Developed country

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Further information: Developed market
World map by quartiles of Human Development Index in 2013.
  Very High
  Data unavailable


Developed countries have post-industrial economies, meaning the service sector provides more wealth than the industrial sector. They are contrasted with developing countries, which are in the process of industrialization, or undeveloped countries, which are pre-industrial and almost entirely agrarian. According to the International Monetary Fund, advanced economies comprise 65.8% of global nominal GDP and 52.1% of global GDP (PPP) in 2010.[2] In 2013, the ten largest advanced economies by nominal GDP were the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Australia, Spain and South Korea. By PPP GDP, they were the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea, Canada, Spain and Australia.[3]

Similar terms[edit]


Definition and criteria[edit]


According to the United Nations Statistics Division,


And it notes that


Human Development Index (HDI)[edit]


Since 1990, Norway (2001–2006, 2009–2013), Japan (1990–91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994–2000) and Iceland (2007–08) have had the highest HDI score. The top 47 countries have scores ranging from 0.793 in Barbados to 0.955 in Norway.

Many countries listed by IMF or[7] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2009), possess an HDI over 0.788 (as of 2010). Many countries[8] 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 14 March 2013 and covers the period up to 2012. The following are the 47 countries in the top quartile - having an HDI above 0.8, and classified as possessing a "Very high human development".

Note: The green arrows (Increase), red arrows (Decrease), and blue dashes (Steady) represent changes in rank when compared to the 2011 data – published in the 2011 report.

  1.  Norway 0.955 (Steady)
  2.  Australia 0.938 (Steady)
  3.  United States 0.937 (Increase 1)
  4.  Netherlands 0.921 (Decrease 1)
  5.  Germany 0.920 (Increase 4)
  6.  New Zealand 0.919 (Increase 1)
  7.  Ireland 0.916 (Steady)
  8.  Sweden 0.916 (Increase 3)
  9.   Switzerland 0.913 (Increase 2)
  10.  Japan 0.912 (Increase 2)
  11.  Canada 0.911 (Decrease 5)
  12.  South Korea 0.909 (Increase 3)
  13.  Hong Kong 0.906 (Steady)
  14.  Iceland 0.906 (Steady)
  15.  Denmark 0.901 (Increase 1)
  16.  Israel 0.900 (Increase 1)
  17.  Belgium 0.897 (Increase 1)
  18.  Austria 0.895 (Increase 1)
  19.  Singapore 0.895 (Increase 7)
  20.  France 0.893 (Steady)
  21.  Finland 0.892 (Increase 1)
  22.  Slovenia 0.892 (Steady)
  23.  Spain 0.885 (Steady)
  24.  Liechtenstein 0.883 (Decrease 16)
  25.  Italy 0.881 (Decrease 1)
  26.  Luxembourg 0.875 (Decrease 1)
  27.  United Kingdom 0.875 (Increase 1)
  28.  Czech Republic 0.873 (Decrease 1)
  29.  Greece 0.860 (Steady)
  30.  Brunei 0.855 (Increase 1)
  31.  Cyprus 0.848 (Decrease 1)
  32.  Malta 0.847 (Increase 4)
  33.  Andorra 0.846 (Decrease 1)
  34.  Estonia 0.846 (Steady)
  35.  Slovakia 0.840 (Steady)
  36.  Qatar 0.834 (Increase 1)
  37.  Hungary 0.831 (Increase 1)
  38.  Barbados 0.825 (Increase 9)
  39.  Poland 0.821 (Steady)
  40.  Chile 0.819 (Increase 4)
  41.  Lithuania 0.818 (Decrease 1)
  42.  United Arab Emirates 0.818 (Decrease 12)
  43.  Portugal 0.816 (Decrease 2)
  44.  Latvia 0.814 (Decrease 1)
  45.  Argentina 0.811 (Steady)
  46.  Seychelles 0.806 (Increase 6)
  47.  Croatia 0.805 (Decrease 1)


Net take-home pay of OECD members[edit]

While GDP per capita is often used to measure how developed a country is, it includes components that do not contribute to a citizen's standard of living. GDP per capita may increase while real incomes for the majority decline. However, measuring only net take-home pay gives a more accurate picture of a country's standard of living. The tables show net income figures published annually in the OECD Tax Database.[12] They reflect the annual augmented total net take-home pay, by family-type, deducting taxes and non-tax compulsory payments. Since PPP conversion is a widely accepted way to compare income, the OECD publishes the data in USD PPPs. The two major family-types, married with 2 children and single with no child at 100% average wage have been selected to give an accurate picture of the wage levels. Note that Turkey has been omitted from the tables for consistency due to its wage figures being based on the old definition of average worker.

Other lists of developed countries[edit]

Only three institutions have produced lists of "developed countries". The three institutions and their lists are the UN list (shown above), the CIA[14] 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 International Monetary Fund (IMF) identifies 35 "advanced economies",[16][17] The OECD, also widely known as the "developed countries club"[18][19][20] has 34 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[edit]

  Countries described as Advanced Economies by the IMF.

According to the IMF the following 36 economies are classified as "advanced economies":[16]

The CIA has modified an older version of the IMF's list of Advanced Economies, noting that the IMF's Advanced Economies list "would presumably also cover"[14] some smaller countries. These include:

High-income OECD members[edit]

There are 31 members in the High-income OECD category, as determined by the World Bank.[21] The High-income OECD membership is as follows:

23 countries in Europe:

3 countries in Asia:

3 countries in the Americas:

2 countries in Oceania:

Development Assistance Committee members[edit]

Member nations of the Development Assistance Committee

There are 29 members — 28 selected OECD member countries and the European Union—in the Development Assistance Committee (DAC),[22] a group of the world's major donor countries that discuss issues surrounding development aid and poverty reduction in developing countries.[23] The following OECD member countries are DAC members:

22 countries in Europe:

2 countries in Asia:

2 countries in North America:

2 countries in Oceania:

1 Joined the DAC in 1961, withdrew in 1974 and re-joined in 1991.

Newsweek's "world's best countries"[edit]

Newsweek published in 2010 a list of the "world's best countries", measuring "education, health, quality of life, economic dynamism, and political environment" in 100 countries. The top 30 countries are:[24]

See also[edit]


  1. ^ Developed Economy Definition. Investopedia (2010-04-16). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  2. ^ IMF GDP data (September 2011)
  3. ^ "Gross domestic product, current prices & Gross domestic product based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) valuation of country GDP". World Economic Outlook Database, April 2012. International Monetary Fund. April 2012. Retrieved 2014-02-23. 
  5. ^ "Composition of macro geographical (continental) regions, geographical sub-regions, and selected economic and other groupings (footnote C)". United Nations Statistics Division. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-30. 
  6. ^ United Nations Statistics Division- Standard Country and Area Codes Classifications (M49). Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  8. ^ 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).
  10. ^ Macau in Figures, 2013
  11. ^ Filling Gaps in the Human Development Index, United Nations ESCAP, February 2009
  12. ^ OECD Tax Database
  13. ^ a b 2013 OECD Tax Database, Tables S.5 and S.6 shows information on (augmented) total labour costs, net take-home pay and the changes in total labour costs and net take-home pay (updated April 2014) as a result of employer and employee NTCPs.
  14. ^ a b CIA (2008). "Appendix B. International Organizations and Groups.". World Factbook. Retrieved 2008-04-10. 
  15. ^ 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 (People's Republic of China), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Republic of China (Taiwan), South Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States."
  16. ^ a b IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, April 2014, p. 160
  17. ^ World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, September 2011, p. 165.
  18. ^
  19. ^
  20. ^ Minutes of Forum #26:Global Strategy Series 2 - Japan as It Should Be (Outline) | Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  21. ^ Country and Lending Groups | Data. Retrieved on 2013-07-12.
  22. ^ Peer reviews of DAC members - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved on 2013-10-22.
  24. ^ The world's best countries: 2010 index, Newsweek. Accessed on line August 15, 2010.

External links[edit]