Third World Countries 2026

Total Count
68countries
Human Development Index
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
🇸🇸South Sudan
0.388
🇸🇴Somalia
0.404
🇨🇫Central African Republic
0.414
🇹🇩Chad
0.416
🇳🇪Niger
0.419
🇲🇱Mali
0.419

All Countries — 68 results

#Country ↕HDI 2023 ↑UN LDC 2025 ↕
1
🇸🇸South Sudan
0.388
Yes
2
🇸🇴Somalia
0.404
Yes
3
🇨🇫Central African Republic
0.414
Yes
4
🇹🇩Chad
0.416
Yes
5
🇳🇪Niger
0.419
Yes
6
🇲🇱Mali
0.419
Yes
7
🇧🇮Burundi
0.439
Yes
8
🇧🇫Burkina Faso
0.459
Yes
9
🇸🇱Sierra Leone
0.467
Yes
10
🇾🇪Yemen
0.470
Yes
11
🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau
0.478
Yes
12
🇨🇩DR Congo
0.481
Yes
13
🇲🇬Madagascar
0.487
Yes
14
🇲🇿Mozambique
0.493
Yes
15
🇦🇫Afghanistan
0.496
Yes
16
🇪🇹Ethiopia
0.497
Yes
17
🇬🇳Guinea
0.500
Yes
18
🇪🇷Eritrea
0.503
Yes
19
🇲🇼Malawi
0.508
Yes
20
🇱🇷Liberia
0.510
Yes
21
🇱🇸Lesotho
0.510
No
22
🇸🇩Sudan
0.511
Yes
23
🇩🇯Djibouti
0.513
Yes
24
🇸🇳Senegal
0.517
Yes
25
🇧🇯Benin
0.526
Yes
26
🇬🇲Gambia
0.530
Yes
27
🇹🇿Tanzania
0.532
Yes
28
🇷🇼Rwanda
0.534
Yes
29
🇲🇷Mauritania
0.540
Yes
30
🇺🇬Uganda
0.544
Yes
31
🇵🇰Pakistan
0.544
No
32
🇹🇬Togo
0.547
Yes
33
🇳🇬Nigeria
0.548
No
34
🇿🇼Zimbabwe
0.550
No
35
🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire
0.550
No
36
🇭🇹Haiti
0.552
Yes
37
🇰🇲Comoros
0.558
Yes
38
🇿🇲Zambia
0.565
Yes
39
🇵🇬Papua New Guinea
0.576
Yes
40
🇨🇲Cameroon
0.587
No
41
🇨🇬Congo
0.592
No
42
🇲🇲Myanmar
0.593
Yes
43
🇰🇭Cambodia
0.600
Yes
44
🇳🇵Nepal
0.601
Yes
45
🇰🇪Kenya
0.601
No
46
🇬🇭Ghana
0.602
No
47
🇹🇱Timor-Leste
0.607
Yes
48
🇻🇺Vanuatu
0.609
Yes
49
🇸🇿Eswatini
0.611
No
50
🇦🇴Angola
0.615
No
51
🇳🇦Namibia
0.615
No
52
🇱🇦Laos
0.620
Yes
53
🇭🇳Honduras
0.621
No
54
🇬🇹Guatemala
0.627
No
55
🇰🇮Kiribati
0.630
Yes
56
🇸🇧Solomon Islands
0.636
Yes
57
🇮🇳India
0.644
No
58
🇳🇮Nicaragua
0.645
No
59
🇧🇩Bangladesh
0.670
Yes
60
🇸🇻El Salvador
0.675
No
61
🇧🇹Bhutan
0.681
Yes
62
🇧🇼Botswana
0.693
No
63
🇧🇴Bolivia
0.698
No
64
🇲🇦Morocco
0.698
No
65
🇬🇦Gabon
0.703
No
66
🇵🇭Philippines
0.710
No
67
🇮🇩Indonesia
0.713
No
68
🇻🇳Vietnam
0.726
No


What is The Third World?

The term Third World was used initially during the Cold War to differentiate nations that were not allies of the West (NATO) or the East.

You might hear about the First, Second, or Third world, but what is the difference between them?

  • First World: US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, and other capitalist allies.
  • Second World: Soviet Union, Eastern Bloc, and communist allies.
  • Third World: The rest—mostly non-aligned developing nations.

The term quickly evolved and became associated with poverty, underdevelopment, and former colonies due to the economic realities of many such countries. It was never strictly about wealth but took on that connotation over time.

Common modern alternatives include:

  • Developing countries or the Global South.
  • Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are used by organizations like the World Bank.
  • Least Developed Countries (LDCs) — a specific UN category based on income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
  • References to specific metrics, such as income levels, rather than broad labels.

What is the UN Human Development Index (HDI)?

The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure a country's average achievements in three key dimensions of human development (introduced in 1990 and refined since):

  • Long and healthy life — Life expectancy at birth.
  • Knowledge — Mean years of schooling (for adults 25+) and expected years of schooling (for children entering school age).
  • Decent standard of living — Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP international dollars), using a logarithmic scale.

The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for these three dimensions, with values ranging from 0 to 1. It provides a broader view of development than GDP alone, emphasizing people-centered progress.

UN HDI Categories (based on fixed cutoff points):

  • Very high human development: 0.800 or above.
  • High human development: 0.700–0.799.
  • Medium human development: 0.550–0.699.
  • Low human development: Below 0.550.