- What are developed and underdeveloped countries?
- Differences between developed and underdeveloped countries
- Examples from developed and underdeveloped countries
We explain what developed and underdeveloped countries are, the differences between them and various examples.
What are developed and underdeveloped countries?
When you talk about countries developed and underdeveloped countries (the latter also referred to as "less developed", "backward" and sometimes also "developing"), allusion is made to their respective degrees of economic power and what this entails, that is, to the level of economic strength they have been able to achieve and the standard of living associated with it enjoyed by their citizens.
It is a traditional terminology, very common in the economic geography and in journalistic discourse, but which is not exempt from criticism and controversy, since it assumes that some countries are ahead of civilization and that others, on the other hand, are behind in the historical race, without taking into account the particularities of each case, and reducing the idea of success to what economic first.
Furthermore, the term underdeveloped countries tends to encompass a very disparate set of nations possessing different degrees of industrialization and radically different models of life.
As defined by the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan (1938-2018), developed countries are "those that provide their inhabitants with a free and healthy life in a safe environment."
This explanation can be subjective or unclear, and that is why we tend to think of these terms from an economic and industrial point of view: a developed nation is one that has a strong, highly industrialized economy, whose benefits are transformed into high standards of living. for the majority of its population.
In contrast, underdeveloped countries are those that fail to sustain a stable economy, or guarantee their citizens a desirable way of life. In general, they are countries with little industrialized agricultural economies, subjected to the ups and downs of the market in a catastrophic way. For the most part, its population suffers from poverty (or in some cases misery and hunger), low rates of human development, unsafety, violence, etc.
Differences between developed and underdeveloped countries
If we look for more objective criteria to distinguish between developed and underdeveloped countries, we have to:
| Developed countries | Underdeveloped countries |
|---|---|
| Low rates of inflation, poverty and unemployment. | Big problems of inflation, poverty and unemployment. |
| Very broad and diverse industrial sector. | Little industrial sector, economy based on agriculture. |
| High life expectancy and rate of mortality low, especially the infantile. | Low or medium life expectancies and high infant mortality rates. |
| Economic and political stability. | Economic and political instability. |
| High levels of human development: education, culture, art, etc. | Low levels of human development: illiteracy, low professional development, low cultural consumption, etc. |
| High income per capita and large capacity consumption of their citizenship. | Low per capita income and low consumption capacity of citizens. |
| Favorable trade balance (greater export than import). | Unfavorable trade balance (higher import than export). |
Examples from developed and underdeveloped countries
Here are some examples of countries that are considered developed and underdeveloped:
- Developed countries: England, Germany, Australia, United States, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Holland, Belgium, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Hong Kong, Turkey.
- Underdeveloped countries: Haiti, Somalia, Senegal, Tanzania, Laos, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Malawi, Yemen, Nepal, Venezuela, Cambodia, Togo, Eritrea, Burkina Faso, Vanuatu, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone.