The term “third world” does not have an official, current list of countries and is no longer used in serious international statistics; instead, organizations use terms like “developing countries,” “least developed countries,” or “low‑income countries.”
What “third world” originally meant
During the Cold War, “third world” referred to countries that were not aligned with either the U.S.-led capitalist bloc (“first world”) or the Soviet-led communist bloc (“second world”). Neutral or non‑aligned states in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and parts of Europe could be called “third world” in this older political sense, regardless of whether they were rich or poor.
How the meaning changed
After the Cold War, people began using “third world” informally to mean very poor, less industrialized countries facing high poverty and weak infrastructure. Because the term is vague, outdated, and often viewed as derogatory, major institutions now avoid it and prefer more precise terms like “developing,” “least developed,” or “low‑income” instead.
Closest official categories today
If someone asks “which countries are third world” in the modern sense, they usually mean:
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs) : A UN category of 46–50 or so countries (number changes over time) with very low income, weak human development, and high vulnerability; they include many states in sub‑Saharan Africa plus a few in Asia, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. Examples are Afghanistan, Angola, Haiti, Mozambique, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen.
- Low Human Development or low‑income countries : Countries at the bottom of the UN Human Development Index or in the World Bank’s “low‑income” group, such as South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, and Yemen.
Why there isn’t one fixed list
Different websites and publications sometimes publish “lists of third world countries,” but they are unofficial and based on their own criteria (often HDI or income thresholds). Because there is no single agreed definition, two lists labeled “third world” can include different groups of countries, which is why current practice is to talk about “least developed,” “developing,” or “low‑income” states instead of “third world.”
How to interpret or use the term
If using the term at all, it is clearer and more respectful to replace it with:
- “Least developed countries” when referring to the UN’s official LDC list.
- “Low‑income” or “lower‑middle‑income countries” when referring to World Bank categories.
- “Developing countries” in general discussions about poorer or industrializing nations.
If you tell which country you are interested in, it is possible to say whether it falls into one of these current categories.
