This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 209.98.246.61 (talk) at 00:27, 24 November 2003. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 00:27, 24 November 2003 by 209.98.246.61 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Developed nations are countries that have achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoy the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. There is a strong correlation between countries having this type of status and their possessing robust democratic institutions.
Countries not belonging in this category are sometimes euphemistically called "developing nations", underdeveloped nations, or, in extreme cases least developed countries. Other terms sometimes used to describe the dichotomy are first world/third world (the second world was once reserved for Communist countries), North/South, or industrialized countries/non-industrialized countries. The term "Western countries" has similar, though not identical, connotations.
According to Developed Countries Contact List: UNEP DTIE OzonAction Programee and memeberships of OECD, the following countries are considered developed nations.
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- Republic of Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- South Korea
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- United Kingdom
- United States
Other countries that are widely considered as developed include Andorra, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Singapore, Taiwan and Ukraine.
Note that some sources such as the United Nations Human Development Index for 2003 indicate the presence of developed nations on a statistical basis.