Developed country

World map

The world map representing Human Development Index categories (based on 2023 data, published in 2025)Template:Legend-col

A developed country, or advanced country, is a country that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are the gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. In 2025, 40 countries fit all three criteria, while an additional 22 countries fit two out of three.

Developed countries have generally more advanced post-industrial economies, meaning the service sector provides more wealth than the industrial sector. They are contrasted with developing countries, which are in the process of industrialisation or are pre-industrial and almost entirely agrarian, some of which might fall into the category of Least Developed Countries. since 2023Template:Dated maintenance category (articles), advanced economies comprise 57.3% of global GDP based on nominal values and 41.1% of global GDP based on purchasing-power parity (PPP) according to the IMF.

Definition and criteria

Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is the income per capita; countries with the high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion is industrialisation; countries in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors of industry dominate would thus be described as developed. More recently, another measure, the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines an economic measure, national income, with other measures, indices for life expectancy and education has become prominent. This criterion would define developed countries as those with a very high (HDI) rating. The index, however, does not take into account several factors, such as the net wealth per capita or the relative quality of goods in a country. This situation tends to lower the ranking of some of the most advanced countries, such as the G7 members and others.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division:

There is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas in the United Nations system.

And it notes that:

The designations "developed" and "developing" are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process.

Nevertheless, the UN Trade and Development considers that this categorization can continue to be applied:

The developed economies broadly comprise Northern America and Europe, Israel, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

Similar terms

Terms linked to the concept developed country include "advanced country", "industrialized country", "more developed country" (MDC), "more economically developed country" (MEDC), "Global North country", "first world country", and "post-industrial country". The term industrialized country may be somewhat ambiguous, as industrialisation is an ongoing process that is hard to define. The first industrialized country was the United Kingdom, followed by Belgium. Later it spread further to Germany, United States, France and other Western European countries. According to some economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, however, the current divide between the developed and developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20th century.

Mathis Wackernagel calls the binary labeling of countries as "neither descriptive nor explanatory. It is merely a thoughtless and destructive endorsement of GDP fetish. In reality, there are not two types of countries, but over 200 countries, all faced with the same laws of nature, yet each with unique features."

A 2021 analysis proposes the term emerged to describe markets, economies, or countries that have graduated from emerging market status, but have not yet reached the level equivalent to developed countries. Multinational corporations from these emerging markets present unique patterns of overseas expansion and knowledge acquisition from foreign countries.

Economy lists by various criteria

Human Development Index (HDI)

World map

World map of countries or territories by Human Development Index scores in increments of 0.050 (based on 2023 data, published in 2025)Template:Legend-col

The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges an economy's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and being a prosperous economy, the UN points out that the HDI accounts for more than income or productivity. Unlike GDP per capita or per capita income, the HDI takes into account how income is turned "into education and health opportunities and therefore into higher levels of human development."

Since 1990, Norway (2001–2006, 2009–2019), Japan (1990–1991 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland (2007–2008) have had the highest HDI score.

The following countries in the year 2023 are considered to be of "very high human development":

Template:Sronly

Rank	Template:DELTA	Country or territory	HDI value	% annual growth (2010–2023)
1		Iceland	0.972
2		Norway	0.970
		Switzerland
4		Denmark	0.962
5		Germany	0.959
		Sweden
7		Australia	0.958
8		Netherlands	0.955
		Hong Kong
10		Belgium	0.951
11		Ireland	0.949
12		Finland	0.948
13		Singapore	0.946
		United Kingdom
15		United Arab Emirates	0.940
16		Canada	0.939
17		Liechtenstein	0.938
		New Zealand
		United States
20		South Korea	0.937
21		Slovenia	0.931
22		Austria	0.930
23		Japan	0.925
24		Malta	0.924
25		Luxembourg	0.922
26		France	0.920
27		Israel	0.919
28		Spain	0.918
29		Czech Republic	0.915
		Italy
		San Marino
32		Cyprus	0.913
		Andorra
34		Greece	0.908
35		Poland	0.906
36		Estonia	0.905
37		Saudi Arabia	0.900
38		Bahrain	0.899
39		Lithuania	0.895
40		Portugal	0.890
41		Latvia	0.889
		Croatia
43		Qatar	0.886
44		Slovakia	0.880
45		Chile	0.878
46		Hungary	0.870
47		Argentina	0.865
48		Montenegro	0.862
		Uruguay
50		Oman	0.858
51		Turkey	0.853
52		Kuwait	0.852
53		Antigua and Barbuda	0.851
54		Seychelles	0.848
55		Bulgaria	0.845
		Romania
57		Template:Country data Georgia	0.844
58		Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.840
59		Panama	0.839
60		Brunei	0.837
		Kazakhstan
62		Costa Rica	0.833
		Serbia
64		Russia	0.832
65		Belarus	0.824
66		Bahamas	0.820
67		Malaysia	0.819
68		Template:Country data North Macedonia	0.815
69		Barbados	0.811
		Armenia
71		Albania	0.810
72		Trinidad and Tobago	0.807
73		Mauritius	0.806
74		Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.804

WESP developed economies

According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs' World Economic Situation and Prospects report, the following 37 countries are classified as "developed economies" as of January 2025:

31 countries in Europe:

two countries in North America:

four countries in Asia and the Pacific:

World Bank high-income economies

File:High income economies as classified by the World Bank.png

High-income economies of the world as classified by the World Bank, 2023.

According to the World Bank, the following sovereign states and territories across are classified as high-income economies, having a nominal GNI per capita in excess of $13,935. as of the 2025 fiscal year:

Non-sovereign Territories are denoted by an asterisk (*).

Development Assistance Committee members

File:DAC members.svg

Member nations of the Development Assistance Committee

There are 32 OECD member countries and the European Union—in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), a group of the world's major donor countries that discusses issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries. The following OECD member countries are DAC members:

26 countries in Europe:

two countries in the Americas:

two countries in Asia:

two countries in Oceania:

IMF advanced economies

File:IMF advanced economies 2008.svg

  Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF

File:IMF advanced economies and UN least developed countries.svg

  Developed countries (IMF)

  Developing countries (IMF)

  Least developed countries (UN)

  Data unavailable

World map showing country classifications per the IMF and the UN (last updated April 2023). "Developed economies" according to this classification scheme are shown in blue. The map does not include classifications by the World Bank.

According to the International Monetary Fund, 41 countries and territories are officially listed as "advanced economies", with the addition of 7 microstates and dependencies modified by the CIA which were omitted from the IMF version:

29 countries and dependencies in Europe classified by the IMF, 6 others given by the CIA:

seven countries and territories in Asia:

three countries and territories in the Americas classified by the IMF, one territory given by the CIA :

two countries in Oceania:

^d The CIA has modified an older version of the IMF's list of 38 Advanced Economies, noting that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover the following nine smaller countries of Andorra, Bermuda, Faroe Islands, Guernsey, Holy See, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and San Marino[...]". San Marino (2012) and Andorra (2021) were later included in the IMF's list.

Paris Club members

File:Map of Paris Club.png

Permanent members of the Paris Club

There are 22 permanent members in the Paris Club (Template:Langx), a group of officials from major creditor countries whose role is to find coordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor countries.

15 countries in Europe:

three countries in the Americas:

three countries in Asia:

one country in Oceania:

Comparative table (2025)

File:Comparison of developed countries.png

A comparison among the developed countries in the world

Comparative table of countries with a "very high" human development (0.800 or higher), according to UNDP; "advanced" economies, according to the IMF; "high-income" economies, according to the World Bank.

Developed countries
Countries	HDI	IMF	WB
2023
Croatia	Yes since 2007	Yes since 2023	Yes since 2017
2021
San Marino	Yes since 2021	Yes since 2012	Yes since 2000
2020
Andorra	Yes since 2003	Yes since 2020	Yes since 1990
2015
Lithuania	Yes since 2005	Yes since 2015	Yes since 2012
2014
Latvia	Yes since 2005	Yes since 2014	Yes since 2012
2011
Estonia	Yes since 2003	Yes since 2011	Yes since 2006
2009
Slovakia	Yes since 2006	Yes since 2009	Yes since 2007
Czech Republic	Yes since 2001	Yes since 2009	Yes since 2006
2008
Malta	Yes since 2003	Yes since 2008	Yes since 2002
Liechtenstein	Yes since 2000	Yes since 2008	Yes since 1990
Monaco	Yes before 1990	Yes since 2008	Yes before 1990
2007
Slovenia	Yes since 1998	Yes since 2007	Yes since 1997
2005
Portugal	Yes since 2005	Yes since 1989	Yes since 1994
2001
Greece	Yes since 2001	Yes since 1989	Yes since 1996
South Korea	Yes since 1999	Yes since 1997	Yes since 2001
Cyprus	Yes since 2001	Yes since 2001	Yes since 1988
1999
Singapore	Yes since 1999	Yes since 1997	Yes since 1987
1997
Israel	Yes since 1991	Yes since 1997	Yes since 1987
Taiwan	N/ATemplate:Refn	Yes since 1997	Yes since 1987
1996
Ireland	Yes since 1996	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1995
Spain	Yes since 1995	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Italy	Yes since 1995	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1994
Finland	Yes since 1994	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1993
France	Yes since 1993	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1992
United Kingdom	Yes since 1992	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Austria	Yes since 1992	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Luxembourg	Yes since 1992	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1991
Denmark	Yes since 1991	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
1987
New Zealand	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Iceland	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Sweden	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Australia	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Belgium	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Canada	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Germany	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Japan	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Netherlands	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
United States	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Norway	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
Switzerland	Yes before 1990	Yes since 1945Template:Fact	Yes since 1987
In process
Countries	HDI	IMF	WB
Russia	Yes since 2013	No	Yes since 2023
Costa Rica	Yes since 2019	No	Yes since 2024
Uruguay	Yes since 2014	No	Yes since 2012
Chile	Yes since 2007	No	Yes since 2012
Trinidad and Tobago	Yes since 2021	No	Yes since 2006
Romania	Yes since 2013	No	Yes since 2021
Panama	Yes since 2019	No	Yes since 2021
Bahamas	Yes since 2016	No	Yes since 1987
Hungary	Yes since 2005	No	Yes since 2014
Poland	Yes since 2003	No	Yes since 2009
Kuwait	Yes since 2014	No	Yes since 1987
Bahrain	Yes since 2012	No	Yes since 2001
Oman	Yes since 2012	No	Yes since 2007
Saudi Arabia	Yes since 2010	No	Yes since 2004
United Arab Emirates	Yes since 2004	No	Yes since 1987
Brunei	Yes since 1999	No	Yes since 1990
Qatar	Yes since 1996	No	Yes since 1987
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Yes since 2011	No	Yes since 2012
Seychelles	Yes since 2022	No	Yes since 2014
Antigua and Barbuda	Yes since 2007	No	Yes since 2012
Barbados	Yes since 2016	No	Yes since 2006
Bulgaria	Yes since 2021	No	Yes since 2023
Other recognitions
Countries	HDI	IMF	WB
Serbia	Yes since 2019	No	No
Argentina	Yes since 2006	No	No
Montenegro	Yes since 2013	No	No
Kazakhstan	Yes since 2015	No	No
Malaysia	Yes since 2016	No	No
Turkey	Yes since 2015	No	No
Template:Country data Georgia	Yes since 2019	No	No
Belarus	Yes since 2012	No	No
Mauritius	Yes since 2025	No	No
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Yes since 2025	No	No
Armenia	Yes since 2025	No	No
Albania	Yes since 2025	No	No
Template:Country data North Macedonia	Yes since 2025	No	No
Guyana	No	No	Yes since 2022
Nauru	No	No	Yes since 2019
Palau	No	No	Yes since 2023

See also

• Developed market
• Developing country
• Digital divide
• D-10 Strategy Forum
• First World privilege
• Globalization
• G7
• List of countries by wealth per adult
• World Bank high-income economy

External links

• Template:Sister-inline
• IMF (advanced economies)
• The World Factbook Template:Webarchive (developed countries)
• United Nations Statistics Division (definition)
• List of countries, United Nations Statistics Division (developed regions)
• World Bank (high-income economies)