# Third World Countries? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998 "2023-01-29T20:06:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/1 "2023-01-29T20:06:00Z")
(Mods please relocate this if this isn’t the apporpriate thread.) Looking at this page… [https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/third-world/#list-of-third-world-countries](https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/third-world/#list-of-third-world-countries) The list shows countries like Switzerland, which, as far as I’m concerned, hew _way_ more closely to _this_ definition… > [@](#): > > \* **First World** : It was led by the U.S, comprising the Capitalist nations. It included economically powerful countries like the U.S., Australia, Western Europe, and Japan. These western countries possessed a stable democracy, strong economy, high standard of living and optimum [industrialization](https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/industrialization/). …than this one… > [@](#): > > \* **Third World** : The countries which did not participate in this cold war are called Third world countries. Most of these were the former colonies and were economically underdeveloped. Geographically these countries were situated in Asia, Africa and Latin America. So, something to do, then, with Switzerland being a “neutral” country during WWII, (or Cold War, or whatever), _or_…? Seeing Sweden and Finland on there, heh, but no Norway? And no North Korea?!?!?!?! Found all that odd, but if someone feels differently, am curious to hear how so. ETA: ACK - brutal - didn’t scroll down far enough to see updated 2020 list with none of those countries on it anymore. (but still no NK, though) This seriously takes quite a bit of air out of the OP and will have no problem if this gets cornfielded. 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ 🤦‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/2 "2023-01-29T20:29:43Z")
My understanding is during the cold war the western definition was western wealthy nations were first world, the USSR was second world and everyone else was third world. Better definitions now are low income, middle income and high income nations. > **[New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2021-2022](https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/new-world-bank-country-classifications-income-level-2021-2022)** > > New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2021-2022 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/3 "2023-01-29T20:34:07Z")
**2nd World Countries** was USSR, The Eastern Bloc, China & Cuba as I recall it. North Korea could be considered part of the 2nd World also back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/4 "2023-01-30T00:33:48Z")
The newer term is “developing nations”. And likely newer terms. Yeah, most of the Third World nations were “developing” but a few were just Neutral. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > My understanding is during the cold war the western definition was western wealthy nations were first world, the USSR was second world and everyone else was third world. Western Allies were First World. Commies were 2nd. Unaligned were Third, most of which were “developing”. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/5 "2023-01-30T00:52:44Z")
Guest-starring\_Id, are you sure it wasn’t Swaziland? ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/6 "2023-01-30T01:35:31Z")
On the first list. Two below Finland. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/7 "2023-01-30T02:02:48Z")
So the term is a cold war term, but even during the cold war it was a misnomer. The intention was that the former colonies that made up the poorer parts of the world would stay neutral, and neither align with the US (the first world) or the USSR (the second world). But that absolutely did not happen those poorer countries absolutely could not stay neutral and had to choose a side (or in the example mentioned in the OP, Korea) have one chosen for them. Also the term “developing world” has also gone out of fashion and the preferred term is now “the global South” ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/8 "2023-01-30T02:11:22Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Also the term “developing world” has also gone out of fashion and the preferred term is now “the global South” I remember hearing about that term back in high school and the teacher pointing out the direction was reversed between the two Koreas. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2023, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/9 "2023-01-30T02:19:04Z")
Germany isn’t where we think it is. _Nothing is where you think it is._ [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vVX-PrBRtTY/hqdefault.jpg "Gall--Peters Projection") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVX-PrBRtTY) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/10 "2023-01-31T18:58:00Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Germany isn’t where we think it is. > _Nothing is where you think it is._ Because somehow CJ has lived her entire life without seeing a globe. 🙄 A flat map can not replace a globe. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/third-world-countries/978998/11 "2023-01-31T19:03:14Z")
You claim _you_ know where Germany is? You probably cheated by looking before we can test you.