.): Illness imposes high and regressive cost burdens on families in developing countries.^[22]
• Malnutrition/Underdevelopment of the body and brain: More than 200 million children under five years of age in developing countries do not reach their developmental potential.^[23]
• Knowledge gap ^[20]
• Political instability ^[20]
• Political corruption^[24]
• Child Marriage

Prevention of negative factors

• Mobile Health Units: Costing $1.26 per patient, mobile health units help control malaria and sanitation of water. The estimated cost per infant and child death averted was $200–$250.^[25]
• Education ^[26]

Typology of countries

There are several terms used to classify countries into rough levels of development. Classification of any given country differs across sources, and sometimes these classifications or the specific terminology used is considered disparaging. Use of the term "market" instead of "country" usually indicates specific focus on the characteristics of the countries' capital markets as opposed to the overall economy.

• Developed countries and developed markets
• Developing countries include in decreasing order of economic growth or size of the capital market:
  • Newly industrialized countries
  • Emerging markets
  • Frontier markets
  • Least developed countries

Developing countries can also be categorized by geography:

• Small Island Developing States
• Landlocked developing countries

Other classifications include:

• Heavily indebted poor countries, a definition by a program of the IMF and World Bank
• Transition economy, moving from a centrally planned to market-driven economy
• Multi-dimensional clustering system: with the understanding that different countries have different development priorities and levels of access to resources and institutional capacities^[28] and to offer a more nuanced understanding of developing countries and their characteristics, scholars have categorised them into five distinct groups based on factors such as levels of poverty and inequality, productivity and innovation, political constraints and dependence on external flows.^[29][30] 

Criticism of the term "developing country"

There is some criticism of the use of the term "developing country". The term implies inferiority of a "developing country" or "undeveloped country" compared with a "developed country", which many countries dislike. It is criticized for being too positive and too negative.

It assumes a desire to "develop" along the traditional Western model of economic development, which a few countries, such as Cuba and Bhutan, choose not to follow.^[4]

The concept of "development" rests on the assumption that Modernization theory holds. Modernization theory, as the dominant development theory of the late 19th and 20th centuries, has largely contributed to the definition of "development". In short, it argues that there is only one way to achieve "modernity" and "development" - that of "Western" nation-states. Largely challenged today, modernization theory still holds an important role in defining "development".

The term "developing" implies mobility and does not acknowledge that development may be in decline or static in some countries, particularly in southern African states worst affected by HIV/AIDS. In such cases, the term "developing country" may be considered a euphemism. The term implies homogeneity between such countries, which vary widely. The term also implies homogeneity within such countries when wealth (and health) of the most and least affluent groups varies widely. Similarly, the term "developed country" incorrectly implies a lack of continuing economic development/growth in more-developed countries.

In general, development entails a modern infrastructure (both physical and institutional), and a move away from low value added sectors such as agriculture and natural resource extraction. Developed countries, in comparison, usually have economic systems based on continuous, self-sustaining economic growth in the tertiary sector of the economy and quaternary sector of the economy and high material standards of living. However, there are notable exceptions, as some countries considered developed have a significant component of primary industries in their national economies, e.g., Norway, Canada, Australia. The USA and Western Europe have a very important agricultural sector, and are major players in international agricultural markets. Also, natural resource extraction can be a very profitable industry (high value added), e.g., oil extraction.

An alternative measurement that has been suggested is that of gross national happiness, measuring the actual satisfaction of people as opposed to how fiscally wealthy a country is.

During the late 20th century, and with the advance of World-systems theory, the notions of "developed country" and "developing country" have started to slowly be replaced by the less-controversial, trade-based, notions of "core country", "semi-periphery country" and "periphery country". The terms of "developing countries" and "developed countries", although obsolete, still continue to be dominant, as part of the official narrative.

List of developing economies according to UNDP

The following are considered developing economies according to the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook Report, April 2015.^[31][32]

List of countries or region(s) that are graduated developed economies according to the IMF

The following, including the Four Asian Tigers and new Eurozone European countries, were considered developing countries until the '90s, and are now listed as advanced economies (developed countries) by the IMF. Time in brackets is the time to be listed as advanced economies.

•  Hong Kong, China (since 1997)^[33]
•  Israel (since 1997)^[33]
•  Singapore (since 1997)^[33]
•  South Korea (since 1997)^[33]
•  Republic of China (since 1997)^[33]
•  Cyprus (since 2001)^[34]
•  Slovenia (since 2007)^[35]
•  Malta (since 2008)^[36]
•  Czech Republic (since 2009,^[37] since 2006 by World Bank)^[38]
•  Slovakia (since 2009)^[37]
•  Estonia (since 2011)^[39]
•  Latvia (since 2014)^[40]
•  Lithuania (since 2015)^[41]

Three economies lack data before being listed as advanced economies. Because of the lack of data, it is difficult to judge whether they are advanced economies or developing economies before being listed as advanced economies.

•  San Marino (since 2012)^[42]
•  Puerto Rico (since 2016)^[43]
•  Macau, China (since 2016)^[43]

See also

• Dependency Theory
• First World
• First World privilege
• First World problem
• Fourth World
• Globalization
• Global South
• Multinational corporation
• North-South divide
• Second World
• Third World
• Colonialism
• Neo Colonialism
• Imperialism

References

External links

Library resources about Developing country

Resources in your library Resources in other libraries

• Privatization of Third World from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives