What is the difference between a Second and First world country? What are some examples?

Answer 1

See the all 3 rather four world nations:
Its like this:---

The First, the Second, and the Third World.
When people talk about the poorest countries of the world, they often refer to them with the general term Third World, and they think everybody knows what they are talking about. But when you ask them if there is a Third World, what about a Second or a First World, you almost always get an evasive answer. Other people even try to use the terms as a ranking scheme for the state of development of countries, with the First world on top, followed by the Second world and so on, that's perfect - nonsense.

To close the gap of information you will find here explanations of the terms.

The use of the terms First, the Second, and the Third World is a rough, and it's safe to say, outdated model of the geopolitical world from the time of the cold war.
There is no official definition of the first, second, and the third world. Below OWNO's explanation of the terms.

Four Worlds
After World War II the world split into two large geopolitical blocs and spheres of influence with contrary views on government and the politically correct society:
1 - The bloc of democratic-industrial countries within the American influence sphere, the "First World".
2 - The Eastern bloc of the communist-socialist states, the "Second World".
3 - The remaining three-quarters of the world's population, states not aligned with either bloc were regarded as the "Third World."
4 - The term "Fourth World", coined in the early 1970s by Shuswap Chief George Manuel, refers to widely unknown nations (cultural entities) of indigenous peoples, "First Nations" living within or across national state boundaries.

First there was the three worlds model
The origin of the terminology is unclear. In 1952 Alfred Sauvy, a French demographer, wrote an article in the French magazine L'Observateur which ended by comparing the Third World with the Third Estate: "ce Tiers Monde ignoré, exploité, méprisé comme le Tiers État" (this ignored Third World, exploited, scorned like the Third Estate). Other sources claim that Charles de Gaulle coined the term Third World, maybe de Gaulle only has quoted Sauvy. However...

__Definitions

point The term "First World" refers to so called developed, capitalist, industrial countries, roughly, a bloc of countries aligned with the United States after word war II, with more or less common political and economic interests: North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia.

to Countries of the "First World"



point "Second World" refers to the former communist-socialist, industrial states, (formerly the Eastern bloc, the territory and sphere of influence of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic) today: Russia, Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland) and some of the Turk States (e.g., Kazakhstan) as well as China.

to Countries of the "Second World"



point "Third World" are all the other countries, today often used to roughly describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The term Third World includes as well capitalist (e.g., Venezuela) and communist (e.g., North Korea) countries as very rich (e.g., Saudi Arabia) and very poor (e.g., Mali) countries.

to Countries of the "Third World"



point The term "Fourth World" first came into use in 1974 with the publication of Shuswap Chief George Manuel's: The fourth world : an Indian reality (amazon link to the book), the term refers to nations (cultural entities, ethnic groups) of indigenous peoples living within or across state boundaries (nation states).

see to Native American Indians
American Indian Nations.

More links to nations of the "Fourth World" you will find at the Nations Online Project respective country pages under "Natives".

First World - Industrialized Countries, within the Western European and United States' Sphere of Influence
NATO Member States during the Cold War

Belgium Canada Denmark
France Germany (West) Greece
Iceland Italy Luxembourg
Netherlands Norway Portugal
Spain (since 1982) Turkey United Kingdom
USA

US Aligned States
Israel Japan Korea (South)

Former British Colonies
Australia New Zealand

Neutral and more or less industrialized capitalist countries
Austria Ireland Sweden
Switzerland

Second World Country List

Country formerly part of: Region
Albania * Southern Europe
Armenia Soviet Union Western Asia
Azerbaijan Soviet Union Western Asia
Belarus Soviet Union Eastern Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina Yugoslavia Southern Europe
Bulgaria Eastern Europe
Croatia Yugoslavia Southern Europe
Czech Republic Czechoslovakia Eastern Europe
Estonia annexed by Soviet Union** Northern Europe
Georgia Soviet Union Western Asia
East Germany Western Europe
Hungary Eastern Europe
Kazakhstan Soviet Union South-Central Asia
Kyrgyzstan Soviet Union South-Central Asia
Latvia annexed by Soviet Union** Northern Europe
Lithuania annexed by Soviet Union** Northern Europe
Macedonia Yugoslavia Southern Europe
Moldova Soviet Union Eastern Europe
Montenegro Yugoslavia
Poland Eastern Europe
Romania Eastern Europe
Russia Soviet Union Northern Europe/Asia
Serbia Yugoslavia Southern Europe
Slovakia Czechoslovakia Eastern Europe
Slovenia Yugoslavia Southern Europe
Tajikistan Soviet Union South-Central Asia
Turkmenistan Soviet Union South-Central Asia
Ukraine Soviet Union Eastern Europe
Uzbekistan Soviet Union South-Central Asia

(Formerly) Communist States in Asia ***
China Eastern Asia
Korea (North) Korea Eastern Asia
Lao PDR South East Asia
Mongolia**** China, until 1921 Eastern Asia
Viet Nam (North)

Third World Countries in terms of their Gross National Income (GNI)
Countries with the least gross national income based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita in int'l Dollars.
Simplified the GNI PPP is the average annual income earned by a citizen of a country.
That means for example, a citizen of Malawi can spend $ 1.6 a day to make a living,
a citizen of Eritrea $ 2.5, the average US citizen spends $ 114 daily.

Below countries with an average yearly income per capita and year under $ 1000,
poorest nations first.

Rank
Country Region
GNI per capita
1 Timor-Leste South-East Asia *400
2 Malawi Eastern Africa 596
3 Somalia Eastern Africa *600
4 Democratic Republic of the Congo Middle Africa 675
5 Tanzania Eastern Africa 720
6 Yemen Middle East 745
7 Burundi Eastern Africa 753
8 Afghanistan Central Asia *800
9 Guinea-Bissau Western Africa 856
10 Ethiopia Eastern Africa 859
11 Niger Western Africa 896
12 Liberia Western Africa *900
13 Sierra Leone Western Africa 901
14 Madagascar Eastern Africa 911
15 Zambia Eastern Africa 911
16 Eritrea Eastern Africa 917

Answer 2

The term "Second World" is a phrase that was used to describe the Communist countries within the Soviet Union's sphere of influence. Along with "First World" and "Third World", the term has been used to divide the nations of Earth into three broad categories. The term has largely fallen out of use because the countries to which it referred mostly abandoned Communism, and their mutual interests, after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. The other two terms remain in widespread use.

Unless you mean Mao's Three World theory, which is a theory developed by Mao Zedong that suggests that the world is politically and economically divided into three worlds.

Mao's theory differs significantly from the traditional ideal of "third world". According to Mao the first world is made up of the superpowers, the second world of the wealthy allies of the superpowers, and the third world of the nonaligned nation.

It is notable for grouping the USA and USSR together as exploiter nations. Deng Xiaoping brought this view before the world in his 1974 speech to the United Nations.

Answer 3

do you mean 1st and 3rd world countries?
There really aren't any "2nd world" countries anymore (the term used to refer to the Soviet Union and communist countries during the Cold War)

as for differences between the 1st and 3rd world, well there are some general differences such as:
3rd world countries tend to be more rural, have lower education rates, lower health care, more poverty and hunger, worse environmental problems, lower GDP, less stable governments

HOWEVER (and this is a big however) there are no clear-cut differences anymore. Within practically every country on earth (with maybe a few exceptions such as Sweden and Switzerland) you can find great diversity in conditions. For instance, some people in 1st world countries (like the USA) live in horrible poverty. While some people in 3rd world countries (like India) are very very rich.

Answer 4

Today, there really is not such a thing as a Second world country thanks to the fall of communism. But before the late 80s/early 90s, communist countries like East Germany and the Soviet Union were considered second world while the United States, Great Britain, and France were considered first world countries.

Answer 5

The First World is all the western nations; the Second world is the Communist nations; the Third world is the less developed nations.