Developed country

"Industrial nation" redirects here. For the magazine, see Industrialnation.
Not to be confused with Developing country.
For the investing classification, see Developed market.

  Developed countries (IMF)
  Developing countries (IMF)
  Least developed countries (UN)
  Data unavailable

World map showing country classifications per the IMF[1] and the UN[2] (last updated April 2023). "Developed economies" according to this classification scheme are shown in blue. The map does not include classifications by the World Bank.

A developed country, or advanced country,[3][4] is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are the gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living.[5] Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. In 2023, 40 countries fit all four criteria, while an additional 19 countries fit three out of four.

Developed countries have generally more advanced post-industrial economies, meaning the service sector provides more wealth than the industrial sector. They are contrasted with developing countries, which are in the process of industrialisation or are pre-industrial and almost entirely agrarian, some of which might fall into the category of Least Developed Countries. As of 2023, advanced economies comprise 57.3% of global GDP based on nominal values and 41.1% of global GDP based on purchasing-power parity (PPP) according to the IMF.[6]

  1. ^ "World Economic and Financial Surveys World Economic Outlook Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ Least Developed Countries Archived 17 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine (2018 list Archived 21 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine)
  3. ^ "Fiscal Policy and Inclusive Growth in Advanced Countries: Their Experience and Implications for Asia" (PDF). adb.org. Asian Development Bank. December 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Advanced Countries Will Benefit Most from Progress in Technology, with Lesser Benefits to Other Nations". rand.org. RAND Corporation. 1 June 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  5. ^ Developed Economy Definition Archived 22 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Investopedia (16 April 2010). Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  6. ^ International Monetary Fund. "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.