What factors determine what makes up a 3rd world country? Are there 2nd world countries?

Answer 1

A third world country these days usually refers to a developing country. IOW third world means a poor country with a low standard of living, limited healthcare, limited education and so forth.

There used to be second world countries, but not any more.

After the second world war the world was described as being divided in two. The first world consisted of the westernised capitalist nations headed by the US and England but including Japan, Australia, Canada and so forth. The second world was the communist bloc headed by the USSR and China but including Poland, Cuba, Vietnam, Poland and so forth.

The term "Third World" was coined to describe all those nations that were not strongly aligned with either camp. Initially this referred to nations such as India and Egypt or Chile that were quite happy to do business with Russia or America based entirely on who gave them the most aid. Eventually the term expanded to refer to all the poor nations.

So basically "First World" = westernised capitalist nations, "Second World" = communist nations, "Third World" = poor nations not aligned with either first or second world powers.

These days there aren't really any second world nations. China is the only communist power left, and it is becoming so capitalistic so fast that it hardly deserves the title communist. The remaining handful of communist nations such as Cuba and North Korea are so weak that they don't warrant the term 'second world'. Today we really only refer to first and third world, with Cuba for example considered to be squarely third world.


More commonly we simply refer to developed and developing world.

Answer 2

The first, second and third world countries are carryover terms from the Cold War that have lost much of their usefulness. In the 1980s, when I was in middle school, first world meant the superpowers (U.S., U.S.S.R. and the more advanced economies in Western Europe), second world meant developed countries without a great deal of power projection (Britain was sometimes here), third world meant underdeveloped countries.

Second world is no longer used. Actually, its preferable to say "Developing Country" and "Developed Country" rather than 3rd world and 1st world.

A 3rd world country has a low per-capita income, high level of poverty, political instability (and I don't just mean infighting like we have in the U.S.; I mean, if there's a real threat to the continuation of the government through violent means), and often a threat to basic economic needs like energy and food.

I guess one could say a 2nd world country was really a 3rd world country but with a lot of stability - it wasn't wealthy, but the problems were being addressed peaceably.

Afghanistan was a 2nd world country before the rise of the Marxists and the overthrow of the prevailing government by the military, which brought on the Taliban. The military ran the nation down, but the Taliban tore away all vestiges of modernity.

Cambodia was another example - the Khmer Rouge literally dismantled the entire economic structure to turn an industrializing and educated state into a poor rural economy.

Answer 3

Kind of a funny question, because if you come from what americans call a 3rd world country, you might think yourself from a 1st. In the case of Brazil, it has its slums (flavelas) and its large amounts of poor people and social issues. But at the same time it is having huge economic growth, and a well developed government. Starvation is not an issue there, and health care is easily found in many cases. But because it has its slums and because the worth of how much someone gets paid in comparison to the dolar, it is considered 3rd world. I think to often we americans judge too quickly, and maybe we should start judging this by the happiness of the people. Cause in the US there are some pretty miserable people, expecially rich people. But i dont give a hoot anymore, just give me my points.

Answer 4

It used to be that industrialized nations that were free of Soviet Communist rule were first-world countries, the Soviet Union and its satellite states were second world countries and all other countries, even if communist, were the third world. I don't know what's happened to those designations since the downfall of the Soviet Empire. BTW, the first world also used to be called the "free" world, NOT meaning that all of its member states granted their citizens FREEDOM but that they were free of Communist rule.

Answer 5

Give the points to Veritatum17....that's a great definition. the only thing he missed is that countries are also called "emerging countries"...this is a term usually used in the financial markets.

Answer 6

1st World = technologically based (US, England, France, etc.)
2nd World = industrial based (Poland, CZ, China)
3rd world = agriculturally based (Peru, Kenya, etc.)

All countries go through the three phases.

Answer 7

Po;iticians have a hard time explaining complicated subjects. They put everything in cubbyholes.ie:// African - American,NAFTA,Third world country etc. It makes it easy when the media supports them in doing this.

Answer 8

ONLY 1st & 3rd

Rich = 1st
Poor = 3rd

Answer 9

Philippines use to be an American colony! To reply your query we must return just a little. In the 12 months 1600 all international locations wherein usually on a degree gambling subject. After Industrialization and colonization there have been 6 international locations who began to get extra rich by way of exploiting worldwide exchange (UK, Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands and the us). With the exception of a couple of principal african international locations, asian international locations in every single place used to be nonetheless just a little at the back of. Bythe Eighties after industrialization had set in you began to look a department among first international and third international. 1st international international locations had been taking up third international international locations. Every Western hemisphere nation used to be colonized by way of the industrilzing international locations. In Asia best Thailand ever escaped colonialism. In Africa simply ethiopia and Liberia. The Japanese royalty is aware of because the tokugawas got here to the realization after seeing the french, dutch, and english and americans slowly infilitrating china and forcing exchange contract son Japan to open its border to exchange got here to the conclsuion that if Japan didn't industrialize, Japan might grow to be like indonesia and might come to be colonized. Thus the change is that Japan made a mindful attempt by way of bringing America, British, and so forth experts on modernizing the nation (by way of Eighteen Nineties requirements) and that's how Japan used to be capable to "Westernize". Philpines is honestly a nation that used to be uninhabitated exxcept by way of approximately one hundred,000 black africans known as negritos till the spaniard investors who had been buying and selling with China created an offshore base (manilla) to exchange silver from Mexico, Peru and so forth with the Chinese. Also Japan used to be no longer a wonderful energy after ww2. Only russia and united states of america had been superpower at this factor. Prior to ww2 you had a few debate among Japan, russia, united states of america, united kingdom, germany as such a lot strong nation. Ironically Portugal and Spain not ever stored up and aren't fairly viewed first international to any extent further, extra in an effort to portugal than spain. If you examine Madrid or Lisbon to locations in Northern europe you become aware of that they're backwards from a technological factor of view. Long tale brief the reply is management. The Japanese leaders didn't desire to be colonized seeing that they had been going to be murdered,a s used to be the customized of europeans who colonized overseas international locations at teh time to behead the leaders of the nation's they took over. Thus they made a mindful attempt to come to be colonizers and Japan went on to overcome russia, china, and so forth within the early 1900s in wars within the pacific. In truth earlier to perarl harbour united states of america have been imposing embargoes on Japan seeing that thye feared Japan used to be fitting too robust. So regardless of the historical past of Japan attacking pearl harbour, they did it seeing that America (international's biggest oil provider on the time) enforced oil embargo on Japan, which the Japanese noticed as an act of warfare seeing that it might drive Japan to near down all indsutry.