Classifications of countries

What is a Third World country? What does that mean? Are there more worlds than one? In the second half of the 1900s, after World War II, the world was very divided. Countries that shared similar political views decided to come together and form alliances.

This is how the idea of the First, Second, and Third World came to be. ‘First World’ used to refer to countries in North America and Western Europe that were members of an international alliance called NATO. These countries supported the United States, and believed in an economic and political ideology called capitalism. The term ‘Second World’ was used to describe nations that were aligned with the Soviet Union, such as China and Cuba. These believed in a political ideology called communism. Finally, the term ‘Third World’ referred to countries that didn’t take sides in this conflict - many of them were poor countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Several countries in Europe also stayed out of the conflict, so they were also included in the Third World - even wealthy countries like Switzerland and Sweden! After the Soviet Union broke apart in the 1990s, splitting up the world into First, Second, and Third Worlds didn’t make sense anymore. Wealth, economic stability, and standard of living became more relevant and useful when comparing nations, and sorting them into groups. These things became the basis for new classifications of countries that are used today. For example, an international financial organisation called The World Bank sorts countries into categories based on the total amount of money earned by a nation’s people and businesses - the so called Gross National Income - GNI.

Currently, countries with GNI lower than about one thousand American dollars per person or - per capita - classify as low-income countries. Those with GNI higher than about twelve and a half thousand American dollars classify as high-income countries. The countries whose income is somewhere in between are classified as middle-income countries. High-income countries usually have more industry, and can produce and sell products more easily, improving their economy even more. They are considered industrialised or developed countries.

Low-income countries don’t have as much money, and can’t afford to invest as much in technology. This slows down their development and their economic growth. They are sometimes called developing countries. There are some countries that used to be classified as developing, but recently their economies have improved a lot. Sometimes, these countries or economies are called: in transition.

However, these classifications don’t tell us much about the conditions that people live in, or what opportunities they have in a certain country. There is a classification system that looks at three important factors that show - indicate the well-being of people in a country. These factors are: health and longevity, income, and access to education. All these factors combined, result in a score between 0 and 1 that is called Human Development Index. Human Development Index is used to rank countries and divide them into categories.

Countries that have high income, good education, and good health score close to 1, and are in the Very High Human Development category. Countries with very low income, poor education, and poor health score much closer to 0, and are in the Low Human Development category. Why do we need to measure and classify in this way? Classifications allow us to collect and organise data about countries and their economies. When we analyse this data, we can try to see trends and patterns.

And we can get an overview of how countries change and develop. These classifications can also make it easier to see which countries might need help, and which countries have enough resources to offer support. They are a tool that could help us create a better life for everyone, in just one equal world!