Countries that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development
Least developed countries (designated by the UN as of 2023)
Former least developed countries
The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) on 18 November 1971.[1]
A country is classified among the Least Developed Countries if it meets three criteria:[2][3]
Poverty – adjustable criterion based on Gross national income (GNI) per capita averaged over three years. As of 2018[update], a country must have GNI per capita less than US$1,025 to be included on the list, and over $1,230 to graduate from it.
Human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy).
Economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters).
As of December 2023, 45 countries were still classified as LDC, while seven graduated between 1994 and 2023.[4] The World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes the UN list and says that "Measures taken in the framework of the WTO can help LDCs increase their exports to other WTO members and attract investment. In many developing countries, pro-market reforms have encouraged faster growth, diversification of exports, and more effective participation in the multilateral trading system."[5]
^"Identification of the least developed among the developing countries" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-09. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
^"Criteria For Identification Of LDCs". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
^UN-OHRLLS Criteria for Identification and Graduation of LDCs Archived 2019-07-25 at the Wayback Machine.
^"LDCs at a Glance". Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 25 May 2008. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
^"Doha WTO Ministerial 2001: Briefing Notes Least Developed Countries – Towards free market access for least-developed countries". World Trade Organization.
and 27 Related for: Least developed countries information
The leastdevelopedcountries (LDCs) are developingcountries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development...
be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developedcountries are provided by the...
income countries. Leastdevelopedcountries, landlocked developingcountries and small island developing states are all sub-groupings of developing countries...
countries, the majority of landlocked countries are leastdevelopedcountries (LDCs), with inhabitants of these countries occupying the bottom billion tier...
decreased in use. It is being replaced with terms such as developingcountries, leastdevelopedcountries or the Global South. The demographer, anthropologist...
formulated as: "Invest in leastdevelopedcountries: Adopt and implement investment promotion regimes for leastdevelopedcountries." This target has one...
differential treatment for developingcountries; encourage development assistance and investment in leastdevelopedcountries; reduce transaction costs...
The debt of developingcountries usually refers to the external debt incurred by governments of developingcountries. There have been several historical...
Poverty History List of countries by percentage of population living in poverty Income inequality metrics Leastdevelopedcountries Poverty threshold Poverty...
the High Representative for the LeastDevelopedCountries, Landlocked DevelopingCountries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) represents the...
Sovereign states and countries are ranked. Some countries might not be listed because they are not fully recognized as countries at the time of this census...
Agreement is to have numerous positive consequences on developed and LeastDevelopedCountries. Estimates have shown that the Trade Facilitation Agreement...
of the world's developedcountries, whereas the Global South consists of the world's developingcountries and leastdevelopedcountries. The Global South...
Action (IPoA) for the LeastDevelopedCountries (LDCs) for the Decade 2011–2020, adopted in 2011, the LeastDevelopedCountries called for the establishment...
and living conditions in a given country to provide a measure of human development which is comparable between countries and over time. The HDI is the most...
resource efficiency, and disaster risk reduction in supporting the leastdevelopedcountries in sustainable and resilient building. 3.9 billion people—half...
the United Kingdom from many countries of the developing world, including the leastdevelopedcountries. The DCTS removes or reduces tariffs and simplifies...
"Tuvalu - Draft Country Review Paper, Implementation in Asia and the Pacific of the Brussels Programme of Action for the LeastDevelopedCountries for the Decade...
NICs are countries whose economies have not yet reached a developedcountry's status but have, in a macroeconomic sense, outpaced their developing counterparts...
ranges from a low of about 18 or less in most LeastDevelopedcountries to 40 or more in most European countries, Canada, Cuba, Hong kong, Japan, South Korea...
technical support to African countries, leastdevelopedcountries, landlocked developingcountries and Small Island Developing States." It has one indicator:...
the LeastDevelopedCountries (commonly abbreviated as EIF) is a global development program with the objective of supporting leastdevelopedcountries (LDCs)...
Representative for the LeastDevelopedCountries, Landlocked DevelopingCountries and Small Island Developing States". SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES: Small Islands...
Global Information