Third World Countries in 2026: Is India on the List?

The term third world countries is a Cold War era term which referred to those countries that did not join any of the two blocs that were existent at that time, i.e, NATO or the communist bloc. But, this term in current context refers to the least developed countries, i.e countries that are economically disadvantaged or low income nations.

This definition also applies to countries that are experiencing ongoing economic and political instability, high levels of poverty, and high mortality rates.

Who coined the term Third World Countries?

The term third world countries was used by French demographer and historian Alfred Sauvy in 1952 during the Cold War period. This was mentioned in his article L'Observateur , written in 1952. 

In current terms, the term third world countries is referred to as least developed countries as the previously used term is considered outdated and derogatory.

List of Least Developed Countries in the World (2026)

The 44 nations classified as third world countries or least developed countries by UNCTAD are categorised across four regions such as Africa, Asia, Carribean and Pacific. The highest number of countries in this list belong to the African region with 32 countries out of the 44 in the list, the next comes Asia with 8 countries, and Pacific with 3 countries and Carribean with a lone country.

The list is as follows:

Carribean

Haiti

Pacific 

Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu

Asia

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Timor-Leste, Yemen.

Africa

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia

The list of 44 countries presented above is derived from the UN list of least-developed countries and is not arranged in any particular order. This designation grants them access to many types of facilities like market opportunities, aids, technical assistance and other concessions.

The list of LDCs undergoes a comprehensive review every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), an assembly of independent experts reporting to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. After the triennial evaluation, the CDP may propose, in its report to ECOSOC, the addition of countries to the list or their graduation from LDC status.

Criteria For LDC Inclusion

The criteria for Least Developed Countries (LDC) inclusion is based on three parameters as follows:

1. Income or GNI: Countries must have average per capita income below $1088 to be considered as a least developed country, and $1306 to graduate from the list. These values are as per the 2024 review.

2. Human Assets: Countries must be also be having a low score on the human assets index, which is a tool for measuring health and education outcomes including the following mortality rate under five years of age, maternal mortility rate, adult literacy rate, and gender parity in secondary school enrollment.

3.Economic and Environmental Vulnerability: The countries to be considered as LDC list must also score high on economic and environmental vulnerability index. This index measures factors such as vulnerability to natural disasters, dependence on agriculture, and remoteness.

To graduate from the list, a country has to improve on two of the three criteria listed above for two consecutive triennial reviews.

What is Human Development Index, How is HDI Measured? Check Here

Is India a Third World Country?

India is not a third-world country; instead, India is considered a developing country as per the modern definition of third-world countries. Moreover, according to IMF data, India is the sixth-largest economy in the world in 2026; hence, it cannot be classified as a third-world country. If we consider the historical definition, India could have been considered a third-world country as it had no clear alignment with either of the two blocs that existed during the period of the Cold War.

To conclude, this article was all about the third world countries in the world, which is based on the classification released by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. This list is reviewed every three years.

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