List of the Third World Countries 2025: Check Continent and Country Name

In the era of the Cold War, the moniker 'Third World' emerged to delineate nations abstaining from alignment with either the Western bloc (NATO) or the Eastern sphere, the Communist bloc. Presently, this terminology frequently characterises the nations undergoing developmental phases in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific.

With time, the term has assumed a flexible semantic scope. In this exposition, 'Third World' will be employed to designate nations experiencing deficiencies, underdevelopment, or lacklustre performance in specific domains, warranting urgent attention for their advancement.

Third World Countries 2025

Contemporary speakers and writers often eschew the term ‘Third World’ in favour of more precise and considerate expressions such as 'developing countries' and 'least-developed countries,' as determined by the United Nations Human Development Index, or 'low-income countries,' as per World Bank data.

The 45 nations classified as Least Developed Countries by UNCTAD are categorized across four regions. Below is the complete list of third countries:

Monaco, Nauru, North Korea, and Somalia, all United Nations Member States, are typically excluded from the Human Development Index. The inclusion of these nations would likely result in all but Monaco being categorised as developing or least-developed countries.

The list presented here is derived from the UN list of least-developed countries and is not arranged in any particular order. Presently, there are 45 economies recognised by the United Nations as least-developed countries (LDCs). This designation grants them access to preferential market opportunities, aid, specialised technical assistance, and capacity-building in technology, among 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. The forthcoming triennial review is slated for March 2025, and pertinent data will be promptly updated upon its availability.

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Criteria For LDC Inclusion

Income Criterion:

• The threshold for Inclusion $1,088 or below
• The threshold for Graduation is $1,306 or above
• Measurement: Three-year average estimate of the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in United States dollars.

Human Assets Index (HAI):

Health Sub-Index:

• Indicators:
  Under-five mortality rate
  Maternal mortality ratio
  Prevalence of stunting
• Thresholds for Inclusion and Graduation: 60 or below and 66 or above, respectively.

Education Sub-Index:

• Indicators:
  Lower secondary school completion rate
  Adult literacy rate
  Gender parity index for lower secondary school completion
• Thresholds for Inclusion and Graduation: 60 or below and 66 or above, respectively.

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Economic and Environmental Vulnerability Index (EVI):

Economic Vulnerability Sub-Index:

• Indicators:
  Share of agriculture, forestry, and fishing in GDP
  Remoteness and landlocked 
  Merchandise export concentration
  Instability of exports of goods and services
• Thresholds for Inclusion and Graduation: 36 or above and 32 or below, respectively.

Environmental Vulnerability Sub-Index:

• Indicators:
  Share of population in low-elevation coastal zones
  Share of the population living in drylands
  Instability of agricultural production
  Victims of disasters
• Thresholds for Inclusion and Graduation: 36 or above and 32 or below, respectively.

General Note: All indices are constructed using established methodologies with an equal weight for the included indicators.

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