Developing country

In addition, there are also often high unemployment rates, widespread poverty, widespread hunger, extreme poverty, child labour, malnutrition, homelessness, substance abuse, prostitution, overpopulation, civil disorder, human capital flight, a large informal economy, high crime rates (extortion, robbery, burglary, murder, homicide, arms trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, kidnapping, rape), low education levels, economic inequality, school desertion, inadequate access to family planning services, teenage pregnancy, many informal settlements and slums, corruption at all government levels, and political instability.The concept of the developing nation is found, under one term or another, in numerous theoretical systems having diverse orientations – for example, theories of decolonization, liberation theology, Marxism, anti-imperialism, modernization, social change and political economy.[6] Given the lack of a clear definition, sustainability expert Mathis Wackernagel and founder of Global Footprint Network, emphasizes that the binary labeling of countries is "neither descriptive nor explanatory".Additionally, the term "developing world" is increasingly seen as outdated, suggesting a hierarchy and not accurately reflecting the diverse realities of the encompassed countries.Historical and empirical evidence, like the varied infant mortality rates across these nations, underscores the flaws in a uniform classification.Alternatives such as regional or income-based categories (low-income to high-income) are advocated for, as they align better with the specific contexts of countries, supporting more effective policy formulation.[43] The Global South refers to these countries' "interconnected histories of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change through which large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources are maintained".[54] The inhabitants of developing countries were introduced to democratic systems later and more abruptly than their Northern counterparts and were sometimes targeted by governmental and non-governmental efforts to encourage participation.[57] Following independence and decolonization in the 20th century, most developing countries had dire need of new infrastructure, industry and economic stimulation.Causes include rapid rural-to-urban migration, economic stagnation and depression, high unemployment, poverty, informal economy, forced or manipulated ghettoization, poor planning, politics, natural disasters and social conflicts.[67][68][69] For example, as populations expand in poorer countries, rural people move to cities in extensive urban migration that results in the creation of slums.Abuse related to payment of bride price (such as violence, trafficking and forced marriage) is linked to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania.[74] Due to globalization and immigration, FGM is spreading beyond the borders of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and to countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, New Zealand, the U.S., and UK.[81] Certain groups have higher rates of undernutrition, including women – in particular while pregnant or breastfeeding – children under five years of age, and the elderly.[84] The following list shows the further significant environmentally-related causes or conditions, as well as certain diseases with a strong environmental component:[85] Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is at very low levels in many developing countries.This lack of access to modern energy technology limits income generation, blunts efforts to escape poverty, affects people's health due to indoor air pollution, and contributes to global deforestation and climate change.It requires ongoing evaluation and revision of water resource policy at all levels (international down to individual aquifers and wells).Under the leadership of CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, a sizable fraction of high-pollution industries have been gradually phased out and many illegally polluting factories were sanctioned or closed.A considerable amount of effort went to enforce environmental regulations at regional levels and holding persons of malpractice accountable, including officials and firm managers.Coal combustion in homes, power stations and production industries constitutes 60% of total energy consumption in China and is the main source of water and air pollution.Three billion people in developing countries across the globe rely on biomass in the form of wood, charcoal, dung, and crop residue, as their domestic cooking fuel.[103] Because much of the cooking is carried out indoors in environments that lack proper ventilation, millions of people, primarily poor women and children face serious health risks.Climate vulnerability in developing countries occurs in four impact areas: health, extreme weather, habitat loss, and economic stress.[113]: 14 Rising sea levels cost 1% of GDP to the least developed countries in 2010 – 4% in the Pacific – with 65 billion dollars annually lost from the world economy.[118] Climate stress is likely to add to existing migration patterns in developing countries and beyond but is not expected to generate entirely new flows of people.[119]: 110 A report by the World Bank in 2018 estimated that around 143 million people in three regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America) could be forced to move within their own countries to escape the slow-onset impacts of climate change.[120] In spite of the cumulative stressors and challenges faced by developing countries in adapting to the effects of climate change, there are those that are world leaders in the field such as Bangladesh.[129][130] To fully reach the goal of a low level of corruption, developing countries are usually using special steps for different establishments inside their territories, such as: Other common challenges include: Increased and intensified industrial and agricultural production and emission of toxic chemicals directly into the soil, air, and water, unsustainable use of energy resources; high dependency on natural resources for livelihood, leading to unsustainable exploitation or depletion of those resources; child marriage, indebtedness (see Debt of developing countries) and underperforming civil service (see Civil service reform in developing countries), food insecurity, illiteracy and unemployment.The following are considered emerging and developing economies according to the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023[update].This common coverage has created a dominant stereotype of developing countries: "the 'South' is characterized by socioeconomic and political backwardness, measured against Western values and standards.

Economic classification of the world's countries and territories by the UNCTAD in 2023: the Global North (i.e., developed countries ) is highlighted in blue and the Global South (i.e., developing countries and least developed countries ) is highlighted in red. ^{[

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Solar cookers use sunlight as energy source for outdoor cooking.

Developed countries or cities.Least developed countriesHuman Development Indexsovereign stateindustrial baseWorld Bankgross national incomelandlocked developing countriessmall island developing stateshigh-income countriesdeveloped countries"us" and "them"Global Southdrinking watersanitationhygieneenergy povertypollutionair pollutionlitteringwater pollutionopen defecationneglected tropical diseasesroad traffic accidentsinfrastructureunemploymentpovertyhungerextreme povertychild labourmalnutritionhomelessnesssubstance abuseprostitutionoverpopulationcivil disorderhuman capital flightinformal economyextortionrobberyburglarymurderhomicidearms traffickingsex traffickingdrug traffickingkidnappingeducationeconomic inequalityschool desertionfamily planningteenage pregnancyinformal settlementscorruptionrule of lawhealthcarelife expectanciesmaternal mortalitychild mortalityinfant mortalityeffects of climate changeclimate vulnerabilityclimate resiliencemedian agesPopulation agingDevelopment aiddevelopmentSustainable Development GoalsUnited NationsAtlas methodhigh income countriescapital marketsdeveloped marketsNewly industrialized countriesEmerging marketsFrontier marketsInternational Monetary Fundfall of the Soviet UnionCentral and Eastern EuropeSoviet UnionKazakhstanUzbekistanKyrgyzstanTajikistanTurkmenistanMongoliaWorld Economic Outlookisland countriessustainable developmentnatural disastersinternational tradelandlocked countriesHeavily indebted poor countriesTransition economymarket-driven economyBruneiHong KongKuwaitSingaporeUnited Arab EmiratesECOSOCper capitaindustrializationstandard of livinggross domestic productlife expectancyMillennium Development Goalsdecolonizationliberation theologyMarxismanti-imperialismmodernizationsocial changepolitical economysecondary sectormanufacturingtertiary sectoreconomic developmentModernization theoryDependency theorywealthy statesDevelopment theorytheoriesPostdevelopment theorydeveloped countryBhutangross national happinessWalter RodneyeconomistJeffrey SachsdevelopedHans RoslingMathis WackernagelGlobal Footprint Networkeuphemisticinternational organizationsless economically developed countryWorld Development IndicatorsGlobal Monitoring Reportcolonialismneo-imperialismGlobal North and Global SouthUNCTADGlobal NorthsocioeconomicspoliticsUN Trade and DevelopmentLatin America and the CaribbeanIsraelSouth KoreaOceaniaAustraliaNew Zealandlower incomeshealth systemsNorthern AmericaNorthern HemisphereSouthern HemisphereThird WorldindustrializedThree WorldsCold WarFirst WorldWestern BlocUnited StatesSecond WorldEastern BlocWarsaw PactNon-Aligned MovementYugoslaviaCanadaTaiwanWestern European countriesNorth KoreaVietnamself-determinationdemocracydemocratic governmentspolitical libertycitizenshipsociologistPatrick HellermigrationwealthindependenceindustryrubberWestern worldneocolonialismNew International Economic OrderCoalitionsBRIC countriesDevelopment economicsAfricaNorth AmericaSouth AmericaEuropeEconomic growth theoriesHarrod–Domar model