Editing Developing country (section)

{{Short description|Nation with a lower living standard relative to more developed countries}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}

[[File:IMF advanced economies and UN least developed countries.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|<!-- Map is up to date, despite the file name. -->
{{legend|#00b9fa|[[Developed country|Developed countries or cities]]}}
{{legend|#ffb219|Emerging and developing countries}}
{{legend|#ff562f|[[Least developed countries]]}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|Data unavailable}}<br />The latest classifications sorted by the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]]<ref name="IMF1">{{cite web |title=World Economic and Financial Surveys World Economic Outlook Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2022/01/weodata/groups.htm |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=2 June 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230303145301/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2022/01/weodata/groups.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[United Nations|UN]]<ref>[https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf Least Developed Countries] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517090756/http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/related/62/ |date=17 May 2011 }} ({{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20191221185727/http://unohrlls.org/custom-content/uploads/2018/12/list-of-least-developed-countries-rev1.pdf 2018 list]}})</ref>]]
[[File:2023-25 U.N. Human Development Report (multicolored).svg|alt=World map|thumb|World map representing [[Human Development Index]] categories (based on 2023 data, published in 2025){{legend-col
|{{Legend|#008c00ff|Very high}}
|{{Legend|#ffcc00ff|High}}
|{{Legend|#ff6600ff|Medium}}
|{{Legend|#d40000ff|Low}}
|{{Legend|#b9b9b9ff|No data}}
}}]]
A '''developing country''' is a [[sovereign state]] with a less-developed [[Secondary sector of the economy|industrial base]] and a lower [[Human Development Index]] (HDI) relative to [[developed countries]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Arthur |author-link=Arthur O'Sullivan (economist)|first2=Steven M.|last2=Sheffrin | name-list-style = vanc |title=Economics: Principles in Action|url=https://archive.org/details/economicsprincip00osul|url-access=limited|publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall|year=2003|location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey|page=[https://archive.org/details/economicsprincip00osul/page/n487 471]| isbn = 978-0-13-063085-8 }}</ref> However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreement on which countries fit this category.<ref name="UN">{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306024500/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm|archive-date=6 March 2010|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#ftnc | title = Composition of macro geographical (continental) region | publisher = United Nation s}}</ref><ref name=":5" /> The terms '''low-and middle-income country''' ('''LMIC''') and '''newly emerging economy''' ('''NEE''') are often used interchangeably but they refer only to the economy of the countries. The [[World Bank]] classifies the world's economies into four groups, based on [[gross national income]] per capita: high-, upper-middle-, lower-middle-, and low-income countries. [[Least developed countries]], [[landlocked developing countries]], and [[Small Island Developing States|small island developing states]] are all sub-groupings of developing countries. Countries on the other end of the spectrum are usually referred to as [[World Bank high-income economy|high-income countries]] or [[Developed country|developed countries]].

There are controversies over the terms' use, as some feel that it perpetuates an outdated concept of [[In-group and out-group|"us" and "them".]]<ref name="Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About The World - And Why Things Are Better Than You Think" /> In 2015, the World Bank declared that the "developing/developed world categorization" had become less relevant and that they would phase out the use of that descriptor. Instead, their reports will present data aggregations for regions and income groups.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /> The term "[[Global South]]" is used by some as an alternative term to developing countries.

Developing countries tend to have some characteristics in common, often due to their histories or geographies. For example, they commonly have lower levels of access to safe [[drinking water]], [[sanitation]] and [[hygiene]], [[energy poverty]], higher levels of [[pollution]] (e.g. , [[air pollution]], [[littering]], [[water pollution]], [[open defecation]]); higher proportions of people with tropical and infectious diseases ([[neglected tropical diseases]]); more [[Traffic collision|road traffic accidents]]; and generally poorer quality [[infrastructure]].

In addition, there are also often high [[unemployment]] rates, widespread [[poverty]], widespread [[hunger]], [[extreme poverty]], [[child labour]], [[malnutrition]], [[homelessness]], [[substance abuse]], [[prostitution]], [[Human overpopulation|overpopulation]], [[civil disorder]], [[human capital flight]], a large [[informal economy]], high [[crime]] rates ([[extortion]], [[robbery]], [[burglary]], [[murder]], [[homicide]], [[arms trafficking]], [[sex trafficking]], [[Illegal drug trade|drug trafficking]], [[kidnapping]], [[rape]]), low [[education]] levels, [[economic inequality]], [[dropping out|school desertion]], inadequate access to [[family planning]] services, [[teenage pregnancy]], many [[Informal housing|informal settlements]] and [[slums]], [[corruption]] at all government levels, and political instability. Unlike developed countries, developing countries lack the [[rule of law]].

Access to [[Health care|healthcare]] is often low.<ref name=":11" /> People in developing countries usually have lower [[life expectancy|life expectancies]] than people in developed countries, reflecting both lower income levels and poorer public health.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":14" /> The burden of infectious diseases,<ref name=":15" /> [[Maternal death|maternal mortality]],<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":17" /> [[child mortality]]<ref name=":18" /> and [[infant mortality]]<ref name="MPG" /><ref name="Molitoris" /> are typically substantially higher in those countries. The [[effects of climate change]] are expected to affect developing countries more than high-income countries, as most of them have a high [[Climate change vulnerability|climate vulnerability]] or low [[climate resilience]].<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |vauthors=Althor G, Watson JE, Fuller RA |date=February 2016 |title=Global mismatch between greenhouse gas emissions and the burden of climate change |journal=Scientific Reports |language=En |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=20281 |bibcode=2016NatSR...620281A |doi=10.1038/srep20281 |pmc=4742864 |pmid=26848052}}</ref>

Developing countries often have lower [[median age]]s than developed countries. [[Population aging]] is a global phenomenon, but population age has risen more slowly in developing countries.<ref>{{Cite book |doi=10.18356/30d0966c-en |title=World population ageing 2013 |series=Statistical Papers - United Nations (Ser. A), Population and Vital Statistics Report |date=2014 |isbn=978-92-1-056651-3 }}{{pn|date=May 2025}}</ref>

[[Development aid]] or development cooperation is financial [[aid]] given by foreign governments and other agencies to support developing countries' economic, environmental, social, and political [[International development|development]]. If the [[Sustainable Development Goals]] which were set up by [[United Nations]] for the year 2030 are achieved, they would overcome many problems.

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