View source for Developed country

[[Image:HDImap current.png|thumb|right|300px|Coloured world map indicating [[Human Development Index]] (as of 2003).  [[List of countries by Human Development Index|Countries]] coloured darker shades of green exhibit very high human development and are generally recognized as heavily developed countries.]]
A '''developed country''' is a term used to categorise countries with developed [[economies]], ones in which the [[tertiary sector of industry|tertiary]] and [[quaternary sector of industry|quaternary sectors of industry]] dominate. This level of economic development usually translates into a high income per capita, and a high [[Human Development Index]] (HDI). Countries with high [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) per capita often fit the previous description of a developed economy; however, anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by the factor GDP/cap alone.

==Synonyms==
Modern terms synonymous with the term '''developed country''' include '''industrialised countries''', '''more developed countries''' (MDC) and '''more economically developed countries''' (MEDC). The term industrialised country may be ambiguous, as [[industrialisation]] is an ongoing process that is hard to define. The term MEDC is one used by modern geographers to specifically describe the status of the countries referred to: more economically developed.

Outdated terms that are sometimes still used to describe the developed/[[developing country]] dichotomy are [[First World]]/[[Third World]] (the term [[Second World]] refers to [[communist state]]s during and since the [[Cold War]]); and [[The North|North]]/[[The South|South]]. The term [[Western countries]] has a similar meaning, but its connotations restrict its usage, especially in [[Asia Pacific]].

==Definition==
According to the [[United Nations]] definition there is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas. In common practice, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan in Asia, Canada and the United States in North America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and Europe are considered "developed" regions or areas. In international trade statistics, the [[Southern African Customs Union]] is also treated as a developed region and Israel as a developed country; and countries of eastern Europe and the former [[Soviet Union|Soviet Union ( U.S.S.R.)]] countries in Europe are not included under either developed or developing regions. Nowadays this group would presumably also cover the [[East Asian Tigers]] in the more comprehensive group of "developed countries".

When using GDP/cap to define "developed" status, one must take into account how some countries have achieved a (usually temporarily) high GDP/cap through [[natural resource]] exploitation (e.g., [[Nauru]] through phosphate extraction and [[Equatorial Guinea]]) without developing the diverse industrial and service-based economy necessary for "developed" status &mdash; similarly, the [[Bahamas]], [[Barbados]], [[Antigua and Barbuda]], and [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]] depend overwhelmingly on the [[tourism|tourist]] industry.

Despite their high per capita GDP, the [[Gulf Cooperation Council|GCC]] countries in the [[Middle East]], [[Brunei]] and [[Trinidad and Tobago]] are generally not considered developed countries because their economies depend overwhelmingly on oil production and export; in many cases (notably [[Saudi Arabia]]), per capita GDP is also skewed by an unequal [[distribution of wealth]]. Some of these countries, especially [[Bahrain]], and Trinidad and Tobago have begun to diversify their economies. 

==Reasons for High Level of Economic Development==
{{main|Economic development}}
Different observers and theorists often see different reasons for why certain countries (and not others) enjoy a high level of [[economic development]]. Many argue that economic development requires some combination of representative government (or [[democracy]]), a [[free market]] economic model, and a general lack of [[political corruption|corruption]]. Many hold that rich countries grew wealthy by [[exploitation]] of poorer countries in the past, through [[imperialism]] and [[colonialism]], or in the present, through the process of [[globalization]].

==List of Developed Countries==
Organizations such as the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) and the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA), generally agree that the group of developed countries include the following countries and territories/regions (''in alphabetical order''):
[[Image:Developed_nation.png|thumb|right|250px|{{legend|#0000FF|Countries qualified as high-income and advanced economies by the WB and IMF}}]]          
{|
|-
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*{{flagicon|Andorra}} [[Andorra]]
*{{flagicon|Australia}} [[Australia]]
*{{flagicon|Austria}} [[Austria]]
*{{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Belgium]]
*{{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]]
*{{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]]
 *{{flagicon|Finland}} [[Finland]]
*{{flagicon|France}} [[France]]
*{{flagicon|Germany}} [[Germany]]
*{{flagicon|Greece}} [[Greece]]
*{{flagicon|Iceland}} [[Iceland]]
*{{flagicon|Ireland}} [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
*{{flagicon|Israel}} [[Israel]]
*{{flagicon|Italy}} [[Italy]]
| width="30" |
| valign=top |
|
*{{flagicon|Japan}} [[Japan]]
*{{flagicon|Liechtenstein}} [[Liechtenstein]]
*{{flagicon|Luxembourg}} [[Luxembourg]]
*{{flagicon|Monaco}} [[Monaco]]
*{{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Netherlands]]
*{{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[New Zealand]]
*{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Norway]]
*{{flagicon|Portugal}} [[Portugal]]
*{{flagicon|San Marino}} [[San Marino]]
*{{flagicon|Singapore}} [[Singapore]]
*{{flagicon|South Korea}} [[South Korea]]
*{{flagicon|Spain}} [[Spain]]
*{{flagicon|Sweden}} [[Sweden]]
*{{flagicon|Switzerland}} [[Switzerland]]
*{{flagicon|Taiwan}} [[Republic of China|Republic of China (Taiwan)]] 
*{{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]
*{{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]]
*{{flagicon|Vatican City}} [[Vatican City|Vatican City (Holy See)]] 
|}


==List of Developed Territories or Regions==
*{{flagicon|Bermuda}} [[Bermuda]] ({{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]]) 
*{{flagicon|Faroe Islands}} [[Faroe Islands]] ({{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]])
*{{flagicon|Gibraltar}} [[Gibraltar]] ({{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom]])
*{{flagicon|Greenland}} [[Greenland]] ({{flagicon|Denmark}} [[Denmark]])
*{{flagicon|Hong Kong}} [[Hong Kong]] ({{flagicon|People's Republic of China}} [[People's Republic of China]])
*{{flagicon|Macau}} [[Macau]] ({{flagicon|People's Republic of China}} [[People's Republic of China]]) 

==Other Cases==
<!-- GROUPED and ALPHABETICALLY ORDERED, by country name-->
{{main|Emerging markets|Newly industrialized countries}}
{{main|Developing countries}}
===[[European Union]] members===
Some organizations consider the remaining countries of the [[European Union]] &mdash; those which joined the body in [[2004]], especially the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]] &mdash; as well as [[Romania]] and [[Bulgaria]] that will join the EU in [[2007]]; among the developed countries, but these mostly former-USSR countries are rather newly industrialised nations, and some of them (such as [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]] and [[Poland]]) remain significantly less affluent than EU-15 countries. All European Union members, however, have a GDP per capita greater than the global average and high human development according to the HDI.

*[[Cyprus]] and [[Malta]], [[EU]] members since [[2004]], are classified as "advanced economies" by the [[IMF]] and high-income economies by the [[World Bank]]. Their HDIs are, however, slightly lower than 0.9, calculated at 0.891, ranked 29th and 32nd in the world.

*[[Slovenia]], another EU member, is classified as a high-income economy and net donor by the World Bank, and has a HDI higher than 0.9, ranked 26th in the world. It is not, however, classified to be an "advanced economy" by the IMF.

===Other parts of the world===
*[[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] have long been considered developed by most organizations. Although they were taken over by the [[People's Republic of China|People's Republic of China ]] (PRC), which is a [[developing country]], they are still considered internationally as separate economic entities (as they have their own currencies) and separate political systems according to the [[Basic Law of Hong Kong]] and the [[Basic Law of Macau]]. Due to the difference between their economies and that of [[mainland China]] , both territories retain their own border and custom controls.

*[[Mexico]], while a part of [[NAFTA]] and a member of the [[OECD]], remains less developed than its northern neighbours. For this reason some authors still consider Mexico a developing country rather than a developed one, though most properly Mexico lies between these two extremes as a [[newly industrialized country]] or NIC, with its HDI above 0.8 which is superior to that of Turkey, Russia and South Africa and possessing a booming upper middle-income economy.

*[[Russia]] is also considered developed by some organizations and belongs to the [[G8]]. This was mainly due to the fact it was once one of the world's leading [[superpowers]] during 1960's - 1980's, but it has recently faced many problems such as rampant [[Political corruption|corruption]], outdated technology, ill management of public [[infrastructure]], poor banking system and imperfect [[business law]]. [[Modernization]] and intergradation to Europe are still in process and its GDP per capita clearly places Russia among the developing countries and should not be considered developed. 

*[[South Africa]] and [[Turkey]] are considered developed by some sources; however their GDP per capita (both have upper middle-income economies) and HDI ranking, clearly places them among the developing countries.

*[[UAE]] and [[Brunei]] are considered developed by some sources as their GDP per capita are relatively high.  Their HDIs are, however, lower than 0.9. Besides, their economies are solely and/or heavily relying on the aspects of tourism (UAE) and oil/gas production (Brunei) that cannot be fairly taken into account as advanced and mature economies as developed countries.

==EIU==
Another relative research about [[standard of living]] by [[EIU]] [http://www.economist.com/theworldin/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3372495&d=2005 Quality-of-life Survey] refers the top thirty countries with best quality of life include: [[Ireland]], [[Switzerland]], [[Norway]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Sweden]], [[Australia]] , [[Iceland]], [[Italy]], [[Denmark]], [[Spain]], [[Singapore]], [[Finland]], [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[New Zealand]], [[Netherlands]], [[Japan]], [[Hong Kong|Hong Kong (SAR of People's Republic of China)]], [[Portugal]], [[Austria]], [[Republic of China|Republic of China (Taiwan)]], [[Greece]], [[Cyprus]], [[Belgium]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Slovenia]], [[Malta]], [[United Kingdom]] and [[South Korea]].

==HDI==
{{main|Human Development Index}}
{{main|List of countries by Human Development Index}}
The UN [[Human Development Index|HDI]] is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development. [[List of countries by Human Development Index|Countries]] with an HDI of 0.8 or more — largely corresponding to what the conventional definition of being a "developed" country is — exhibit high development, and those with an HDI between 0.5 and 0.8 (including many of the former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states) exhibit moderate development. All countries listed here as "developed" posses an HDI over 0.9.

==References==

*[http://www.worldbank.org/data/countryclass/classgroups.htm#High_income World Bank] (high-income economies)
*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html The World Factbook]   (developed countries)
*[http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cdb/cdb_dict_xrxx.asp?def_code=491 United Nations Statistics Division] (definition)
*[http://unstats.un.org/unsd/mi/developed_new.htm United Nations Statistics Division] (developed regions)
*[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/groups.htm#1 IMF] (advanced economies)
*[http://www.economist.com/theworldin/international/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3372495&d=2005 The Economist] (quality of life survey)
==See also==
* [[List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita]]
* [[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita]]
* [[UN Human Development Index]]
* [[List of countries by Human Development Index]]
* [[Developing country]]
* [[Newly industrialized country]]
* [[Decolonisation]]
* [[Economic development]]
* [[Quality of life]]
* [[Sustainable development]]
* [[Standard of living]]
* [[Industrialisation]]
* [[DEMOLOGOS]]

[[Category:Country classifications]]
[[Category:Human geography]]
[[Category:Economic geography]]

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