View source for Finance:Least developed countries

{{Short description|Countries that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development}}
[[File:Least Developed Countries Map New.svg|alt=|thumb|400x400px|{{legend|#FF0000|Least developed countries (designated by the UN as of 2023)}}{{legend|#FFCC00|Former LDCs}}]]
The '''least developed countries''' ('''LDCs''') are [[Finance:Developing country|developing countries]] listed by the {{wipe|United Nations}} that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic [[Finance:International development|development]]. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) on 18 November 1971.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unitar.org/resource/sites/unitar.org.resource/files/document-pdf/GA-2767-XXVI.pdf |title=Identification of the least developed among the developing countries |access-date=2011-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709182754/http://www.unitar.org/resource/sites/unitar.org.resource/files/document-pdf/GA-2767-XXVI.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-09 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

A country is classified among the Least Developed Countries if it meets three criteria:<ref name="UN2018">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-criteria.html |title=Criteria For Identification Of LDCs |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division |access-date=2018-03-02}}</ref><ref name="Criteria">UN-OHRLLS [http://unohrlls.org/about-ldcs/criteria-for-ldcs/ Criteria for Identification and Graduation of LDCs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725125957/http://unohrlls.org/about-ldcs/criteria-for-ldcs/ |date=2019-07-25 }}.</ref>
* Poverty – adjustable criterion based on [[Finance:Gross national income|Gross national income]] (GNI) per capita averaged over three years. {{asof|2018}}, a country must have GNI per capita less than {{wipe|United States dollar}}1,025 to be included on the list, and over $1,230 to graduate from it.
* [[Social:Human resources|Human resource]] weakness (based on indicators of [[Biology:Nutrition|nutrition]], health, education and adult [[Philosophy:Literacy|literacy]]).
* Economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters).

As of December 2023, 45 countries were still classified as LDC, while seven graduated between 1994 and 2023.<ref name="un">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |title=LDCs at a Glance |date=25 May 2008 |publisher=Department of Economic and Social Affairs |access-date=2020-12-04}}</ref> The [[Organization:World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] (WTO) recognizes the UN list and says that "Measures taken in the framework of the WTO can help LDCs increase their exports to other WTO members and attract investment. In many developing countries, pro-market reforms have encouraged faster growth, diversification of exports, and more effective participation in the multilateral trading system."<ref name="wtoldc">{{cite web |title=Doha WTO Ministerial 2001: Briefing Notes Least Developed Countries – Towards free market access for least-developed countries |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/brief_e/brief03_e.htm |publisher=World Trade Organization}}</ref>

== Overview ==
[[File:Poverty headcount ratio at 1.90 a day.png|thumb|Poverty headcount ratio at $1.90 a day]]
[[File:G33 Members.svg|thumb|[[Finance:G33 (developing countries)|G33 countries]]: a coalition of developing countries in regards to agriculture.]]
LDC criteria are reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the [[Organization:United Nations Economic and Social Council|UN Economic and Social Council]] (ECOSOC). Countries may be removed from the LDC classification when indicators exceed these criteria in two consecutive triennial reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-graduation.html |title=Graduation from the LDC category {{pipe}} Department of Economic and Social Affairs|date=March 5, 2010|website=Economic Analysis & Policy Division {{pipe}} Dept of Economic & Social Affairs {{pipe}} United Nations}}</ref> The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) coordinates UN support and provides advocacy services for Least Developed Countries. The classification ({{As of|2020|12|lc=on}}) applies to 46 countries.<ref name="un" />

At the UN's fourth conference on LDCs, which was held in May 2011, delegates endorsed a goal targeting the promotion of at least half the current LDC countries within the next ten years.<ref name="Goal2021" /> As of 2018, ten or more countries were expected to graduate in 2024, with Bangladesh and Djibouti already satisfying all criteria in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/06/ten-fewer-least-developed-countries-by-2024.html |title=Ten Fewer Least Developed Countries by 2024 |last=Wang |first=Brian |date=11 June 2018 |website=nextbigfuture.com |access-date=21 December 2018}}</ref>

There is one country which presently meets the criteria and two countries which previously met the criteria for LDC status, but declined to be included in the index, questioning the validity or accuracy of the CDP's data: Ghana (no longer meets criteria as of 1994), Papua New Guinea (no longer meets criteria as of 2009), and Zimbabwe.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/fr/title/1088728737 |title=Handbook on the least developed country category : inclusion, graduation, and special support measures |date=October 2018 |author=United Nations |isbn=978-92-1-104692-2 |edition=Third |location=New York |oclc=1088728737}}</ref>

== Usage and abbreviations ==
Least developed countries can be distinguished from [[Finance:Developing country|developing countries]], "less developed countries", "lesser developed countries", or other similar terms.

The term "less economically developed country" (LEDC) is also used today. However, in order to avoid confusion between "least developed country" and "less economically developed country" (which may both be abbreviated as LDC), and to avoid confusion with [[Earth:Landlocked developing countries|landlocked developing country]] (which can be abbreviated as LLDC), "developing country" is generally used in preference to "less-developed country".

During a United Nations review in 2018, the UN defined LDCs as countries meeting three criteria, one of which was a three-year average estimate of [[Finance:Gross national income|gross national income]] (GNI) per capita of less than US$1,025.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-criteria.html |title=Criteria For Identification Of LDCs |date=4 March 2010 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division |access-date=2018-03-02}}</ref>

== UN conferences ==
[[File:Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis at the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (5709246557).jpg|thumb|Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Spyros Kouvelis at the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries]]
There were five United Nations conferences on LDCs, held every ten years. The first two were in Paris, in 1981 and 1991; the third was in Brussels in 2001.

The Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 9–13 May 2011. It was attended by Ban Ki-moon, the head of the UN, and close to 50 prime ministers and heads of state. The conference endorsed the goal of raising half the existing Least developed countries out of the LDC category in 2022. As with the [[Finance:Seoul Development Consensus|Seoul Development Consensus]] drawn up in 2010, there was a strong emphasis on boosting productive capability and physical infrastructure, with several NGOs not pleased with the emphasis placed on the private sector.<ref name="Goal2021">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/may/06/goal-halve-ldcs-10-years-conference |title=Goal to halve number of LDCs in next 10 years |work=The Guardian |date=2011-05-06 |access-date=2011-05-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/may/13/least-developed-countries-ambitious-plan |title=Least developed countries: UN conference endorses ambitious plan to lift millions out of poverty |work=The Guardian |date=2011-05-13 |access-date=2011-05-13}}</ref>

== Trade ==
Issues surrounding global trade regulations and LDCs have gained a lot of media and policy attention thanks to the recently collapsed Doha Round of [[Organization:World Trade Organization|World Trade Organization]] (WTO) negotiations being termed a development round. During the WTO's Hong Kong Ministerial, it was agreed that LDCs could see 100 percent duty-free, quota-free access to U.S. markets if the round were completed. But analysis of the deal by NGOs found that the text of the proposed LDC deal had substantial loopholes that might make the offer less than the full 100 percent access, and could even erase some current duty-free access of LDCs to rich country markets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.citizen.org/hot_issues/issue.cfm?ID=1389 |title=Public Citizen {{pipe}} Global Trade Watch {{pipe}} Global Trade Watch – Hot Issue June 21 – Study shows WTO's Doha Round proposal would leave many poor countries worse off |publisher=Citizen.org|access-date = 2014-07-28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unnayan.org/Other/Unnayan_Onneshan_TNLP_Hong_Kong.pdf |title=How Hong Kong Empowers Rich Countries to Choke LDCs |access-date=2006-07-26 |archive-date=2011-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401030510/http://www.unnayan.org/Other/Unnayan_Onneshan_TNLP_Hong_Kong.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref> Dissatisfaction with these loopholes led some economists to call for a reworking of the [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] deal.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Chiedu Osakwe, as of 2001 the Director, Technical Cooperation Division at the Secretariat of the WTO, and adviser to the Director-General on developing country matters, was appointed as the WTO Special Coordinator for the Least Developed Countries beginning in 1999.<ref>World Trade Organization, [http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres99_e/pr136_e.htm "Moore announces key appointments for development issues"], 1999 Press Releases, Press/136, 13 September 1999</ref> He worked closely with the five other agencies that together with the WTO constitute the Integrated Framework of action for the Least Developed Countries. They addressed issues of market access, special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries, participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system, and development questions, especially the interests of developing countries in competition policy.<ref>Osakwe, Chiedu, [http://www.oecd.org/document/40/0,2340,en_2649_33721_35795688_1_1_1_1,00.html "Are WTO Members wrestling an octopus, did they set their sights too high?"], DAC News November–December 2005, Development Assistance Committee, OECD.</ref> At the 28th G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proposed and carried the Market Access Initiative, so that the then 48 LDCs could profit from "trade-not-aid".<ref>{{cite web |last=Vasil |first=Adria |url=http://stage81.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=140356 |title=NOW Toronto: "Roots runs away: Beaver-clad clothier blames feds' Africa trade aid for west-end plant closure" (February 12-19, 2004, VOL 23 NO 24 Vasil) |publisher=Stage81.nowtoronto.com |access-date=2014-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714134510/http://stage81.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=140356 |archive-date=2014-07-14}}</ref> Additionally, the United Nations [[Earth:Sustainable Development Goal 14|Sustainable Development Goal 14]] advocates for an effective special and differential treatment of LDCs as integral parts of WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goal 14 targets |url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |access-date=2020-09-24 |website=UNDP |language=en |archive-date=2020-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930060036/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== List of countries ==
The following 45 countries were still listed as least developed countries by the UN as of December 2023:<ref>UN (2021) [https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf List of Least Developed Countries (as of 24 November 2021)]</ref> Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, East Timor, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia.

=== By continent or region ===
There are 33 countries that are classified as least developed countries in Africa, eight in Asia, three in Oceania, and one in the Americas.

The list of "least developed countries" according to the {{wipe|United Nations}} with some that are categorized into the [[Earth:Landlocked developing countries|landlocked developing countries]] and the [[Earth:Small Island Developing States|Small Island Developing States]]:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-05-25 |title=LDCs at a Glance |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |access-date=2019-01-03 |website=United Nations Development Policy & Analysis Division}}</ref>

'''Africa'''<!-- Only add countries that are classified as LDCs by the ECOSOC -->
* {{flag|Angola}}
* {{flag|Benin}}
* {{flag|Burkina Faso}}<ref name="landlocked">Also a [[Earth:Landlocked developing countries|landlocked developing country]]</ref>
* {{flag|Burundi}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Central African Republic}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Chad}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Comoros}}<ref name="island">Also a [[Earth:Small Island Developing States|Small Island Developing State]]</ref>
* {{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo|name=D.R. Congo}}
* {{flag|Djibouti}}
* {{flag|Eritrea}}
* {{flag|Ethiopia}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Guinea}}
* {{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}
* {{flag|Lesotho}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Liberia}}
* {{flag|Madagascar}}
* {{flag|Malawi}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Mali}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Mauritania}}
* {{flag|Mozambique}}
* {{flag|Niger}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Rwanda}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|São Tomé and Príncipe}}<ref name="island" />
* {{flag|Senegal}}
* {{flag|Sierra Leone}}
* {{flag|Somalia}}
* {{flag|South Sudan}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Sudan}}
* {{flag|Tanzania}}
* {{flag|The Gambia}}
* {{flag|Togo}}
* {{flag|Uganda}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Zambia}}<ref name="landlocked" />
'''Americas'''<!-- Only add countries that are classified as LDCs by the ECOSOC -->
* {{flag|Haiti}}
'''Asia'''<!-- Only add countries that are classified as LDCs by the ECOSOC -->
* {{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Bangladesh}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-bangladesh.html |title=Least Developed Country Category: Bangladesh Profile {{pipe}} Department of Economic and Social Affairs|date = 25 December 2015}}</ref>
* {{flag|Cambodia}}
* {{flag|East Timor}}<ref name="island" />
* {{flag|Laos}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Myanmar}}
* {{flag|Nepal}}<ref name="landlocked" />
* {{flag|Yemen}}
'''Oceania'''
* {{flag|Kiribati}}<ref name="island" />
* {{flag|Solomon Islands}}<ref name="island" />
* {{flag|Tuvalu}}<ref name="island" />

=== Delisted countries (graduated countries) ===
The three criteria (human assets, economic vulnerability and gross national income per capita) are assessed by the Committee for Development Policy every three years. Countries must meet two of the three criteria at two consecutive triennial reviews to be considered for graduation. The Committee for Development Policy sends its recommendations for endorsement to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).<ref name="UN_Its_Official">{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=It's official and historical – three more countries will graduate from the LDC category |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/2018/its-official-and-historical-three-more-countries-will-graduate-from-the-ldc-category/ |access-date=2019-01-03 |website=Development Policy & Analysis Division}}</ref>

After the initiation of the LDC category, seven countries graduated to ''[[Finance:Developing country|developing country]]'' status. The first country to graduate from LDC status was Botswana in 1994. The second country was Cape Verde in 2007.<ref>[https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22918&Cr=cape&Cr1=verde "UN advocate salutes Cape Verde's graduation from category of poorest States"], UN News Centre, 14 June 2007.</ref> [[History:Maldives|Maldives]] graduated to ''developing country'' status at the beginning of 2011, Samoa in 2014,<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 March 2010 |title=Timeline of country's graduation from the LDC category |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-graduation.html |access-date=2018-03-02 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Samoa To Gain Developing Country Economic Status in January 2014 |url=http://unohrlls.org/news/samoa-to-gain-developing-country-economic-status-in-january-2014/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017081118/http://unohrlls.org/news/samoa-to-gain-developing-country-economic-status-in-january-2014/ |archive-date=2015-10-17 |access-date=2015-08-09 |website=UN-OHRLLS via Radio Australia}}</ref> Equatorial Guinea in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--not stated--> |date=2018 |title=Least Developed Country Category: Equatorial Guinea Profile |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-equatorial-guinea.html |access-date=21 December 2018 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division}}</ref> Vanuatu in December 2020,<ref name="Vanuatu">{{cite web |date=2020-12-04 |title=Vanuatu graduates from least developed country status |url=https://unctad.org/news/vanuatu-graduates-least-developed-country-status |publisher=[[Organization:United Nations Conference on Trade and Development|United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]]}}</ref>
and Bhutan in December 2023.<ref name="Bhutan">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/bhutan-graduation-status |title=Bhutan graduation status |website=United Nations |access-date=13 December 2023}}</ref>

The following countries are no longer categorized in the "least developed countries" group:
* {{flag|Kingdom of Sikkim|name=Sikkim}} (became a state within the Republic of India in 1975)<ref name="CDC2008">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/2008cdphandbook.pdf |title=UN Handbook on the LDC Category |access-date=2014-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207091657/https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/2008cdphandbook.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-07 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sikkim.gov.in/ASP/Miscc/aboutsikkim.htm |title="About Sikkim" from the Government of Sikkim's website |publisher=Sikkim.gov.in |access-date=2014-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525171423/http://www.sikkim.gov.in/asp/Miscc/aboutsikkim.htm |archive-date=2009-05-25}}</ref>
* {{flag|Botswana}} (graduated from LDC status in December 1994)<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37239&Cr=least+developed&Cr1= |title=Istanbul forum offers chance to recommit to helping world's poorest nations |date=2011-01-10 |website=United Nations |access-date=2014-07-28}}</ref>
* {{flag|Cape Verde}} (graduated in December 2007)<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Maldives}} (graduated in January 2011)<ref name=":0" />
* {{flag|Samoa}} (graduated in January 2014)<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://sdg.iisd.org/news/un-ohrlls-announces-samoa-to-graduate-from-ldc-status/ |title=UN-OHRLLS Announces Samoa to Graduate from LDC Status |last=Ashton |first=Melanie |date=20 June 2012 |work=IISD's SDG Knowledge |access-date=2017-11-24 |language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}} (graduated in June 2017)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/equatorial-guinea-graduates-from-the-ldc-category/ |title=Equatorial Guinea Graduates from the LDC Category |date=4 June 2017 |website=United Nations |access-date=7 November 2017}}</ref>
* {{flag|Vanuatu}} (graduated in December 2020)<ref name="Vanuatu" />
* {{flag|Bhutan}} (graduated in December 2023)<ref name="Bhutan" />

=== Countries expected to graduate soon ===
* São Tomé and Príncipe will leave the category in December 2024.<ref name="UN_Its_Official" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/bhutan-graduated-least-developed-country-status-explained-8492253 |title=How Bhutan graduated from the 'Least Developed Country' status |author=Mira Patel |website=The Indian Express |date=2023-03-13}}</ref>
* Angola was expected to graduate in 2021, but the preparatory period was extended by three years because of the economic difficulties of the country and its dependence on commodities.<ref>{{cite web |date=2021-02-04 |title=Extension of the preparatory period preceding the graduation of Angola from the least developed country category |url=https://undocs.org/en/A/75/L.57 |website=undocs.org}}</ref>
* Bangladesh met the criteria twice, once in 2018 and again in 2021. The country will officially graduate from LDC status in November 2026, two years after it was supposed to, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Byron |first1=Rejaul Karim |last2=Mirdha |first2=Refayet Ullah |date=2021-02-28 |title=Becoming A Developing Nation: Bangladesh reaches A Milestone |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/becoming-developing-nation-bangladesh-reaches-milestone-2052161 |access-date=2021-08-17 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref>
* Laos and Nepal will graduate in November 2026.<ref>{{Cite news |title=U.N. General Assembly graduates Bangladesh, Nepal to developing countries bloc |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/un-general-assembly-graduates-bangladesh-nepal-to-developing-countries-bloc/article37681442.ece |access-date=2021-11-26 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> The latter was originally selected to graduate to developing country status in 2018. However, the authorities of Nepal requested to postpone graduation until 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nepal braces for graduation from an LDC |url=https://www.np.undp.org/content/nepal/en/home/operations/projects/poverty_reduction/snpc/nepal-braces-for-graduation-from-an-ldc.html |website=UNDP in Nepal}}</ref> Graduation was later pushed back an additional five years.
* Solomon Islands will graduate in December 2027.<ref name="approaching">{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/countries-approaching-graduation-and-graduated |title=Countries approaching graduation and already graduated |website={{wipe|United Nations}}}}</ref>
* Cambodia, Comoros, Djibouti, Senegal and Zambia could graduate from LDC status in 2027 at the earliest.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Kingdom on track for LDC graduation |last=Dara |first=Voun |work=The Phnom Penh Post |url=https://phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-track-ldc-graduation |date=2022-01-18 |access-date=2022-07-13}}</ref><ref name="approaching" />

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Development geography}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Development economics}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Economic development}}
* {{annotated link|Social:Failed state}}
* {{annotated link|Organization:Group of 77}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Heavily indebted poor countries}}
* {{annotated link|Engineering:Human Development Index}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Human Poverty Index}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Developed country|More developed country}} (MDC), opposite of LDCs
* {{annotated link|Finance:Newly industrialized country}}
* {{annotated link|Finance:Right to development}}
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.un.org/ohrlls/ Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, United Nations]
* [https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list United Nations List of LDCs]
* [https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/recognition Criteria for Identification of LDCs]
* [https://www.un.org/en/conf/ldc/ Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs]
* [https://unctad.org/publications-search?f%5B0%5D=product%3A392 UNCTAD Least Developed Countries Report (Series)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110418145425/http://www.ldcwatch.org/csf/ UN LDC-IV Civil Society Forum]

{{South-South}}

[[Category:Debt]]
[[Category:Economic country classifications]]
[[Category:Economic development]]

{{Sourceattribution|Least developed countries}}