Download Country Classifications

A
north/south
model of
classifying
countries
Models for Grouping Countries
in the World

How many countries are there in the world? This
question is not as easy as it may seem to answer.
The reality is that while there are perhaps 193
commonly accepted countries, many are still in
dispute as independent nations, depending on
the perspective. For example, many nations of
the world consider Tibet and Taiwan to be
countries in their own right, but China would
disagree, and maintain that they are provinces of
China. So what determines whether or not a
region can claim to be a “country” or “nation”?
The answer may depend on your perspective!

Most countries can be grouped
according to their level of social
and economic development and
have been classified in various
ways over time.

Social Development is measured by
characteristics such as level of education,
health care, jurisprudence (legal system), life
expectancy, rate of infant mortality, etc.

Economic Development is measured by
characteristics such as community wealth and
trade through per capita GDP (Gross Domestic
Product), ratio of cars to people, per capita
electrical power capacity, etc.
Terms such as Developed, Newly Industrialized and
Developing have been used to group countries together based
on similar social and economic development criteria.

1.) Developed Countries are considered to be
socially and economically progressive and
include countries such as Canada, the US,
Germany, France, Japan, etc.

2.) Newly Industrialized Countries are identified
more on economic characteristics as countries that are
in a transitional stage and moving from an
agriculturally based economy to one that is industrial
and/or service based such as India, China, Brazil and
Mexico.

3.) Developing Countries are considered to be moving
towards more progressive social and economic status.
Examples of developing countries would be
Bangladesh, Haiti, Ethiopia, etc.

*It must be emphasized that just because a
country is considered to be “developing”, does
not mean that it is not culturally sophisticated
with a rich and diverse history.
Some believe that this Three-World geopolitical model is too
simplified and prefer a Five-World Model.

1.) First World Countries would be the
equivalent to Developed Countries (e.g.
Canada, US, Germany, etc.)

2.) Second World Countries include those
that were or are communist and such as
Cuba, China, Russia, etc. They have social
development characteristics similar to those
of First World or Developed countries but
their economic development characteristics
are more like that of much poorer nations
such as Fourth and Fifth World or
Developing countries (or vice versa).
Fidel
Castro of
Cuba
Flag of Former
Soviet Union

3.) Third World Countries in this classification
would be similar to those in transition such as the
Newly Industrialized Countries (e.g. India,
China, Brazil, etc.)

4.) Fourth World Countries include those that are
only in early stages of transition towards being
developed. For example: Rwanda, Swaziland, etc.

5.) Fifth World Countries show little evidence of
even starting a transition towards development,
often due to level of poverty or due to being
affected by war or natural disaster. For example:
Haiti, Afghanistan, Congo, Somalia, etc.



Old Core: Established First World ‘Western
Democracies’ – Canada, Germany
New Core: Newly globalized countries
participating in the world economy. Not fully
established governments or social services.
- Poland Malaysia
Near Core Periphery – Continued economic
social and political growth they display
potential to join globalized core


Far Periphery - formerly known as third world
countries. Poorest of the poor… equivalent to
fourth and fifth world. Non perticipants in the
globalized core except to have resource and
human capital exploited
- Bangladesh, Zambia


The advantage of the 4 World Model is that it
takes into account the new world order of
Globalization and the interconnected
Globalized world.
Involvement in this world through trade,
technology, social and cultural connections as
well as economic and social development
determines the groupings.