aim - to promote cooperation among the Baltic Sea states in the areas of aid to new democratic institutions, economic development, humanitarian aid, energy and the environment, cultural programs and education, and transportation and communication
members - (12) Denmark, Estonia, EC, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden
Council of the Entente (Entente): established - 29 May 1959
aim - to promote economic, social, and political coordination
members - (5) Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Niger, Togo
countries in transition: a term used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the middle group in its hierarchy of advanced economies, countries in transition, and developing countries; recently published IMF statistics include the following 28 countries in transition: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan; note - this group is identical to the group traditionally referred to as the "former USSR/Eastern Europe" except for the addition of Mongolia
Customs Cooperation Council (CCC): note - see World Customs
Organization (WCO)
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 34 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, 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