Nations Online Logo
Nations Online
Countries of the World
Home to Earth to Continents to Countries to First, Second and Third World to Least Developed Countries

___ Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

The world´s most impoverished countries.
The least developed countries (LDCs) are a group of countries that have been identified by the UN as "least developed" in terms of their low gross national income (GNI), their weak human assets and their high degree of economic vulnerability.

keywords: United Nations classification, least developed countries, LDCs, countries of the third world, poorest countries


List of Least Developed Countries

Definition of least developed countries.

The term "Least Developed Countries (LDCs)" describes the world's poorest countries with following 3 criteria:
   
Low-income criterion
 based on a three-year average estimate of the gross national income (GNI) per capita (under $750 for inclusion, above $900 for graduation)
 
Human resource weakness criterion
involving a composite Human Assets Index (HAI) based on indicators of:
(a) nutrition; (b) health; (c) education; and (d) adult literacy.
 
Economic vulnerability criterion
based on indicators of the instability of agricultural production; the instability of exports of goods and services; the economic importance of non-traditional activities (share of manufacturing and modern services in GDP); merchandise export concentration; and the handicap of economic smallness.
   
List of Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
       
Africa      
Angola Benin Burkina Faso Burundi
Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros
Congo, Dem. Rep. of the Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Eritrea
Ethiopia Gambia Guinea Guinea-Bissau
Lesotho Liberia Madagascar Malawi
Mali Mauritania Mozambique Niger
Rwanda Sao Tome and Principe Senegal Sierra Leone
Somalia Sudan Tanzania Togo
Uganda Zambia    
       
Asia      
Afghanistan Bangladesh Bhutan Cambodia
Lao PDR Maldives Myanmar Nepal
Timor-Leste Yemen    
       
Australia and the Pacific      
Kiribati Samoa Solomon Islands Tuvalu
Vanuatu      
       
Caribbean    
Haiti      

Source: Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
see also: Criteria for determining the LDCs

Related Categories:
to Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs)
to Human Development Index (Countries with low human development)
List of countries with the lowest standard of human development.
to Countries of the First World
to Countries of the Second World
to Countries of the Third World
to Rich and poor countries
Categories of development of countries in the world today.
to Countries by Gross National Income (GNI)
A list of world countries and regions in comparison of their gross national income based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita in int'l Dollars.
 

Your comments and suggestions for this page:
Just type and submit, if you would like to get an answer, please include your email address:

Google
Web nationsonline.org  
Support UNICEF Valid HTML 4.01!
Valid CSS
Countries of the World: A - C | D - G | H - L | M - P | Q - T | U - Z
Continents: Africa | The Americas | Asia | Australia/Oceania | Europe
The list of least developed countries was last updated on: Sunday, 24-Feb-2008 04:59:09 CET


One World - Nations Online .:. let's care for this planet
Made to improve cross-cultural understanding and global awareness.
Site Map | Information Sources | Advertise with OWNO | Disclaimer: Privacy Policy, etc.
Contact: info@nationsonline.org | Copyright © 1998-2008 :: nationsonline.org