established - 15 December 1950
aim - to promote international cooperation in customs matters
members - (157) Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia,
Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil,
Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon,
Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia,
Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote
d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt,
Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia,
Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti,
Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland,
Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, South Korea,
Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Macau, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar,
Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico,
Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles,
Nepal, Netherlands, NZ, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar,
Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone,
Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan,
Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand,
Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine,
UAE, UK, US, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
** developed countries (DCs) **
the top group in the hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), former USSR/Eastern Europe (former USSR/EE), and less developed countries (LDCs); includes the market-oriented economies of the mainly democratic nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Bermuda, Israel, South Africa, and the European ministates; also known as the First World, high-income countries, the North, industrial 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; the 35 DCs are: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, NZ, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, US; note - similar to the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) term "advanced economies" which adds Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan but drops Malta, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey
** developing countries **
a term used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the bottom
group in its hierarchy of advanced economies, countries in transition,
and developing countries; recently published IMF statistics include
the following 126 developing countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola,
Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh,
Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso,
Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic,
Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Djibouti,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial
Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho,
Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta,
Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of
Micronesia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles,
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe,
Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands,
Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria,
Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE,
Uganda, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe;
note - this category would presumably also cover the following 46 other countries that are traditionally included in the more comprehensive group of "less developed countries": American Samoa, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, Cook Islands, Cuba, Eritrea, Falkland Islands, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gaza Strip, Gibraltar, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guernsey, Jersey, North Korea, Macau, Isle of Man, Martinique, Mayotte, Montserrat, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Tokelau, Tonga, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Virgin Islands, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank, Western Sahara
** East African Development Bank (EADB) **
established - 6 June 1967; effective - 1 December 1967