Developing country

Undeveloped industrial base and a low Human Development Index (HDI) are characteristics of underdeveloped countries as compared to other nations. This definition, on the other hand, is not widely accepted. The nations that fall within this group are likewise not clearly defined. The terms low and middle-income country (LMIC) are sometimes used interchangeably, but they pertain to the economies of the nations in question. In accordance with Gross National Income per capita, the World Bank divides the world's economies into four groups: high income countries, upper middle income countries, lower middle income countries, and low income countries. High income countries are those with a Gross National Income per capita that is greater than US$10,000. All of the sub-groups of developing nations include the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, and tiny island developing states. On the opposite end of the scale, nations with high incomes or established economies are often referred to as high-income countries or developed economies.

Using this word has sparked debate because some believe it maintains an outmoded sense of "us" and "them." Others believe it is simply inaccurate. In 2015, the World Bank decided that the "developing world/developed world" category is no longer applicable and that they would phase away the usage of such term in their publications going forward. A data aggregate for areas and income categories will be shown rather than individual data points. In place of "developing nations," some people refer to the world as the "Global South."

A number of features are shared by developing nations, which is typically owing to their shared historical experiences or geographical locations. As an example, they commonly have low levels of access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene; energy poverty; high levels of pollution (for example, air pollution, indoor air pollution, water pollution); a high proportion of people suffering from tropical and infectious diseases (neglected tropical diseases); a high number of road traffic accidents; and a generally poor infrastructure, to name a few. Additionally, widespread poverty, high crime rates, poor educational levels, limited access to family planning services, a large number of informal settlements, corruption at all levels of government, and political instability are all common occurrences. Due to their high "climate sensitivity," poor nations are predicted to be disproportionately affected by global warming (climate change) compared to wealthy ones.

In the context of development cooperation, financial assistance provided by governments and other organisations to developing nations in order to help their economic, environmental, social, and political growth is referred to as development aid or development cooperation. In an effort to address several of these issues, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).