the bottom group in the hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), former
USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE), and less developed countries
(LDCs); mainly countries and dependent areas with low levels of
output, living standards, and technology; per capita GDPs are
generally below $5,000 and often less than $1,500; however, the group
also includes a number of countries with high per capita incomes,
areas of advanced technology, and rapid rates of growth; includes the
advanced developing countries, developing countries, Four Dragons
(Four Tigers), least developed countries (LLDCs), low-income
countries, middle-income countries, newly industrializing economies
(NIEs), the South, Third World, underdeveloped countries, undeveloped
countries; the 172 LDCs are: Afghanistan, Algeria, American Samoa,
Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, The Bahamas,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia,
Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Burkina, Burma,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central
African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands,
Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire,
Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt,
El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands,
Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, The Gambia, Gaza Strip,
Ghana, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala,
Guernsey, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong,
India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya,
Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Liberia, Libya, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali,
Isle of Man, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Montserrat,
Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles, New
Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern
Mariana Islands, Oman, Palau, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Qatar,
Reunion, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,
Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome
and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname,
Swaziland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga,
Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, UAE,
Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Wallis
and Futuna, West Bank, Western Sahara, Western Samoa, Yemen, Zaire,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
low-income countries
another term for those less developed countries with below-average per capita GDPs; see less developed countries (LDCs)
London Suppliers Group
see — Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
Mercado Comun del Cono Sur (MERCOSUR)
see — Southern Cone Common Market
middle-income countries
another term for those less developed countries with above-average per capita GDPs; see less developed countries (LDCs)
Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)