Third World Countries

The Third World Countries was normally seen to include neutral and non-aligned countries. Like many countries with colonial pasts in Africa, Latin America, Oceania and Asia. It was also sometimes taken as synonymous with countries in the Non-Aligned Movement.

What are the Third World Countries?

The phrase ‘Third World Countries’ dates back to the Cold War period, which lasted from 1947 to 1991. At the time the world was divided between two blocs – NATO and the communist nations. The first world referred to the NATO countries which included the United States, Canada, Japan, the countries comprising the Western Europe, and other allies. The Second World referred to the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and their allies. The Third World was a group of nations, which was aligned neither to the NATO countries or the Communist bloc.

Origin of the phrase Third World Countries

The phrase ‘Third World Countries’ originated in 1952 during the time of the Cold War. Alfred Sauvy, a French economic historian, coined the phrase. With the world dominated by two camps, Alfred used this phrase for another group of nations that neither supported the communist nations led by the Soviet Union or the USA and its allies. At times, Third World was taken to be synonymous with the nations that were members of the Non-Aligned Movement, while at other times the term included nations that had a history of colonial rule.

List of Third World Countries 2021

S.N.	Country Name	Neutrality Status / Members of the NAM	Neutrality Period / Beginning Year / NAM Year of Admission	Capital	Population	Currency	2015 GDP (PPP) in Millions	2015 Nominal GDP - $ Millions	2015 GDP (PPP) per Capita
1	Afghanistan	Member of the NAM	1961	Kabul	26849000	Afghani	$62,790	$20,840	$2,000
2	Algeria	Member of the NAM	1961	Algiers	33333267	Dinar	$5,70,600	$1,75,100	$14,400
3	Angola	Member of the NAM	1964	Luanda	16941000	Kwanza	$1,85,200	$1,02,000	$7,600
4	Antigua and Barbuda	Member of the NAM	2006	St. John's	89000	East Caribbean dollar	$2,096	$1,285	$23,700
5	Austria	Neutral European Union members	1920-1938 and 1955-1995	Vienna	8223062	Euro	$4,03,800	$3,72,600	$47,500
6	Azerbaijan	Member of the NAM	2011	Baku	9686210	Manat	$1,74,300	$63,980	$18,700
7	Bahamas	Member of the NAM	1983	Nassau	379000	Bahamian dollar	$9,231	$8,884	$25,600
8	Bahrain	Member of the NAM	1973	Manama	1781000	Bahraini dinar	$64,900	$30,910	$51,200
9	Bangladesh	Member of the NAM	1973	Dhaka	158762000	Taka	$5,77,000	$2,02,300	$3,600
10	Barbados	Member of the NAM	1983	Bridgetown	283000	Barbadian dollar	$4,658	$4,451	$16,700
11	Belarus	Member of the NAM	1998	Minsk	9608058	Belarusian ruble	$1,68,200	$62,020	$17,800
12	Belize	Member of the NAM	1976	Belmopan	369000	Belize dollar	$3,071	$1,763	$8,600
13	Benin	Member of the NAM	1964	Porto-Novo	8439000	CFA franc	$21,160	$7,701	$2,000
14	Bhutan	Member of the NAM	1973	Thimphu	760000	Bhutanese ngultrum	$6,383	$2,209	$8,200
15	Bolivia	Member of the NAM	1979	Sucre	10027254	Boliviano	$73880	$33540	$6,500
16	Botswana	Member of the NAM	1970	Gaborone	1839833	Pula	$37,160	$13,090	$17,700
17	Brunei	Member of the NAM	1993	Bandar Seri Begawan	421000	Brunei dollar	$32,900	$11,640	$79,700
18	Burkina Faso	Member of the NAM	1973	Ouagadougou	13228000	CFA franc	$31,180	$11,320	$1,800
19	Burundi	Member of the NAM	1964	Bujumbura	7548000	Burundian franc	$7,883	$2,970	$900
20	Cambodia	Member of the NAM	1961	Phnom Penh	15040000	Riel	$54,035	$17,814	$3,476.512
21	Cameroon	Member of the NAM	1964	Yaoundé	17795000	CFA franc	$72,110	$28,520	$3,200
22	Cape Verde	Member of the NAM	1976	Praia	420979	Cape Verdean escudo	$3,479	$1,641	$6,700
23	Central African Republic	Member of the NAM	1964	Bangui	4216666	CFA franc	$3,052	$1,624	$600
24	Chad	Member of the NAM	1964	N'Djamena	10146000	CFA franc	$32,000	$11,690	$2,800
25	Chile	Member of the NAM	1973	Santiago	18006407	Peso	$424300	$240000	$23,800
26	Colombia	Member of the NAM	1983	Bogotá / Santa Fe de Bogotá	48347000	Peso	$665000	$274200	$14,000
27	Comoros	Member of the NAM	1976	Moroni	798000	Comorian franc	$1,214	$589	$1,600
28	Costa Rica	Other neutral countries	1949-present	San José	35819000	Costa Rican colón	$74,090	$51,620	$15,500
29	Côte d'Ivoire	Member of the NAM	1973	Yamoussoukro	17654843	CFA franc	$78,330	$31,270	$3,400
30	Cuba	Member of the NAM	1961	Havana	11252000	Cuban peso, Cuban convertible peso	$1,28,500	$77,150	$10,200
31	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Member of the NAM	1961	Kinshasa	75507308	Congolese franc	$63,270	$39,060	$800
32	Djibouti	Member of the NAM	1983	Djibouti City	906000	Djiboutian franc	$3,093	$1,743	$3,300
33	Dominica	Member of the NAM	2006	Roseau	71000	East Caribbean dollar	$820.1	$538	$11,600
34	Dominican Republic	Member of the NAM	2000	Santo Domingo	9980000	Dominican Peso	$1,47,600	$66,580	$14,900
35	East Timor	Member of the NAM	2003	Dili	1245000	US Dollar	$7,101	$4,231	$5,800
36	Ecuador	Member of the NAM	1983	Quito	16346700	United States dollar	$181800	$98930	$11,300
37	Egypt	Member of the NAM	1961	Cairo	84550000	Egyptian pound	$9,96,000	$2,86,400	$11,500
38	Equatorial Guinea	Member of the NAM	1970	Malabo	504000	CFA Franc	$25,940	$10,030	$33,300
39	Eritrea	Member of the NAM	1995	Asmara	5880000	Nakfa	$7,938	$4,256	$1,200
40	Ethiopia	Member of the NAM	1961	Addis Ababa	85237338	Birr	$1,59,200	$57,560	$1,700
41	Fiji	Member of the NAM	2011	Suva	890057	Fijian Dollar	$7,798	$4,526	$8,800
42	Finland	Neutral European Union members	1935-1939 and 1956-1995	Helsinki	5268799	Euro	$2,24,700	$2,30,700	$41,200
43	Gabon	Member of the NAM	1970	Libreville	1384000	CFA franc	$34,410	$13,800	$21,700
44	Gambia	Member of the NAM	1973	Banjul	1517000	Gambian dalasi	$3,269	$761	$1,700
45	Ghana	Claim to be neutral / Member of the NAM	2012 / 1961	Accra	23000000	Ghana cedi	$1,13,300	$37,680	$4,300
46	Grenada	Member of the NAM	1979	St. George's	104000	East Caribbean dollar	$1,385	$957	$13,000
47	Guatemala	Member of the NAM	1993	Guatemala City	16176000	Guatemalan quetzal	$1,25,600	$63,220	$7,900
48	Guinea	Member of the NAM	1961	Conakry	10057975	CFA Franc	$15,280	$6,733	$1,300
49	Guinea-Bissau	Member of the NAM	1976	Bissau	1586000	CFA franc	$2,677	$1,035	$1,500
50	Guyana	Member of the NAM	1970	Georgetown	747884	Guyanese dollar	$5770	$3203	$7,200
51	Haiti	Member of the NAM	2006	Port-au-Prince	10994000	Haitian gourde	$19,020	$8,797	$1,800
52	Honduras	Member of the NAM	1995	Tegucigalpa	8950000	Honduran lempira	$41,000	$19,940	$5,000
53	India	Member of the NAM	1961	New Delhi	1299499000	Indian rupee	$80,27,000	$21,83,000	$6,300
54	Indonesia	Member of the NAM	1961	Jakarta	255462000	Rupiah	$28,39,000	$8,72,600	$11,300
55	Iran	Member of the NAM	1979	Tehran	78778000	Rial	$13,82,000	$3,96,900	$17,800
56	Iraq	Member of the NAM	1961	Baghdad	36575000	Iraqi dinar	$5,31,400	$1,65,100	$15,500
57	Jamaica	Member of the NAM	1970	Kingston	2729000	Jamaican dollar	$24,600	$13,820	$8,800
58	Jordan	Member of the NAM	1964	Amman	6837000	Jordanian dinar	$82,990	$38,210	$12,400
59	Kenya	Member of the NAM	1964	Nairobi	34707817	Kenyan shilling	$1,43,100	$63,120	$3,300
60	Kuwait	Member of the NAM	1964	Kuwait City	4161000	Kuwaiti dinar	$2,88,800	$1,23,200	$72,200
61	Laos	Member of the NAM	1964	Vientiane	6802000	Kip	$37,500	$12,550	$5,400
62	Lebanon	Member of the NAM	1961	Beirut	4288000	Lebanese pound	$83,860	$54,400	$18,600
63	Lesotho	Member of the NAM	1970	Maseru	2067000	Lesotho loti	$5,777	$2,035	$3,000
64	Liberia	Member of the NAM	1964	Monrovia	4128572	Liberian dollar	$3,780	$2,015	$900
65	Libya	Member of the NAM	1964	Tripoli	6036914	Dinar	$92,870	$29,720	$15,100
66	Liechtenstein	Other neutral countries	1868-present	Vaduz	37313	Swiss franc	$3,200	$5,113	$89,400
67	Madagascar	Member of the NAM	1973	Antananarivo	18606000	Malagasy ariary	$35,560	$9,514	$1,500
68	Malawi	Member of the NAM	1964	Lilongwe	12884000	Kwacha	$20,560	$6,388	$1,200
69	Malaysia	Member of the NAM	1970	Kuala Lumpur	31032000	Ringgit	$8,13,500	$3,13,500	$26,600
70	Maldives	Member of the NAM	1976	Malé	345000	Maldivian rufiyaa	$4,732	$3,031	$13,600
71	Mali	Member of the NAM	1961	Bamako	13518000	CFA franc	$29,150	$10,950	$1,800
72	Malta	Neutral European Union members	1980-2004	Valletta	412655	Euro	$14,750	$9,190	$34,700
73	Mauritania	Member of the NAM	1964	Nouakchott	3069000	Ouguiya	$16,430	$4,677	$4,500
74	Mauritius	Member of the NAM	1973	Port Louis	1219220	Mauritian rupee	$24,510	$11,570	$19,500
75	Mexico	Claim to be neutral	1930	Mexico City	121006000	Mexican Peso	$22,20,000	$11,61,000	$18,500
76	Moldova	Claim to be neutral	1994	Chișinău	3583288	Moldovan leu	$17,770	$6,188	$5,000
77	Mongolia	Member of the NAM	1993	Ulaanbaatar	3029000	Tögrög	$36,430	$12,410	$12,500
78	Morocco	Member of the NAM	1961	Rabat	35757175	Moroccan dirham	$2,74,500	$1,03,100	$8,300
79	Mozambique	Member of the NAM	1976	Maputo	20366795	Mozambican metical	$33,730	$16,990	$1,300
80	Myanmar	Member of the NAM	1961	Naypyidaw	52280000	Kyat	$2,67,700	$65,780	$5,200
81	Namibia	Member of the NAM	1979	Windhoek	2031000	Namibian dollar	$24,840	$12,860	$11,300
82	Nepal	Member of the NAM	1961	Kathmandu	28038000	Nepalese rupee	$70,080	$21,360	$2,500
83	Nicaragua	Member of the NAM	1979	Managua	6514000	Nicaraguan córdoba	$31,180	$12,320	$5,000
84	Niger	Member of the NAM	1973	Niamey	13957000	CFA franc	$18,960	$7,119	$1,100
85	Nigeria	Member of the NAM	1964	Abuja	174507539	Naira	$11,05,000	$4,93,000	$6,400
86	North Korea	Member of the NAM	1976	P'yŏngyang	25863000	North Korean won	$40,000	$28,000	$1,800
87	Oman	Member of the NAM	1973	Muscat	4181000	Rial	$1,71,700	$60,180	$46,200
88	Pakistan	Member of the NAM	1979	Islamabad	191785000	Pakistani Rupee	$9,30,800	$2,47,800	$4,900
89	Palestine	Member of the NAM	1976	Jerusalem (proclaimed), Ramallah	4225710	Israeli Shekel	$12,700	$12,700	$1924 (West Bank), $876 (Gaza)
90	Panama	Member of the NAM	1976	Panama City	3764000	Panamanian balboa, United States dollar	$82,180	$47,470	$20,900
91	Papua New Guinea	Member of the NAM	1993	Port Moresby	6310129	Papua New Guinean kina	$19,220	$18,000	$2,800
92	Peru	Member of the NAM	1973	Lima	31151643	Nuevo sol	$385400	$179900	$12,300
93	Philippines	Member of the NAM	1993	Manila	102965000	Philippine Peso	$7,42,200	$2,99,300	$7,500
94	Qatar	Member of the NAM	1973	Doha	2113000	Riyal	$3,24,200	$1,92,100	$1,45,000
95	Republic of the Congo	Member of the NAM	1964	Brazzaville	4012809	CFA franc	$28,920	$8,871	$6,800
96	Rwanda	Member of the NAM	1970	Kigali	7600000	Rwandan franc	$20,320	$8,468	$1,800
97	Saint Kitts and Nevis	Member of the NAM	2006	Basseterre	46000	East Caribbean dollar	$1,358	$889	$22,800
98	Saint Lucia	Member of the NAM	1983	Castries	172000	East Caribbean dollar	$2,032	$1,438	$12,000
99	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Member of the NAM	2003	Kingstown	110000	East Caribbean dollar	$1,211	$765	$11,000
100	San Marino	Other neutral countries	1862-present	San Marino	32742	Euro	$1,952	$1,543	$62,100
101	São Tomé and Príncipe	Member of the NAM	1976	São Tomé	183176	Dobra	$663.7	$326	$3,400
102	Saudi Arabia	Member of the NAM	1961	Riyadh	31521000	Saudi riyal	$16,81,000	$6,65,500	$54,600
103	Senegal	Member of the NAM	1964	Dakar	11658000	CFA franc	$36,300	$13,990	$2,500
104	Serbia	Claim to be neutral	2007	Belgrade	7209764	Serbian dinar	$97,270	$36,560	$13,600
105	Seychelles	Member of the NAM	1976	Victoria	80654	Seychellois rupee	$2,533	$1,375	$27,000
106	Sierra Leone	Member of the NAM	1964	Freetown	6144562	Leone	$9,833	$4,266	$1,600
107	Singapore	Member of the NAM	1970	Singapore City	5541000	Singapore dollar	$4,68,900	$2,94,000	$85,700
108	Somalia	Member of the NAM	1961	Mogadishu	9832017	Somali shilling	$4,431	$5,800	$400
109	South Africa	Member of the NAM	1994	Bloemfontein(judicial) Cape Town(legislative) and Pretoria(executive)	52981991	South African rand	$7,24,000	$3,17,300	$13,400
110	Sri Lanka	Member of the NAM	1961	Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte	20869000	Sri Lankan rupee	$2,32,500	$79,520	$11,200
111	Sudan	Member of the NAM	1961	Khartoum	36787012	Sudanese pound	$1,67,400	$84,330	$4,500
112	Suriname	Member of the NAM	1983	Paramaribo	541638	Surinamese dollar	$9211	$5050	$16,700
113	Swaziland	Member of the NAM	1970	Lobamba (royal and legislative) Mbabane(administrative)	1032000	Lilangeni	$10,870	$4,305	$9,800
114	Sweden	Neutral European Union members	1814-1918 and 1918-1995	Stockholm	9723809	Swedish krona	$4,67,400	$4,83,700	$48,000
115	Switzerland	Other neutral countries	1815-present	Bern / Berne	8061516	Swiss franc	$4,82,700	$6,77,000	$59,300
116	Syria	Member of the NAM	1964	Damascus	23270000	Syrian pound	$55,800	$24,600	$5,100
117	Tanzania	Member of the NAM	1964	Dodoma	44929002	Tanzanian shilling	$1,38,300	$46,190	$3,000
118	Thailand	Member of the NAM	1993	Bangkok	68387000	Baht	$11,07,000	$3,73,500	$16,100
119	Togo	Member of the NAM	1964	Lomé	7154237	CFA franc	$10,820	$4,152	$1,500
120	Trinidad and Tobago	Member of the NAM	1970	Port of Spain	1357000	Trinidad and Tobago dollar	$44,320	$27,670	$32,800
121	Tunisia	Member of the NAM	1961	Tunis	10102000	Tunisian dinar	$1,27,200	$44,270	$11,600
122	Turkmenistan	Other neutral countries / Member of the NAM	1995-present / 1995	Ashgabat	4902000	Turkmen new manat	$90,290	$44,360	$15,600
123	Uganda	Member of the NAM	1964	Kampala	27616000	Ugandan shilling	$79,750	$24,940	$2,100
124	United Arab Emirates	Member of the NAM	1970	Abu Dhabi	8933000	UAE dirham	$6,41,900	$3,39,100	$67,000
125	Uzbekistan	Member of the NAM	1993	Tashkent	31283000	Uzbekistan som (O'zbekiston so'mi)	$1,85,800	$65,950	$6,100
126	Vanuatu	Member of the NAM	1983	Port Vila	256155	Vanuatu vatu	$675.9	$771	$2,600
127	Vatican City	Other neutral countries	1929-present	Vatican City	842	Euro
128	Venezuela	Member of the NAM	1989	Caracas	30620404	Bolívar fuerte	$491600	$131900	$16,100
129	Vietnam	Member of the NAM	1976	Hanoi	91812000	đồng	$5,51,300	$1,98,800	$6,100
130	Yemen	Member of the NAM	1990	Sana'a	26745000	Yemeni rial	$75,520	$34,930	$2,800
131	Zambia	Member of the NAM	1964	Lusaka	14668000	Zambian kwacha	$64,650	$24,470	$4,300
132	Zimbabwe	Member of the NAM	1979	Harare	13010000	US dollar	$27,920	$13,910	$2,100

Use of the phrase in the current context

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the fall of the communist governments in Eastern Europe witnessed the end of the Cold War period. Hence, the phrase ‘Third World Countries’ should have ceased to exist. However, the phrase still continues to be used in the 21st century but in different context. Today, the definition of the term is not as straightforward as it used to be during the Cold War period. Today, the term is used for those nations that are poor and underdeveloped. These countries are severely affected by corruption, have poor infrastructure, low standards of living as well as education, and poor healthcare standards.

Problems Affecting Third World Countries

Third World countries are besieged with numerous issues that are acting as barriers in their development. Today, the term is referred to nations, which are poor and underdeveloped.

Almost all of the Third World countries are grappling with the problems of poverty, scarcity of water and electricity, poor infrastructure, low educational standards and healthcare problems. Poverty is one of the biggest challenges that the Third World Countries are grappling with. It has been estimated that around 1.3 billion people who are living in Third World Countries live on an income of less that $1.50 per day which makes it really hard to live a decent life. Poverty has a devastating effect on the person as well as the nation. Poverty leads to hunger and malnutrition, which is a common feature of these nations.

Clean drinking water is a basic necessity, but in a majority of these countries a significant part of the population does not have access to clean drinking water. Poor quality of roads, highways and other infrastructure have prevented these nations from joining the ranks of developed countries.

Education is another fundamental right that is not available to many people in these countries. Due to poverty or other reasons, many people force their children into jobs instead of enrolling them in schools. The lack of education hampers the overall development of the children. Often these children are employed in hazardous jobs which put their health and lives at risk.

There are many other problems affecting Third World Countries such as corruption, poor governance, lack of electricity, too much dependence on foreign debt etc.

Education in Third World Countries

The Third World countries are plagued by various problems, but the one that is most affecting these nations and is hindering their social and economic progress is poor educational infrastructure and high school drop out rate.

According to a report by the UNESCO, twenty percent of people in these Third World nations are unable to make it past the primary school. To make matters worse, these people also lack skills for work, which make it extremely tough for them to get employment. The UNESCO report paints a dismal picture of the state of education in these nations. There are some 250 million children in Third World nations who are of primary school age and still are unable to read or write. Approximately 71 million teenagers have dropped out of secondary school. As they do not have the required skills for future employment, these teenagers are unable to get jobs. There are manifold reasons for the dismal education system in these nations and may range from poverty to being born a female.

Poverty is one of the biggest challenges that come in the way of children. Poor families are unable to afford the fees and hence find it tough to send their children to school. Even those who do get a chance to go to school drop out midway as poverty forces these children to work and help their families.

Discrimination in gender often plays an important role.

In some countries, girl students opt out of education due to lack of separate toilets for females. Poor nations, especially those torn by conflicts and wars, are unable to spend a part of their GDP on education. Some other factors that act as the hindrance in students attaining education in Third World nations are lack of trained teachers, classrooms, and learning materials, countries plagued by violence and civil wars, long distance between the school and the student’s home, poverty, or simply belonging to the female gender.