Third World is a term sometimes used for the poor countries of the world, particularly those in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Oceania. Historically, the term Third World has also been used in a political sense for countries that were considered to be neutral, or nonaligned, during the Cold War, a period of tension between non-Communist and Communist nations that began after World War II (1939-1945). Some people disagree with the use of Third World in the economic sense, preferring such terms as least developed countries, underdeveloped countries, or the South.
The political Third World.
In the political sense, Third World countries were nations that did not during the Cold War regularly support either the First World or the Second World. The First World was made up of an alliance of non-Communist countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom. The Second World consisted of the Soviet Union and a number of other Communist countries.
The economic Third World.
As early as the 1950’s, economists used the term Third World to mean the poor countries of the world. Over time, this economic meaning became the more common one, especially following the end of the Cold War in 1991.
Economically, a typical Third World nation has a shortage of food, few sources of power, and low gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (per person) income. The GDP per capita is the total value of all goods and services produced within a country yearly divided by that nation’s population. Most Third World countries have an annual GDP per capita of less than $2,000. By contrast, many developed nations have a GDP per capita of more than $30,000 per year.
The economic Third World in the early 2020’s was made up of about 50 countries. Almost all Third World countries had economies based on agriculture. Less than half had developed a significant base for modern industry.
The Third World has a majority of the votes in the General Assembly of the United Nations, but as a political bloc, the Third World has lost coherence. By the late 1980’s, many nations that were once in the Third World had become wealthier. For example, the five countries that economists call the BRIMC nations—Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, and China—as well as many countries in Southeast Asia, became developing countries. Their increase in wealth caused a shift in perspective that made them less likely to agree with the political goals of Third World nations. As more Third World nations entered the ranks of developing countries, Africa, by far the poorest continent, became the focus of Third World political and economic attention.
International organizations provide funds for development in the Third World, but progress in improving the quality of life for people there has been slow. Some of the problems that economists believe prevent the Third World from prospering include rapid population growth, high rates of disease, a lack of educational opportunities, political corruption and government mismanagement, and violent conflicts.
