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A developed country or "more developed country" (MDC), is a country with an economy with high growth and security. Most commonly the criteria for evaluating the degree of development is to look at gross domestic product (GDP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living.^[1] 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.^[2] In 2011, the ten largest advanced economies by either nominal GDP or GDP (PPP) were: the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Spain, South Korea and Australia.^[3]

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

Similar terms[link]

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. And later it spread further to 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.^[4]

Definition and criteria[link]

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."^[5] 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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."^[8]

Human Development Index (HDI)[link]

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^[9] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries^[10] 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".^[11]

Rank Country HDI New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [11] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010[11] New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [11] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010 [11] 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 [11] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010[11] New 2011 Estimates for 2011 [11] Change compared to new 2011 data for 2010 [11] 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

Average disposable wage of OECD members[link]

While GDP per capita is often used to measure how developed a country is, it includes components that do not directly contribute to a citizen's well-being. However, breaking down GDP to its components and measuring only wages and salaries gives a more accurate picture of the living standard of a country. Unlike the gross wage, which can be an inaccurate indicator of the well-being of a citizen since it does not represent the full amount of money the worker will be left to consume on goods or services, the disposable wage excludes compulsory deductions such as income tax, municipal tax, provincial/state income tax, social security (pension plan, medicare) and compulsory insurance, thus measuring only the direct earnings of the citizen. The list below has compulsory deductions applied with rates obtained from the 2010 OECD Tax Database, which includes figures for all personal compulsory payments assuming that the citizen is single with no children, with an income level 100% of the average wage.^[12] The gross employment income are shown for reference and all monetary values are based on the OECD's purchasing power parity exchange rates. Note that the OECD does not publish data for some countries and hence they are not listed.

Rank	Country	Disposable $ 2010[13]	Disposable $ growth[14]	Compulsory deduction[15]	Gross $ 2010[16]
1	United States	40,560	271	22.9%	52,607
2	Luxembourg	38,301	-45	26.5%	52,110
3	Ireland	38,128	422	21.8%	48,757
4	Switzerland	35,265	-245	29.2%	49,810
5	Australia	33,359	544	21.6%	42,550
6	United Kingdom	32,786	-664	25.5%	44,008
7	Canada	32,047	336	22.2%	41,191
8	Norway	31,489	558	28.7%	44,164
9	South Korea	29,268	1,311	11.9%	33,221
10	Netherlands	28,773	-101	37.0%	45,671
11	Austria	28,269	68	32.7%	42,005
12	Sweden	27,656	45	24.9%	36,826
13	France	27,526	229	27.8%	38,124
14	Japan	26,849	540	20.8%	33,900
15	Denmark	26,562	176	38.5%	43,190
16	Spain	26,386	-198	21.6%	33,656
17	Finland	25,316	275	29.1%	35,707
18	Belgium	24,910	-312	42.1%	43,023
19	Germany	23,302	45	39.2%	38,325
20	Italy	22,925	176	29.8%	32,657
21	Greece	22,317	-1,622	18.8%	27,484
22	Portugal	17,866	-50	22.9%	23,173
23	Czech Republic	15,955	126	22.5%	20,587
24	Slovakia	14,694	540	21.5%	18,719
25	Poland	13,197	109	28.2%	18,380
26	Hungary	12,843	-340	31.2%	18,667

Other lists of developed countries[link]

Only three institutions have produced lists of "developed countries". The three institutions and their lists are the UN list (shown above), the CIA^[17] 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.^[18] 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",^[19][20] The OECD, also widely known as the "developed countries club"^[21][22][23] 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.

[edit] World Bank high-income economies

According to the World Bank there are 66 "high-income economies"^[24].

IMF advanced economies[link]

  Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF.

According to the IMF the following 35 economies are classified as "advanced economies":^[19]

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"^[17] some smaller countries. These include:

•  Andorra

•  Bermuda

•  Faroe Islands

•  Holy See

•  Liechtenstein

•  Monaco

Development Assistance Committee members[link]

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,^[25] a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries.^[26] The following OECD member countries are DAC members:

17 countries in Europe:

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[link]

There are 31 high-income OECD members.^[27] As of 2010, the High-income OECD membership is as follows:

24 countries in Europe:

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[link]

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:^[28]

Newsweek's Quality of Life Index of 2010[link]

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:^[29]

See also[link]

• Developing country
• Least developed country
• North–South divide

References[link]

External links[link]

• 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)