Developed country
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The term developed country, or advanced country, is used to categorize countries that have achieved a high level of industrialization in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors of industry dominate. Countries not fitting this definition may be referred to as developing countries.
This level of economic development usually translates into a high income per capita and a high Human Development Index (HDI) rating. Countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita often fit the above description of a developed economy. However, anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by the factor GDP per capita alone.
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[edit] Synonyms
Modern terms synonymous with the term developed country or advanced country include 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 industrialised country was England, followed by Germany, France, the remainder of the United Kingdom and other Western European countries. According to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, however, the current divide between the developed and developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20th century.[1]
[edit] Definition
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. 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.[2]
Some[by whom?] consider the original East Asian Tiger[3] countries (Hong Kong, Singapore[4][3], South Korea[4][3][5][6], and Taiwan[4][3]) at fully developed status, along with Cyprus, Israel, Malta, and Slovenia, to be at or near to fully developed status.
Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, a developing country; however, it is a separate economic entity with its own currency and customs controls, and is recognized[by whom?] as developed. In contrast, the Taiwan has diplomatic recognition by 23 United Nations member states and functions as a de facto independent country, and is also recognized[by whom?] as an industrialized developed country.
[edit] Human Development Index
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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." 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.[7] Since 1980, Norway (2001-2006), Japan (1990-91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994-2000) and Iceland (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 30 countries have scores ranging from 0.912 in Cyprus to 0.968 in Iceland. Several small countries, such as Andorra, Liechtenstein and Macau were not reviewed by the United Nations. Thus, these countries have not received an official HDI score.[8]
Many countries listed by IMF or[9] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2008), possess an HDI over 0.9 (as of 2006). Many countries[10] possessing an HDI of 0.9 and over (as of 2004), are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2007). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2008) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2006).
The latest index was released on December 18, 2008. This so-called "statistical update" covers the period up to 2006 and was published without an accompanying report on human development. The update is relevant due to newly released estimates of purchasing power parities (PPP), implying substantial adjustments for many countries, resulting in changes in HDI values and, in many cases, HDI ranks.[11]
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[edit] Lists of prosperous economies
While there is no official guideline for which country may or may not be considered developed, different institutions have created certain categories for the economically most prosperous countries. The IMF identifies 32 "advanced economies",[4] while the CIA identifies 34 "developed countries" and 35 "advanced economies".[12] The World Bank identifies 66 "high income countries", which are classified either as developed or developing by the UN. The criteria used to create these lists differ across these organizations as does the placement of certain countries.
[edit] CIA developed country list
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The CIA World Factbook classifies 34 economic entities as "developed countries (DCs):"[12]
| “ |
the top group in the hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE), and less developed countries (LDCs); includes the market-oriented economies of the mainly democratic nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Bermuda, Israel, South Africa, and the European ministates; also known as the First World, high-income countries, the North, industrial countries; generally have a per capita GDP in excess of $10,000 although four OECD countries and South Africa have figures well under $10,000 and two of the excluded OPEC countries have figures of more than $10,000; the 34 DCs are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, NZ, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, US; note - similar to the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) term "advanced economies" that adds Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan but drops Malta, Mexico [sic],[13] South Africa, and Turkey. |
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•  Andorra |
•  Faroe Islands |
•  Ireland |
•  Monaco |
•  Spain |
|
•  Australia |
•  Finland |
•  Israel |
•  Netherlands |
•  Sweden |
|
•  Austria |
•  France |
•  Italy |
•  New Zealand |
•  Switzerland |
|
• .svg){kind=small} Belgium |
•  Germany |
•  Japan |
•  Norway |
•  Turkey |
|
•  Bermuda |
•  Greece |
•  Liechtenstein |
•  Portugal |
•  United Kingdom |
|
•  Canada |
•  Holy See |
•  Luxembourg |
•  San Marino |
•  United States |
|
•  Denmark |
•  Iceland |
•  Malta |
•  South Africa |
[edit] CIA advanced economy list
The official classification of "advanced economies" was originally made by the IMF. The CIA intends to follow the IMF but also to add non-IMF members. Thus, until March 2001, the CIA list was more comprehensive than the IMF list. Since 2001, however, Cyprus, and more recently Slovenia and Malta, were added to the IMF list but not to the CIA advanced economy list. Below is the current CIA advanced economy list, consisting of 35 countries:[12]
| • Andorra |
• Faroe Islands |
• Iceland |
• Monaco |
•  South Korea |
| • Australia |
• Finland |
• Ireland |
• Netherlands |
• Spain |
| • Austria |
• France |
• Israel |
• New Zealand |
• Sweden |
| • Belgium |
• Germany |
• Italy |
• Norway |
• Switzerland |
| • Bermuda |
• Greece |
• Japan |
• Portugal |
•  Taiwan |
| • Canada |
• Holy See |
• Liechtenstein |
• San Marino |
• United Kingdom |
| • Denmark |
•  Hong Kong |
• Luxembourg |
•  Singapore |
• United States |
[edit] IMF advanced economy list
According to the International Monetary Fund the following 32 countries are classified as "advanced economies:"[4]
| • Australia |
• Germany |
• Luxembourg |
•  Slovenia |
| • Austria |
• Greece |
• Malta |
• South Korea |
| • Belgium |
• Hong Kong |
• Netherlands |
• Spain |
| • Canada |
• Iceland |
• New Zealand |
• Sweden |
•  Cyprus |
• Ireland |
• Norway |
• Switzerland |
| • Denmark |
• Israel |
• Portugal |
• Taiwan |
| • Finland |
• Italy |
• San Marino[14] |
• United Kingdom |
| • France |
• Japan |
• Singapore |
• United States |
[edit] World Bank high-income economies
"High income economies" are defined by the World Bank as countries with a Gross National Income per capita of $11,456 or more.[15] 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.[16]
According to the World Bank, the following 66 countries and territories are classified as "high-income economies"[17][18][19]:
Five countries from the list above are eligible to receive loans from the IBRD:[17][19]
High-income economy not classified by World Bank:
[edit] 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 30 countries with the highest index are:[20]