Developed country

"Industrial Nation" redirects here. For the industrial music magazine, see Industrialnation.

A developed country is a country that has a high level of development^{[clarification needed]} according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue. According to the International Monetary Fund, advanced economies comprise 65.8% of global nominal GDP and 52.1% of global GDP (PPP) in 2010^[1].

Countries not fitting such definitions are classified as developing countries or undeveloped countries.

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 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 industrialized country was the United Kingdom, followed by Belgium, Germany, United States, France and other Western European countries. According to some economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, however, the current divide between the developed and developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20th century.^[2]

Definition and criteria

Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita; countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion is industrialization; countries in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors of industry dominate would thus be described as developed. More recently another measure, the Human Development Index (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. However, many anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by whichever measure is used.^{[examples needed]}

Kofi Annan, 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."^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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 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; countries emerging from the former Yugoslavia are treated as developing countries; and countries of eastern Europe and of the Commonwealth of Independent States (code 172) in Europe are not included under either developed or developing regions."^[4]

Human Development Index (HDI)

Main articles: Human Development Index and List of countries by Human Development Index

World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2011.

  Very High

  High

  Medium

  Low

  Data unavailable

The UN HDI 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."

Since 1990, Norway (2001–2006, 2009–2011), Japan (1990–91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland (2007–08) have had the highest HDI score. The top 47 countries have scores ranging from 0.793 in Barbados to 0.943 in Norway.

Many countries listed by IMF or^[6] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries^[7] possessing an HDI of 0.788 and over (as of 2010), 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 2 November 2011 and covers the period up to 2011. The following are the 47 countries in the top quartile and classified as possessing a "Very high human development".^[8]

Rank Country HDI New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [8] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010[8] New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [8] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010 [8] 1  Norway 0.943 0.002 2  Australia 0.929 0.002 3  Netherlands 0.910 0.001 4  United States 0.910 0.002 5  New Zealand 0.908 6  Canada 0.908 0.001 7  Ireland 0.908 0.001 8  Liechtenstein 0.905 0.001 9  Germany 0.905 0.002 10  Sweden 0.904 0.003 11  Switzerland 0.903 0.002 12  Japan 0.901 0.002 13 (1)  Hong Kong 0.898 0.004 14 (-1)  Iceland 0.898 0.002 15  South Korea 0.897 0.003 16  Denmark 0.895 0.002 17  Israel 0.888 0.002 18  Belgium 0.886 0.001 19  Austria 0.885 0.002 20  France 0.884 0.001 21  Slovenia 0.884 0.002 22  Finland 0.882 0.002 23  Spain 0.878 0.002 24  Italy 0.874 0.001

Rank Country HDI New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [8] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010[8] New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [8] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010 [8] 25  Luxembourg 0.867 0.002 26  Singapore 0.866 0.002 27  Czech Republic 0.865 0.002 28  United Kingdom 0.863 0.001 29  Greece 0.861 0.001 30  United Arab Emirates 0.846 0.001 31  Cyprus 0.840 0.001 32  Andorra 0.838 33  Brunei Darussalam 0.838 0.001 34  Estonia 0.835 0.003 35  Slovakia 0.834 0.002 36  Malta 0.832 0.002 37  Qatar 0.831 0.006 38  Hungary 0.816 0.002 39  Poland 0.813 0.002 40 (1)  Lithuania 0.810 0.005 41 (-1)  Portugal 0.809 0.001 42  Bahrain 0.806 0.001 43  Latvia 0.805 0.003 44  Chile 0.805 0.003 45 (1)  Argentina 0.797 0.003 46 (-1)  Croatia 0.796 0.002 47  Barbados 0.793 0.005

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^[9] 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.^[10] However many institutions have created lists which are sometimes referred to when people are discussing developed countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) identifies 35 "advanced economies",^[11] The OECD, also widely known as the 'developed countries club'^[12][13][14] has 34 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

  Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF.

According to the IMF the following 35 economies are classified as "advanced economies":^[11]

•  Australia
•  Austria
•  Belgium
•  Canada
•  Cyprus
•  Czech Republic
•  Denmark
•  Estonia
•  Finland
•  France
•  Germany
•  Greece
•  Hong Kong
•  Iceland
•  Ireland
•  Israel
•  Italy
•  Japan
•  Luxembourg
•  Malta
•  Netherlands
•  New Zealand
•  Norway
•  Portugal
•  San Marino^[15]
•  Singapore
•  Slovakia
•  Slovenia
•  South Korea
•  Spain
•  Sweden
•  Switzerland
•  Taiwan
•  United Kingdom
•  United States

The CIA has modified an older version of the IMF's list of Advanced Economies, noting that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover"^[9] some smaller countries. These include:

•  Andorra

•  Bermuda

•  Faroe Islands

•  Holy See

•  Liechtenstein

•  Monaco

Development Assistance Committee members

Member nations of the Development Assistance Committee.

There are 24 members — 23 selected OECD member countries and the European Commission—in the Development Assistance Committee,^[16] a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries.^[17] The following OECD member countries are DAC members:

17 countries in Europe:

•  Austria (since 1965)
•  Belgium (since 1961)
•  Denmark (since 1963)
•  Finland (since 1975)
•  France (since 1961)
•  Germany (since 1961)
•  Greece (since 1999)
•  Ireland (since 1985)
•  Italy (since 1961)
•  Luxembourg (since 1992)
•  Netherlands (since 1961)
•  Norway (since 1962)
•  Portugal (since 1961)¹
•  Spain (since 1991)
•  Sweden (since 1965)
•  Switzerland (since 1968)
•  United Kingdom (since 1961)

2 countries in Asia:

•  Japan (since 1961)
•  South Korea (since 2010)

2 countries in North America:

•  Canada (since 1961)
•  United States (since 1961)

2 countries in Oceania:

•  Australia (since 1966)
•  New Zealand (since 1973)

¹ Joined the DAC in 1961, withdrew in 1974 and re-joined in 1991.

High-income OECD members

There are 31 high-income OECD members.^[18] As of 2010, the High-income OECD membership is as follows:

24 countries in Europe:

•  Austria
•  Belgium
•  Czech Republic
•  Denmark
•  Estonia
•  Finland
•  France
•  Germany
•  Greece
•  Hungary
•  Iceland
•  Ireland
•  Italy
•  Luxembourg
•  Netherlands
•  Norway
•  Poland
•  Portugal
•  Slovakia
•  Slovenia
•  Spain
•  Sweden
•  Switzerland
•  United Kingdom

3 countries in Asia:

•  Israel
•  Japan
•  South Korea

2 countries in North America:

•  Canada
•  United States

2 countries in Oceania:

•  Australia
•  New Zealand

Economist's quality-of-life survey of 2005

Research about standard of living and quality of life by the Economist Intelligence Unit resulted in a quality-of-life index, covering 111 countries. As of 2005, the top 30 countries are:^[19]

Ireland Switzerland Norway Luxembourg Sweden Australia Iceland Italy Denmark Spain

Singapore Finland United States Canada New Zealand Netherlands Japan Hong Kong Portugal Austria

Taiwan Greece Cyprus Belgium France Germany Slovenia Malta United Kingdom South Korea

Newsweek's Quality of Life Index of 2010

Newsweek published in 2010 the "world's best countries" index, measuring "health, education, economy, and politics" in 100 countries. As of 2010, the top 30 countries in terms of quality of life are:^[20]

Norway  Switzerland  Luxembourg  Finland  Denmark  Australia  Germany  Sweden  United States  Canada

France  Austria  Japan  Netherlands  Ireland  New Zealand  Belgium  United Arab Emirates  United Kingdom  Italy

Greece  Spain  Singapore  Kuwait  Israel  Slovenia  Portugal  Czech Republic  South Korea  Slovakia

See also

• Developing country
• Least developed country

References

1. ^ IMF GDP data (September 2011)
2. ^ Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty. New York, New York: The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-045-9. 
3. ^ http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/G_05_00.htm
4. ^ ^{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. 
5. ^ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm
6. ^ The official classification of "advanced economies" is originally made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF list doesn't deal with non-IMF members. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) intends to follow IMF list but adds few economies 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.
7. ^ 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 organisation (of the UN), as well as the CIA, classify Macau 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).
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} [1]
9. ^ ^{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. 
10. ^ 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."
11. ^ ^{a b} IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, April 2011, p. 173
12. ^ http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no160/104.shtml
13. ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19971214/34850733.html
14. ^ http://www.esri.go.jp/en/forum1/minute/minute26-e.html
15. ^ [http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/pdf/text.pdf World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, April 2011, p. 169.
16. ^ http://www.oecd.org/document/38/0,3343,en_2649_34603_1893350_1_1_1_1,00.html
17. ^ 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.
18. ^ http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#OECD_members
19. ^ The world in 2005: The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, The Economist. Accessed on line January 8, 2007.
20. ^ The world's best countries: 2010 index, Newsweek. Accessed on line August, 15 2010.

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)