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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 there is fierce debate about this. Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criteria is income per capita and countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita being described as developed countries. Another economic criteria is industrialization. Countries in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors of industry dominate being described as developed. More recently another measure, the Human Development Index, which combines with an economic measure, national income, with other measures, indices for life expectancy and education has become prominent. Developed countries being those with a high (HDI) rating. However, many anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by whichever measure is used.

Countries not fitting such definitions may be referred to as developing countries or failed states.

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 England, followed by Germany, France, the remainder of the United Kingdom and other Western European countries. According to economists such as Jeffrey Sachs, however, the current divide between the developed and developing world is largely a phenomenon of the 20^th century.^[1]

Definition

Kofi Annan, former Secretrary 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 northern America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and Europe 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.^[5]

According to the classification from IMF before April 2004, the countries of Eastern Europe (including Slovenia which still belongs to "Eastern Europe Group" in the UN institutions) as well as the former Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) countries (including those in Asia) 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 21^st century, the original East Asian Tiger^[6] countries (Hong Kong,^[7]^[6] Singapore,^[7]^[6] South Korea,^[7]^[6]^[8]^[9] and the Taiwan^[7]^[6]) are considered "developed" region or areas, along with Cyprus,^[7] Israel,^[7] Malta,^[7] and Slovenia,^[7] are considered near developed "developing" region or areas.

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." A few examples are Italy and the United States. Despite a relatively large difference in GDP per capita, both countries rank roughly equal in term of overall human development.^[10] Since 1980, Norway (2001-2006), Japan (1990-91 and 1993), Canada (1992 and 1994-2000) and Iceland (2007-08) have had the highest HDI score. Countries with a score of over 0.800 are considered to have a "high" standard of human development. The top 30 countries have scores ranging from 0.912 in Cyprus to 0.968 in Iceland. Several small countries, such as Andorra, Liechtenstein and Macau were not reviewed by the United Nations. Thus, these countries have not received an official HDI score.^[11]

Many countries listed by IMF or^[12] CIA as "advanced" (as of 2008), possess an HDI over 0.9 (as of 2006). Many countries^[13] possessing an HDI of 0.9 and over (as of 2004), are also listed by IMF or CIA as "advanced" (as of 2007). Thus, many "advanced economies" (as of 2008) are characterized by an HDI score of 0.9 or higher (as of 2006).

The latest index was released on December 18, 2008. This so-called "statistical update" covers the period up to 2006 and was published without an accompanying report on human development. The update is relevant due to newly released estimates of purchasing power parities (PPP), implying substantial adjustments for many countries, resulting in changes in HDI values and, in many cases, HDI ranks.^[14]

Iceland 0.968 ()
Norway 0.968 ()
Canada 0.967 ( 1)
Australia 0.965 ( 1)
Ireland 0.960 ()
Netherlands 0.958 ( 3)
Sweden 0.958 ( 1)
Japan 0.956 ()
Luxembourg 0.956 ( 9)
Switzerland 0.955 ( 3)

France 0.955 ( 1)
Finland 0.954 ( 1)
Denmark 0.952 ( 1)
Austria 0.951 ( 1)
United States 0.950 ( 3)
Spain 0.949 ( 3)
Belgium 0.948 ( 1)
Greece 0.947 ( 6)
Italy 0.945 ( 1)
New Zealand 0.944 ( 1)

United Kingdom 0.942 ( 5)
Hong Kong 0.942 ( 1)
Germany 0.940 ( 1)
Israel 0.930 ( 1)
South Korea 0.928 ( 1)
Slovenia 0.923 ( 1)
Brunei 0.919 ( 3)
Singapore 0.918 ( 3)
Kuwait 0.912 ( 4)
Cyprus 0.912 ( 2)

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 CIA.^[15] list (shown below) 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.^[16] However many institutions have created lists which are sometimes refered to when people are discussing developed countries. The IMF identifies 32 "advanced economies",^[7] while, in addition to the CIA's 34 "developed countries" it identifies 35 "advanced economies".^[15] The OECD, also known widely known as the 'developed countries club' ^[17]^[18]^[19] 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 list and for countries inclusion on these lists is often not properly spelt out and several of these lists are based on old data.

CIA developed country list

In an appendix to the CIA World Factbook there is an entry identifying developed countries (DCs). ^[15]^[20] The dated nature of the information and the lists inclusion of South Africa and Turkey and exclusion of South Korea differentiate this list from the other lists reported in the summary table below. There is no explanation or justification offered by the CIA for its inclusion of South Africa in this list, Turkey is included because of its OECD membership. The absence of South Korea from the list is explicable because Korea joined the OECD after the list was produced. The CIA notes that the Developed Countries form

the top group in the hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE), and less developed countries (LDCs);

The CIA argues that this list

includes the market-oriented economies of the mainly democratic nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

However since this list was produced several countries have joined the OECD: Czech Republic(1995), South Korea (1996), Hungary (1996), Poland (1996) and Slovakia (2000).

The CIA adds;

Bermuda, Israel, South Africa, and the European ministates

to the OECD members. The criteria for including these is not mentioned.

It argues that the countries its list are;

also known as the First World, high-income countries, the North, industrial countries;

It notes that these countries;

generally have a per capita GDP in excess of $10,000 although four OECD countries and South Africa have figures well under $10,000 and two of the excluded OPEC countries have figures of more than $10,000

These figues are based on pre-1996 figures. No members of the OECD have a GDP/capita of less than $10,000 and many excluded countries have a GDP/capita higher than $10,000 dollars. South Africa's GDP/capita in PPP is now $10,187.

It notes that the 34 Developed Countries are as follows:

• Andorra	• Faroe Islands	• Ireland	• Monaco	• Spain
• Australia	• Finland	• Israel	• Netherlands	• Sweden
• Austria	• France	• Italy	• New Zealand	• Switzerland
• Belgium	• Germany	• Japan	• Norway	• Turkey
• Bermuda	• Greece	• Liechtenstein	• Portugal	• United Kingdom
• Canada	• Holy See	• Luxembourg	• San Marino	• United States
• Denmark	• Iceland	• Malta	• South Africa

The CIA concludes its definition with the note that this list is;

similar to the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) term "advanced economies" that adds Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan but drops Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey"

This is based on an old version of the IMFs list and this also erroneously implies that Mexico is on the CIA's Developed Country list.

IMF advanced economy list

According to the International Monetary Fund the following 32 countries are classified as "advanced economies":^[7]

• Australia	• Germany	• Luxembourg	• Slovenia
• Austria	• Greece	• Malta	• South Korea
• Belgium	• Hong Kong	• Netherlands	• Spain
• Canada	• Iceland	• New Zealand	• Sweden
• Cyprus	• Ireland	• Norway	• Switzerland
• Denmark	• Israel	• Portugal	• Taiwan
• Finland	• Italy	• Slovenia	• United Kingdom
• France	• Japan	• Singapore	• 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" some smaller countries. They are:

•

Andorra

•

Faroe Islands

•

Monaco

•

Bermuda

•

Holy See

•

Liechtenstein

•

San Marino

The CIA list doesn't include Cyprus, Slovenia and Malta which have all been added to the IMF's list since the CIA's made its presumptions about the IMF list.

High-income OECD members

There are 27 High-income OECD members,^[21] although there are three other OECD members (Mexico, Poland and Turkey) that are not high-income members. The CIA, in its developed country list, implies that developed countries are the OECD members plus Bermuda, Israel, South Africa, and the European ministates. As of 2009, the High-income OECD membership is as follows:

21 countries in Europe:

• Austria	• Greece	• Norway
• Belgium	• Hungary	• Portugal
• Czech Republic	• Iceland	• Slovakia
• Denmark	• Ireland	• Spain
• Finland	• Italy	• Sweden
• France	• Luxembourg	• Switzerland
• Germany	• Netherlands	• United Kingdom

2 countries in Asia:

• Japan
• South Korea

2 countries in North America:

•

Canada

•

United States

2 countries in Oceania:

•

Australia

•

New Zealand

World Bank high-income economies

"High income economies" are defined by the World Bank as countries with a Gross National Income per capita of $11,456 or more.^[22] According to the United Nations definition some high income countries may also be developing countries. Thus, a high income country may be classified as either developed or developing.^[23]

According to the World Bank, the following 66 countries and territories are classified as "high-income economies":^[24]^[25]^[26]

High-income economy not classified by World Bank:

Holy See

Quality-of-life survey

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 30 countries with the highest index are:^[27]

Welfare states

Currently modern, expansive welfare states are still the exclusive domain and hallmark of the developed nations,^[28] commonly constituting at least 20% of GDP, with the largest Scandinavian welfare states constituting over 40% of GDP.^[29] Prominent sociologist Gosta Esping-Andersen states that the developed nations have developed a new kind of capitalism exclusive to them, which he dubbs "welfare capitalism." This type of capitalism seeks to ensure economic security, independence, stablity and opportunity by creating expansive public sectors that fuse public policy and market forces. According to Esping-Andersen, welfare state policies and economic forces are completely interwoven in these nations, with public policy shaping such basic market attributes as consumer demand, capital stock build-up, labor pariticipation rates, worker productivity and the extent and ramifications of the business cycle.^[28] These modern welfare states, which largely arose in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, seeing their greatest expansion in the mid 20^th century, have proven themselves highly effective in reducing relative as well as absolute poverty in all high-income OECD countries.^[30]^[31]^[32]

Country	Absolute poverty rate (threshold set at 40% of U.S. median household income)^[30]		Relative poverty rate^[31]
Country	Pre-transfer	Post-transfer	Pre-transfer	Post-transfer
Sweden	23.7	5.8	14.8	4.8
Norway	9.2	1.7	12.4	4.0
Netherlands	22.1	7.3	18.5	11.5
Finland	11.9	3.7	12.4	3.1
Denmark	26.4	5.9	17.4	4.8
Germany	15.2	4.3	9.7	5.1
Switzerland	12.5	3.8	10.9	9.1
Canada	22.5	6.5	17.1	11.9
France	36.1	9.8	21.8	6.1
Belgium	26.8	6.0	19.5	4.1
Australia	23.3	11.9	16.2	9.2
United Kingdom	16.8	8.7	16.4	8.2
United States	21.0	11.7	17.2	15.1
Italy	30.7	14.3	19.7	9.1

Summary

Below is a "summary" table which has been produced by Wikipedia editors as a summary of the information on this page. It should be used with caution. It is recognised that some of the lists have no clear criteria for countries being included on them^[33], that different data sources for the different lists are of different vintages^[34] and some of the lists are based on each other^[35]. Readers are warned that it is not intended that the "All" column should be used to indicate that those countries on more lists are more developed than those on less.

Legend
CIA DCs	CIA's The World Factbook, Developed countries	CIA AE	CIA's The World Factbook, Advanced economies
IMF AE	International Monetary Fund, Advanced economies	WB HIE	World Bank, High-income economies^[26]
HDI≥0.9	Human Development Index at or above 0.9^[36]	QoL Top 30	Quality-of-life index Top 30 countries	HIE OECD	High-income OECD members

Countries	CIA DCs	CIA AE	IMF AE	WB HIE	HDI≥0.9	QoL Top 30	HIE OECD	All
Australia	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Austria	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Belgium	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Canada	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Denmark	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Finland	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
France	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Germany	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Greece	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Iceland	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Ireland	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Italy	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Japan	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Luxembourg	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Netherlands	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
New Zealand	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Norway	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Portugal	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Spain	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Sweden	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
Switzerland	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
United Kingdom	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
United States	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	7
South Korea	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	6
Hong Kong	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	5
Israel	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	5
San Marino	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	—	NO	5
Singapore	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	5
Taiwan	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	5
Andorra	YES	YES	—	YES	YES	—	NO	4
Cyprus	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	4
Liechtenstein	YES	YES	—	YES	YES	—	NO	4
Monaco	YES	YES	—	YES	YES	—	NO	4
Bermuda	YES	YES	—	YES	—	—	NO	3
Faroe Islands	YES	YES	—	YES	—	—	NO	3
Malta	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	4
Slovenia	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	4
Bahrain	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	2
Brunei	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	2
Czech Republic	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	2
Greenland	NO	NO	—	YES	YES	—	NO	2
Holy See	YES	YES	—	—	—	—	NO	2
Hungary	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	2
Kuwait	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	2
Macau	NO	NO	—	YES	YES	—	NO	2
Puerto Rico	NO	NO	—	YES	YES	—	NO	2
Slovakia	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	2
United Arab Emirates	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO	NO	2
Antigua and Barbuda	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Aruba	NO	NO	NO	YES	—	—	NO	1
Bahamas, The	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	—	NO	1
Barbados	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Cayman Islands	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Channel Islands	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Estonia	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Equatorial Guinea	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
French Polynesia	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Guam	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Isle of Man	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Netherlands Antilles	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
New Caledonia	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Northern Mariana Islands	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1
Oman	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Qatar	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Saudi Arabia	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
South Africa	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	1
Trinidad and Tobago	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	1
Turkey	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	1
U.S. Virgin Islands	NO	NO	—	YES	—	—	NO	1

References

^ Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty. The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-045-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |tlocation= ignored (help)
^ http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/G_05_00.htm
^ "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. Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm
^ "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. Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^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 IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information, October 2008.
^ 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
^ "UN. (2006). Human Development Report". Retrieved 2007-07-07.
^ "UN. (2008). Human Development Index: A Statistical Update". Retrieved 2008-12-22.
^ 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 organisaion (of the UN), as well as the CIA, classify Macao 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).
^ [1]
^ ^a ^b ^c CIA (2008). "Appendix B. International Organizations and Groups. [[World Factbook]]". Retrieved 2008-04-10. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
^ http://www.ftse.com/Research_and_Publications/FTSE_Glossary.jsp 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, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States." The site also notes that South Korea has been elevated to developed status but its data will be included in the developed country category in Sep 2009.
^ 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
^ http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact99/361.htm
^ http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20421402~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html
^ "World Bank, Country Classification". Retrieved 2008-10-12.
^ "UN. (2005). UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-07-09.
^ World Bank - Country Groups. Accessed on October 12, 2008.
^ World Bank - Country Classification. Accessed on October 12, 2008, last paragraph, line 4.
^ ^a ^b Country classification table, World Bank. Accessed on line December 22, 2008.
^ The world in 2005: The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, The Economist. Accessed on line January 8, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
^ Barr, N. (2004). The economics of the welfare state. New York: Oxford University Press (USA).
^ ^a ^b Kenworthy, L. (1999). Do social-welfare policies reduce poverty? A cross-national assessment. Social Forces, 77(3), 1119-1139.
^ ^a ^b Bradley, D., Huber, E., Moller, S., Nielson, F. & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies. American Sociological Review, 68(3), 22-51.
^ Smeeding, T. (2005). Public policy, economic inequality, and poverty: The United States in comparative perspective. Social Science Quarterly, 86, 955-983.
^ For example the CIA list does not explain why it considers South Africa to be a developed country.
^ the CIA lists are 1999 vintage and some of the others 2007
^ the CIA Advanced Economy list is based on an older vintage of the IMF Advanced Economy list than we include.
^ Indicator Tables HDI 2008, United Nations Development Programme, December 18, 2008. Some entities are not included in this report. In this case an HDI figure from the UN's last available report has been used, except in the cases of the Republic of China and Macau, which the UN has not calculated an HDI for; here, the figure of the entities' governments has been used.

External links

IMF (advanced economies)
The Economist (quality of life survey)
The World Factbook (developed countries)
United Nations Statistics Division (definition)
United Nations Statistics Division (developed regions)
World Bank (high-income economies)

Template:Lists of countries

[The_End_of_Poverty-1] Sachs, Jeffrey (2005). The End of Poverty. The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-045-9. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |tlocation= ignored (help)

[2] ttp://www.unescap.org/unis/press/G_05_00.htm

[3] "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. Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[4] ttp://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49.htm

[5] "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. Retrieved 2008-12-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[tigers-6] ttp://www.businesspme.com/uk/articles/economics/78/East-Asian-Tigers-.html

[qq-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j IMF Advanced Economies List. World Economic Outlook, Database—WEO Groups and Aggregates Information, October 2008.

[8] ttp://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1018.html

[9] ttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98c62f1c-850f-11dd-b148-0000779fd18c.html

[UN._(2006)._Human_Development_Report.-10] "UN. (2006). Human Development Report". Retrieved 2007-07-07.

[UN._(2006)._Human_Development_Report:_Summary.-11] "UN. (2008). Human Development Index: A Statistical Update". Retrieved 2008-12-22.

[12] 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.

[13] 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 organisaion (of the UN), as well as the CIA, classify Macao 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).

[2008SU-14] [1]

[cia-15] CIA (2008). "Appendix B. International Organizations and Groups. [[World Factbook]]". Retrieved 2008-04-10. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)

[16] ttp://www.ftse.com/Research_and_Publications/FTSE_Glossary.jsp 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, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States." The site also notes that South Korea has been elevated to developed status but its data will be included in the developed country category in Sep 2009.

[17] ttp://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no160/104.shtml

[18] ttp://www.indianexpress.com/old/ie/daily/19971214/34850733.html

[19] ttp://www.esri.go.jp/en/forum1/minute/minute26-e.html

[ciaWFB1999-20] ttp://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact99/361.htm

[21] ttp://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20421402~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html

[WBCC-22] "World Bank, Country Classification". Retrieved 2008-10-12.

[UN._(2005)._UNCTAD_Handbook_of_Statistics.-23] "UN. (2005). UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-07-09.

[WBHIC-24] World Bank - Country Groups. Accessed on October 12, 2008.

[Tai-25] World Bank - Country Classification. Accessed on October 12, 2008, last paragraph, line 4.

[wbhienl-26] Country classification table, World Bank. Accessed on line December 22, 2008.

[27] The world in 2005: The Economist Intelligence Unit's quality-of-life index, The Economist. Accessed on line January 8, 2007.

[Esping-Andersen-28] Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

[Barr-29] Barr, N. (2004). The economics of the welfare state. New York: Oxford University Press (USA).

[Kenworthy-30] Kenworthy, L. (1999). Do social-welfare policies reduce poverty? A cross-national assessment. Social Forces, 77(3), 1119-1139.

[Bradley_et._al-31] Bradley, D., Huber, E., Moller, S., Nielson, F. & Stephens, J. D. (2003). Determinants of relative poverty in advanced capitalist democracies. American Sociological Review, 68(3), 22-51.

[Smeeding-32] Smeeding, T. (2005). Public policy, economic inequality, and poverty: The United States in comparative perspective. Social Science Quarterly, 86, 955-983.

[33] For example the CIA list does not explain why it considers South Africa to be a developed country.

[34] the CIA lists are 1999 vintage and some of the others 2007

[35] the CIA Advanced Economy list is based on an older vintage of the IMF Advanced Economy list than we include.

[36] Indicator Tables HDI 2008, United Nations Development Programme, December 18, 2008. Some entities are not included in this report. In this case an HDI figure from the UN's last available report has been used, except in the cases of the Republic of China and Macau, which the UN has not calculated an HDI for; here, the figure of the entities' governments has been used.

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