Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is the income per capita; countries with the highgross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion isindustrialisation; countries in which thetertiary andquaternary sectors of industry dominate would thus be described as developed. More recently, another measure, theHuman 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. The index, however, does not take into account several factors, such as thenet wealth per capita or the relativequality of goods in a country. This situation tends to lower the ranking of some of the most advanced countries, such as theG7 members and others.[5][6]
There is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in theUnited Nations system.[7]
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.[8]
Nevertheless, theUN Trade and Development considers that this categorization can continue to be applied:
The developed economies broadly comprise Northern America and Europe, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.[9]
Terms linked to the conceptdeveloped 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, asindustrialisation is an ongoing process that is hard to define. The first industrialized country was theUnited Kingdom, followed byBelgium. Later it spread further toGermany,United States,France and otherWestern European countries. According to someeconomists such asJeffrey Sachs, however, the current divide between the developed anddeveloping world is largely a phenomenon of the 20th century.[10]
Mathis Wackernagel calls the binary labeling of countries as "neither descriptive nor explanatory. It is merely a thoughtless and destructive endorsement of GDP fetish. In reality, there are not two types of countries, but over 200 countries, all faced with the same laws of nature, yet each with unique features."[11]
A 2021 analysis proposes the termemerged to describe markets, economies, or countries that have graduated fromemerging market status, but have not yet reached the level equivalent to developed countries.[12] Multinational corporations from these emerging markets present unique patterns of overseas expansion and knowledge acquisition from foreign countries.
World map of countries or territories by Human Development Index scores in increments of 0.050 (based on 2023 data, published in 2025)
≥ 0.950
0.900–0.950
0.850–0.899
0.800–0.849
0.750–0.799
0.700–0.749
0.650–0.699
0.600–0.649
0.550–0.599
0.500–0.549
0.450–0.499
0.400–0.449
≤ 0.399
Data unavailable
The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges an economy's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and being 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, 2009–2019),Japan (1990–1991 and 1993),Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) andIceland (2007–2008) have had the highest HDI score.
The following countries in the year 2023 are considered to be of "very high human development":[13]
Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF[18]
According to theInternational Monetary Fund, 41 countries and territories are officially listed as "advanced economies",[18][19] with the addition of 7microstates and dependencies modified by theCIA which were omitted from the IMF version:[20]
29 countries and dependencies inEurope classified by the IMF, 6 others given by the CIA:
d The CIA has modified an older version of the IMF's list of 38 Advanced Economies, noting that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover the following nine smaller countries of Andorra, Bermuda, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Holy See, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino[...]". San Marino (2012) and Andorra (2021) were later included in the IMF's list.[20]
There are 22 permanent members in theParis Club (French:Club de Paris), a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.
Comparative table of countries with a "very high" human development (0.800 or higher), according toUNDP; "developed" economies, according to the World Economic Situation and Prospects report byUNDESA; "high-income" economies, according to theWorld Bank;DAC members; "advanced" economies, according to theIMF;Paris Club members. In bracket year of joining.
^TheHDI annual report compiled by theUNDP does not include Taiwan because it is no longer a UN member state, and is neither included as part of the People's Republic of China by the UNDP when calculating data for China.[27]Taiwan's Statistical Bureau calculated its HDI to be 0.926 based on UNDP's 2010 methodology,[28][29] which would place Taiwan well within the group of "Very high human development" at 19th globally in 2021 within the 2022 UNDP report.[30][31]
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