The term developed country is used to describe countries that have a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue and is surrounded by fierce debate. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita; countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed countries. Another economic criterion is industrialization; 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. However, many anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by whichever measure is used.examples needed Countries not fitting such definitions are classified as developing countries. Contents 1 Similar terms 2 Definition 3 Human Development Index 4 Other lists of Developed Countries 4.1 IMF advanced economies 4.2 Development Assistance Committee members 4.3 High-income OECD members 4.4 Economist's Quality-of-life survey of 2005 4.5 Newsweek's Quality-of-life survey of 2010 5 See also 6 References 7 External links // Similar terms Terms similar to 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 industrialization 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. The first industrialised country was the United Kingdom, followed by Belgium, 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.1 Definition

Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, defined a developed country as follows: "A developed country is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment."2 But 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.3 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.4 The UN also notes In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in North America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and most European countries 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; countries emerging from the former Yugoslavia are treated as developing countries; and countries of eastern Europe and of the Commonwealth of Independent States (code 172) in Europe are not included under either developed or developing regions.3 According to the classification from IMF before April 2004, all the countries of Eastern Europe (including Central European countries that still belong to the Eastern Europe Group in the UN institutions) as well as the former Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) countries in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) and Mongolia, were not included under either developed or developing regions, but rather were referred to as "countries in transition"; however they are now widely regarded (in the international reports) as "developing countries". In the 21st century, the original Four Asian Tigers5 (which are Hong Kong56, Taiwan56, Singapore56 and South Korea5678) are considered "developed" regions or areas, along with Cyprus6, Czech republic6, Israel6, Malta6, Slovakia6 and Slovenia6. Human Development Index World map indicating the Human Development Index by Quartiles (based on 2010 data, published on November 4, 2010)9   Very High   High   Medium   Low   data unavailable Main articles: Human Development Index and List of countries by Human Development Index

The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development. While there is a strong correlation between having a high HDI score and 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 1980, Norway (2001–2006, 2009 and 2010), Japan (1990–91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland (2007–08) have had the highest HDI score. The top 42 countries have scores ranging from 0.788 in Barbados to 0.938 in Norway. Many countries listed by IMF or10 CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries11 possessing an HDI of 0.788 and over (as of 2010), are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2009) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2007). The latest index was released on November 4, 2010 and covers the period up to 2008. The following are the 42 countries classified as possessing a "Very high human development" with an HDI at or above 0.788 and are considered as "developed countries".12 Rank Country HDI New 2010 estimates for 2010 13 Change compared to old 2009 values for 2007 New 2010 estimates for 2010 13 Change compared to new 2010 estimates for 2009 13 1  Norway 0.938 0.001 2  Australia 0.937 0.002 3 (17)  New Zealand 0.907 0.003 4 (9)  United States 0.902 0.003 5  Ireland 0.895 0.001 6 (13)  Liechtenstein 0.891 0.002 7 (1)  Netherlands 0.890 0.002 8 (4)  Canada 0.888 0.002 9 (2)  Sweden 0.885 0.001 10 (12)  Germany 0.885 0.002 11 (1)  Japan 0.884 0.003 12 (14)  South Korea 0.877 0.005 13 (4)  Switzerland 0.874 0.002 14 (6)  France 0.872 0.003 15 (12)  Israel 0.872 0.001 16 (4)  Finland 0.871 0.002 17 (14)  Iceland 0.869 18 (1)  Belgium 0.867 0.002 19 (3)  Denmark 0.866 0.002 20 (5)  Spain 0.863 0.002 21 (3)  Hong Kong 0.862 0.005 Rank Country HDI New 2010 estimates for 2010 13 Change compared to old 2009 values for 2007 New 2010 estimates for 2010 13 Change compared to new 2010 estimates for 2009 13 22 (3)  Greece 0.855 0.002 23 (5)  Italy 0.854 0.003 24 (13)  Luxembourg 0.852 0.002 25 (11)  Austria 0.851 0.002 26 (5)  United Kingdom 0.849 0.002 27 (5)  Singapore 0.846 0.005 28 (8)  Czech Republic 0.841 29  Slovenia 0.828 0.002 30 (2)  Andorra 0.824 0.002 31 (11)  Slovakia 0.818 0.003 32 (3)  United Arab Emirates 0.815 0.003 33 (5)  Malta 0.815 0.002 34 (6)  Estonia 0.812 0.003 35 (3)  Cyprus 0.810 0.001 36 (7)  Hungary 0.805 0.002 37 (7)  Brunei 0.805 0.001 38 (5)  Qatar 0.803 0.005 39  Bahrain 0.801 0.003 40 (6)  Portugal 0.795 0.004 41  Poland 0.795 0.004 42 (5)  Barbados 0.788 0.001 Other lists of Developed Countries

Only three institutions have produced lists of "developed countries". The three institutions and their lists are the UN list (shown above), the CIA14 list and the FTSE Group's list, whose list is not included because its association of developed countries with countries with both high incomes and developed markets is not deemed as directly relevant here.15 However many institutions have created lists which are sometimes referred to when people are discussing developed countries. The IMF identifies 34 "advanced economies",6 The OECD, also widely known as the 'developed countries club' 161718 has 30 members. The World Bank identifies 66 "high income countries". The EIU's Quality-of-life survey and a list of countries with welfare states are also included here. The criteria for using all these lists and for countries' inclusion on these lists are often not properly spelt out, and several of these lists are based on old data. IMF advanced economies   Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF. According to the International Monetary Fund the following 34 countries are classified as "advanced economies":6  Australia  Austria  Belgium  Canada  Czech Republic  Denmark  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hong Kong  Iceland  Ireland  Israel  Italy  Japan  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands  New Zealand  Norway  Portugal  San Marino19  Singapore  Slovakia  Slovenia  South Korea  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  Taiwan  United Kingdom  United States The CIA has a modified version of an old version of the IMF's list of Advanced Economies. The CIA notes that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover"14 some smaller countries. They are: •  Andorra •  Bermuda •  Faroe Islands •  Holy See •  Liechtenstein •  Monaco Development Assistance Committee members Members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee.

There are 24 members — 23 selected OECD member countries and the European Commission—in the Development Assistance Committee,20 a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries.21 As of 2010[update], the following OECD member countries are DAC members: 17 countries in Europe:  Austria  Belgium  Denmark  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Norway  Portugal  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  United Kingdom 2 countries in Asia:  Japan  South Korea 2 countries in North America:  Canada  United States 2 countries in Oceania:  Australia  New Zealand High-income OECD members There are 31 High-income OECD members.22 As of 2010, the High-income OECD membership is as follows: 24 countries in Europe:  Austria  Belgium  Czech Republic  Denmark  Estonia  Finland  France  Germany  Greece  Hungary  Iceland  Ireland  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Norway  Poland  Portugal  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain  Sweden  Switzerland  United Kingdom 3 countries in Asia:  Israel  Japan  South Korea 2 countries in North America:  Canada  United States 2 countries in Oceania:  Australia  New Zealand Economist's Quality-of-life survey of 2005 Research about standards of living and quality of life by the Economist Intelligence Unit resulted in a quality-of-life index. As of 2005, the highest-ranked economies are23 Ireland Switzerland Norway Luxembourg Sweden Australia Iceland Italy Denmark Spain Singapore Finland United States Canada New Zealand Netherlands Japan Hong Kong Portugal Austria Taiwan Greece Cyprus Belgium France Germany Slovenia Malta United Kingdom South Korea Newsweek's Quality-of-life survey of 2010

Research24 about standards of living and quality of life by Newsweek, resulted in the "world's best countries" index, measuring: "health, education, economy, and politics". As of 15/8/2010, the highest-ranked countries are:  Finland  Switzerland  Sweden  Australia  Luxembourg  Norway  Canada  Netherlands  Japan  Denmark  United States  Germany  New Zealand  United Kingdom  South Korea  France  Ireland  Austria  Belgium  Singapore  Spain  Israel  Italy  Slovenia  Czech Republic  Greece  Portugal  Croatia  Poland  Chile See also Developed market Emerging markets References ^ Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty. The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-045-9.  ^ http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/G_05_00.htm ^ a b "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings (footnote C)". United Nations Statistics Division. revised 17 October 2008. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm#ftnc. Retrieved 2008-12-30.  ^ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm ^ a b c d e http://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/economics/78/East-Asian-Tigers-.html ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information, October 2010. ^ http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1018.html ^ http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98c62f1c-850f-11dd-b148-0000779fd18c.html ^ [1] ^ The official classification of "advanced countries" is originally made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF list doesn't deal with non-IMF members. The CIA intends to follow IMF list but adds few countries which aren't dealt with by IMF due to their not being IMF members. By May 2001, the advanced country list of the CIA was more comprehensive than the original IMF list. However, since May 2001, three additional countries (Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia) have been added to the original IMF list, thus leaving the CIA list not updated. ^ Namely sovereign states, i.e. excluding Macau: In 2003 the government of Macau calculated its HDI as being 0.909 (the UN does not calculate Macau's HDI); In January 2007, the People's Daily reported (from China Modernization Report 2007): "In 2004...Macau...had reached the level of developed countries". However, Macau is not recognized by any international organisation as a developed/advanced territory, while the UNCTAD organisation (of the UN), as well as the CIA, classify Macau as a "developing" territory. The World Bank classifies Macau as a high income economy (along with developed economies as well as with few developing economies). ^ [2] ^ a b c d e f "2010 Human development Report". United Nations Development Programme. pp. 148–151. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2010_EN_Complete.pdf. Retrieved 4 November 2010.  ^ a b CIA (2008). "Appendix B. International Organizations and Groups. World Factbook.". https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/appendix/appendix-b.html. Retrieved 2008-04-10.  ^ http://www.ftse.com/Indices/Country_Classification/Downloads/FTSE_Country_Classification_Sept_09_update.pdf The Developed Countries Glossary entry reads: "The following countries are classified by FTSE as developed countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States." ^ http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no160/104.shtml ^ http://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19971214/34850733.html ^ http://www.esri.go.jp/en/forum1/minute/minute26-e.html ^ World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, October 2010, p. 169. ^ http://www.oecd.org/document/38/0,3343,en_2649_34603_1893350_1_1_1_1,00.html ^ DAC website >> "The DAC in Dates", On the DAC's self-description, see the introductory letter. On other events, refer to the relevant section by date. ^ http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups#OECD_members ^ The world in 2005: The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, The Economist. Accessed on line January 8, 2007. ^ The world's best countries: 2010 index, Newsweek. Accessed on line August, 15 2010. 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