First World

The First World is a term used during the Cold War that included the capitalist industrialized countries of North America, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

The term First World is opposed to Second World and Third World, which referred to the Communist industrialized nations and the non-industrialized poor nations of the world, respectively. After the end of the Cold War, the term has fallen out of use with the terms Global North or Developed Countries replacing it.

See also[edit]

• The West
• Cold War
• NATO