As noted above, there is not a clear meaning to the term ‘developing countries’, even though
the term is commonly used. Indeed, the World Bank, considered to be one of the most
significant bodies in this field, is trying to establish a classification for ‘developing
countries’. It uses a special classification system to differentiate between countries based on income317. On 1 July every year, the World Bank classification318 separates countries into
313
Jiang 2002; see also Kipel, A. A., 'Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries' in Terence P. Stewart (ed.), The World Trade Organization (1996).
314Jiang 2002. 315 Ibid. 316
Ibid.
317
For more information about the World Bank's classification of economies, see the World Bank's web page on Country Classification (under the Data & Statistics section), The World Bank 2013, How We Classify
Countries. Available from: http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications [viewed February 17, 2013].
318 See The World Bank, 2013, World Bank Group. Available from: http://www.worldbank.org/ [viewed
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three income groups based on gross national income (GNI) per capita, by using ranges of
income. These groups are 1) low income, countries with GNI per capita of US$ 1,025 or less
per capita in 2000319; 2) middle-income, countries with between US$ 1,026 and US$ 12,475
per capita. This group is further sub-divided into lower middle income, countries with GNI
per capita between US$ 1,026 and US$ 4,035; and upper middle income, countries with GNI
per capita between US$ 4,036 and US$ 12,475320. The final classification is 3) high income,
countries321 with GNI per capita322US$ 12,476 or more323.
It has been argued that the classification system of the World Bank has some
inconsistency324. In other words, it may not be possible to classify countries clearly because,
as the World Bank has stated,325
the use of the term is convenient; it is not intended to imply that all economies in the group are experiencing similar development or that other economies have reached a preferred or final stage of development. Classification by income does not necessarily reflect development status326.
So, the classification system of the World Bank does not necessary define developing and/or
developed countries. In the World Bank classification, all low-income and middle-income
economies are occasionally referred to as developing economies, while there are many
countries in the Middle East that have high per-capita incomes as a result of their oil and
319 Ibid.
320 In fact, several upper-middle-income economies are known as “newly industrialized” countries. See,
Matsushita et al. 2003.
321
These are the original members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
See, The World Bank, 2013, How We Classify Countries. Available from:
http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications [viewed February 17, 2013].
322 Ibid. 323
See, Matsushita et al. 2003.
324 Ibid.
325 See, The World Bank, 2013, How We Classify Countries. Available from:
http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications [viewed February 17, 2013].
326
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other resources that are not really industrialized. They are still considered to be developing
countries. For example, Saudi Arabia and Singapore have high per-capita incomes. In 2014,
the per-capita in Saudi Arabia is 25,961.8 US dollars and the in Singapore is 55,182.5327 US
dollars, but they are still considered as developing countries by some international
organizations328. Also, there are some countries that are considered middle-income
economies, such as Russia and Eastern European economies, which have several of the
characteristics of industrialized countries329.
In general, when the system is updated every year, it can make the situation of the developing
countries change every year. However, this system did not apply to the WTO and the position
of the developing countries is still the same as it was many years ago. One of the weaknesses
of the World Bank system is that it may be refused by any country as well as any
international organization330. The WTO may be interested in using the system of the World
Bank to classify countries. However, it is significant to examine other methods for classifying
countries, specifically developing countries. The United Nations and United Nations
Statistics Division will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
327 See the World Bank's web page on the World Bank 2015, GDP per capita (current US$), available from:
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD [viewed February 22, 2015].“GDP per capita is gross domestic product divided by midyear population. GDP is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy plus any product taxes and minus any subsidies not included in the value of the products. It is calculated without making deductions for depreciation of fabricated assets or for depletion and degradation of natural resources”.
328
Matsushita et al. 2003.
329 Ibid.
330 Generally, it has been thought that the term 'developed countries' is just for North America and some
European countries, while many of the Asian countries are considered developing countries even though they have high income. It is significant to note that it is not just high income, but high infrastructure levels, high employment levels, and high education levels. In many ways, it is quite imperialistic to still consider these countries to be ‘developing’ when they provide as much or more than, for instance, the US does for its citizens. It could be argued that the US’s wide-spread poverty, poor education, and unequal and poor distribution of health care means that the US should be considered a developing country.
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