least developed countries

{{Short description|Countries that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development}}

File:Least Developed Countries Map New.svg as of 2023)}}{{legend|#FFCC00|Former least developed countries}}]]

The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) on 18 November 1971.{{Cite web |url=http://www.unitar.org/resource/sites/unitar.org.resource/files/document-pdf/GA-2767-XXVI.pdf |title=Identification of the least developed among the developing countries |access-date=2011-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709182754/http://www.unitar.org/resource/sites/unitar.org.resource/files/document-pdf/GA-2767-XXVI.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-09 |url-status=dead}}

A country is classified among the Least Developed Countries if it meets three criteria:{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-criteria.html |title=Criteria For Identification Of LDCs |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division |access-date=2018-03-02}}UN-OHRLLS {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20190725125957/http://unohrlls.org/about-ldcs/criteria-for-ldcs/ Criteria for Identification and Graduation of LDCs]}}.

Poverty – adjustable criterion based on Gross national income (GNI) per capita averaged over three years. {{asof|2018}}, a country must have GNI per capita less than US$1,025 to be included on the list, and over $1,230 to graduate from it.
Human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy).
Economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters).

As of December 2024, 44 countries were still classified as LDC, while eight graduated between 1994 and 2024.{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |title=LDCs at a Glance |date=December 2024 |publisher=Department of Economic and Social Affairs |access-date=2024-12-14}} The World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes the UN list and says that "Measures taken in the framework of the WTO can help LDCs increase their exports to other WTO members and attract investment. In many developing countries, pro-market reforms have encouraged faster growth, diversification of exports, and more effective participation in the multilateral trading system."{{cite web |title=Doha WTO Ministerial 2001: Briefing Notes Least Developed Countries – Towards free market access for least-developed countries |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/brief_e/brief03_e.htm |publisher=World Trade Organization}}

Overview

File:Poverty headcount ratio at 1.90 a day.png

File:G33 Members.svg: a coalition of developing countries in regards to agriculture.]]

LDC criteria are reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Countries may be removed from the LDC classification when indicators exceed these criteria in two consecutive triennial reviews. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) coordinates UN support and provides advocacy services for Least Developed Countries. The classification ({{As of|2020|12|lc=on}}) applies to 46 countries.

At the UN's fourth conference on LDCs, which was held in May 2011, delegates endorsed a goal targeting the promotion of at least half the current LDC countries within the next ten years. As of 2018, ten or more countries were expected to graduate in 2024, with Bangladesh and Djibouti already satisfying all criteria in 2018.{{cite web |url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/06/ten-fewer-least-developed-countries-by-2024.html |title=Ten Fewer Least Developed Countries by 2024 |last=Wang |first=Brian |date=11 June 2018 |website=nextbigfuture.com |access-date=21 December 2018}}

There is one country which presently meets the criteria and two countries which previously met the criteria for LDC status, but declined to be included in the index, questioning the validity or accuracy of the CDP's data: Ghana (no longer meets criteria as of 1994), Papua New Guinea (no longer meets criteria as of 2009), and Zimbabwe.{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/fr/title/1088728737 |title=Handbook on the least developed country category : inclusion, graduation, and special support measures |date=October 2018 |author=United Nations |isbn=978-92-1-104692-2 |edition=Third |location=New York |oclc=1088728737}}

Usage and abbreviations

Least developed countries can be distinguished from developing countries, "less developed countries", "lesser developed countries", or other similar terms.

The term "less economically developed country" (LEDC) is also used today. However, in order to avoid confusion between "least developed country" and "less economically developed country" (which may both be abbreviated as LDC), and to avoid confusion with landlocked developing country (which can be abbreviated as LLDC), "developing country" is generally used in preference to "less-developed country".

During a United Nations review in 2018, the UN defined LDCs as countries meeting three criteria, one of which was a three-year average estimate of gross national income (GNI) per capita of less than US$1,025.{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-criteria.html |title=Criteria For Identification Of LDCs |date=4 March 2010 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division |access-date=2018-03-02}}

UN conferences

File:Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis at the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (5709246557).jpg at the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries]]

There have been five United Nations conferences on LDCs, held every ten years. The first two were in Paris, in 1981 and 1991; the third was in Brussels in 2001.

The Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) was held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 9–13 May 2011. It was attended by Ban Ki-moon, the head of the UN, and close to 50 prime ministers and heads of state. The conference endorsed the goal of raising half the existing Least developed countries out of the LDC category in 2022. As with the Seoul Development Consensus drawn up in 2010, there was a strong emphasis on boosting productive capability and physical infrastructure, with several NGOs not pleased with the emphasis placed on the private sector.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/may/06/goal-halve-ldcs-10-years-conference |title=Goal to halve number of LDCs in next 10 years |work=The Guardian |date=2011-05-06 |access-date=2011-05-13}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/may/13/least-developed-countries-ambitious-plan |title=Least developed countries: UN conference endorses ambitious plan to lift millions out of poverty |work=The Guardian |date=2011-05-13 |access-date=2011-05-13}}

The Fifth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC-V) was split in two parts almost a year apart, between UN Headquarters in New York on 17 March 2022 and Doha on 5-9 March 2023.{{cite web |title=5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) {{!}} |url=https://www.un.org/ldc5/ |website=www.un.org |access-date=25 November 2024}}

Trade

Issues surrounding global trade regulations and LDCs have gained a lot of media and policy attention thanks to the recently collapsed Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations being termed a development round. During the WTO's Hong Kong Ministerial, it was agreed that LDCs could see 100 percent duty-free, quota-free access to U.S. markets if the round were completed. But analysis of the deal by NGOs found that the text of the proposed LDC deal had substantial loopholes that might make the offer less than the full 100 percent access, and could even erase some current duty-free access of LDCs to rich country markets.{{cite web |url=http://www.citizen.org/hot_issues/issue.cfm?ID=1389 |title=Public Citizen {{pipe}} Global Trade Watch {{pipe}} Global Trade Watch – Hot Issue June 21 – Study shows WTO's Doha Round proposal would leave many poor countries worse off |publisher=Citizen.org|access-date = 2014-07-28}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.unnayan.org/Other/Unnayan_Onneshan_TNLP_Hong_Kong.pdf |title=How Hong Kong Empowers Rich Countries to Choke LDCs |access-date=2006-07-26 |archive-date=2011-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110401030510/http://www.unnayan.org/Other/Unnayan_Onneshan_TNLP_Hong_Kong.pdf |url-status=dead}} Dissatisfaction with these loopholes led some economists to call for a reworking of the Hong Kong deal.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

Chiedu Osakwe, as of 2001 the Director, Technical Cooperation Division at the Secretariat of the WTO, and adviser to the Director-General on developing country matters, was appointed as the WTO Special Coordinator for the Least Developed Countries beginning in 1999.World Trade Organization, [http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres99_e/pr136_e.htm "Moore announces key appointments for development issues"], 1999 Press Releases, Press/136, 13 September 1999 He worked closely with the five other agencies that together with the WTO constitute the Integrated Framework of action for the Least Developed Countries. They addressed issues of market access, special and differential treatment provisions for developing countries, participation of developing countries in the multilateral trading system, and development questions, especially the interests of developing countries in competition policy.Osakwe, Chiedu, [http://www.oecd.org/document/40/0,2340,en_2649_33721_35795688_1_1_1_1,00.html "Are WTO Members wrestling an octopus, did they set their sights too high?"], DAC News November–December 2005, Development Assistance Committee, OECD. At the 28th G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proposed and carried the Market Access Initiative, so that the then 48 LDCs could profit from "trade-not-aid".{{cite web |last=Vasil |first=Adria |url=http://stage81.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=140356 |title=NOW Toronto: "Roots runs away: Beaver-clad clothier blames feds' Africa trade aid for west-end plant closure" (February 12-19, 2004, VOL 23 NO 24 Vasil) |publisher=Stage81.nowtoronto.com |access-date=2014-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714134510/http://stage81.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=140356 |archive-date=2014-07-14}} Additionally, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 14 advocates for an effective special and differential treatment of LDCs as integral parts of WTO fisheries subsidies negotiation.{{Cite web |title=Goal 14 targets |url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |access-date=2020-09-24 |website=UNDP |language=en |archive-date=2020-09-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930060036/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-14-life-below-water/targets.html |url-status=dead}}

= Market access preferences =

Several countries grant preferential access to least developed countries. For instance, the European Union has implemented the Everything but Arms scheme, while Switzerland offers free access to its market for all products to LDCs.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bazg.admin.ch/bazg/en/home/informationen-firmen/einfuhr-in-die-schweiz/befreiungen-verguenstigungen-und-zollpraeferenzen_einfuhr/entwicklungslaender-aps-gsp--generalized-system-of-preferences-.html |title=Developing countries GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) |website=admin.ch |access-date=2024-12-05}} Access to the Japanese market is also free for LDCs.{{Cite web |url=https://www.customs.go.jp/english/c-answer_e/imtsukan/1501_e.htm |title=1501 Outline of Japan’s GSP (Generalized System of Preferences) (FAQ) |website=customs.go.jp |access-date=2024-12-05}}

Effective 1 December 2024, China eliminated tariffs for goods imported from all of the countries that the United Nations categorizes as least developed and with which China has diplomatic relations. Thirty-three of the countries benefiting from the agreement are in Africa and the non-African countries receiving zero tariff treatment are Yemen, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, and East Timor.{{Cite web |date=2024-10-29 |title=China sharpens edge in global trade with zero-tariff deal for developing world |url=https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3284329/china-sharpens-edge-global-trade-zero-tariff-deal-developing-world |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

List of countries

The following 44 countries were still listed as least developed countries by the UN as of December 2024:UN [https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf List of Least Developed Countries (as of 13 December 2024)] Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Tanzania, Yemen, and Zambia.

= By continent or region =

There are 32 countries that are classified as least developed countries in Africa, 8 in Asia, 3 in Oceania, and 1 in the Americas.

The list of "least developed countries" according to the United Nations with some that are categorized into the landlocked developing countries and the Small Island Developing States:{{Cite web |date=2008-05-25 |title=LDCs at a Glance |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldcs-at-a-glance.html |access-date=2019-01-03 |website=United Nations Development Policy & Analysis Division}}

Africa

{{flag|Angola}}
{{flag|Benin}}
{{flag|Burkina Faso}}Also a landlocked developing country
{{flag|Burundi}}
{{flag|Central African Republic}}
{{flag|Chad}}
{{flag|Comoros}}Also a Small Island Developing State
{{flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo|name=D.R. Congo}}
{{flag|Djibouti}}
{{flag|Eritrea}}
{{flag|Ethiopia}}
{{flag|The Gambia}}
{{flag|Guinea}}
{{flag|Guinea-Bissau}}
{{flag|Lesotho}}
{{flag|Liberia}}
{{flag|Madagascar}}
{{flag|Malawi}}
{{flag|Mali}}
{{flag|Mauritania}}
{{flag|Mozambique}}
{{flag|Niger}}
{{flag|Rwanda}}
{{flag|Senegal}}
{{flag|Sierra Leone}}
{{flag|Somalia}}
{{flag|South Sudan}}
{{flag|Sudan}}
{{flag|Tanzania}}
{{flag|Togo}}
{{flag|Uganda}}
{{flag|Zambia}}

Americas

{{flag|Haiti}}

Asia

{{flag|Afghanistan|2013}}
{{flag|Bangladesh}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-bangladesh.html |title=Least Developed Country Category: Bangladesh Profile {{pipe}} Department of Economic and Social Affairs|date = 25 December 2015 |website= United Nations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240329004809/https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-bangladesh.html |archive-date= Mar 29, 2024 }}
{{flag|Cambodia}}
{{flag|East Timor}}
{{flag|Laos}}
{{flag|Myanmar}}
{{flag|Nepal}}
{{flag|Yemen}}

Oceania

{{flag|Kiribati}}
{{flag|Solomon Islands}}
{{flag|Tuvalu}}

= Delisted countries (graduated countries) =

The three criteria (human assets, economic vulnerability and gross national income per capita) are assessed by the Committee for Development Policy every three years. Countries must meet two of the three criteria at two consecutive triennial reviews to be considered for graduation. The Committee for Development Policy sends its recommendations for endorsement to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).{{Cite web |date=2018-12-13 |title=It's official and historical – three more countries will graduate from the LDC category |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/2018/its-official-and-historical-three-more-countries-will-graduate-from-the-ldc-category/ |publisher= United Nations |access-date=2019-01-03 |website=Development Policy & Analysis Division}}

After the initiation of the LDC category, eight countries graduated to developing country status. The first country to graduate from LDC status was Botswana in 1994. The second country was Cape Verde in 2007.{{Cite web |date=14 June 2007 |title=UN advocate salutes Cape Verde's graduation from category of poorest States |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22918&Cr=cape&Cr1=verde |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202011111/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=22918&Cr=cape&Cr1=verde |archive-date=Dec 2, 2017 |website=United Nations News Centre}} Maldives graduated to developing country status at the beginning of 2011, Samoa in 2014,{{Cite web |date=5 March 2010 |title=Graduation from the LDC category |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category/ldc-graduation.html |access-date=2018-03-02 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division}}{{Cite web |title=Samoa To Gain Developing Country Economic Status in January 2014 |url=http://unohrlls.org/news/samoa-to-gain-developing-country-economic-status-in-january-2014/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017081118/http://unohrlls.org/news/samoa-to-gain-developing-country-economic-status-in-january-2014/ |archive-date=2015-10-17 |access-date=2015-08-09 |website=UN-OHRLLS via Radio Australia}} Equatorial Guinea in 2017,{{cite web |author= |date=2018 |title=Least Developed Country Category: Equatorial Guinea Profile |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/least-developed-country-category-equatorial-guinea.html |access-date=21 December 2018 |publisher=United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division}} Vanuatu in December 2020,{{cite web |date=2020-12-04 |title=Vanuatu graduates from least developed country status |url=https://unctad.org/news/vanuatu-graduates-least-developed-country-status |publisher=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development}} Bhutan in December 2023,{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/bhutan-graduation-status |title=Bhutan graduation status |website=United Nations |access-date=13 December 2023}} and São Tomé and Príncipe in December 2024.{{cite web |url=https://unctad.org/news/sao-tome-and-principe-graduates-least-developed-country-status |title=Sao Tome and Principe graduates from least developed country status |website=UNCTAD |access-date=13 December 2024}}

The following countries are no longer categorized in the "least developed countries" group:

{{flag|Kingdom of Sikkim|name=Sikkim}} (became a state within the Republic of India in 1975){{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/2008cdphandbook.pdf |title=UN Handbook on the LDC Category |access-date=2014-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207091657/https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/2008cdphandbook.pdf |archive-date=2017-02-07 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://sikkim.gov.in/ASP/Miscc/aboutsikkim.htm |title="About Sikkim" from the Government of Sikkim's website |publisher=Sikkim.gov.in |access-date=2014-07-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525171423/http://www.sikkim.gov.in/asp/Miscc/aboutsikkim.htm |archive-date=2009-05-25}}
{{flag|Botswana}} (graduated from LDC status in December 1994){{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=37239&Cr=least+developed&Cr1= |title=Istanbul forum offers chance to recommit to helping world's poorest nations |date=2011-01-10 |website=United Nations |access-date=2014-07-28}}
{{flag|Cape Verde}} (graduated in December 2007)
{{flag|Maldives}} (graduated in January 2011)
{{flag|Samoa}} (graduated in January 2014){{Cite news |url=http://sdg.iisd.org/news/un-ohrlls-announces-samoa-to-graduate-from-ldc-status/ |title=UN-OHRLLS Announces Samoa to Graduate from LDC Status |last=Ashton |first=Melanie |date=20 June 2012 |work=IISD's SDG Knowledge |access-date=2017-11-24 |language=en-US}}
{{flag|Equatorial Guinea}} (graduated in June 2017){{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/equatorial-guinea-graduates-from-the-ldc-category/ |title=Equatorial Guinea Graduates from the LDC Category |date=4 June 2017 |website=United Nations |access-date=7 November 2017}}
{{flag|Vanuatu}} (graduated in December 2020)
{{flag|Bhutan}} (graduated in December 2023){{cite web |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/bhutan-graduated-least-developed-country-status-explained-8492253 |title=How Bhutan graduated from the 'Least Developed Country' status |author=Mira Patel |website=The Indian Express |date=2023-03-13}}
{{flag|São Tomé and Príncipe}} (graduated in December 2024)

= Countries expected to graduate soon =

Bangladesh met the criteria twice, once in 2018 and again in 2021. The country will officially graduate from LDC status in November 2026, two years after it was supposed to, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last1=Byron |first1=Rejaul Karim |last2=Mirdha |first2=Refayet Ullah |date=2021-02-28 |title=Becoming A Developing Nation: Bangladesh reaches A Milestone |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/becoming-developing-nation-bangladesh-reaches-milestone-2052161 |access-date=2021-08-17 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}
Laos and Nepal will also graduate in November 2026.{{Cite news |title=U.N. General Assembly graduates Bangladesh, Nepal to developing countries bloc |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/un-general-assembly-graduates-bangladesh-nepal-to-developing-countries-bloc/article37681442.ece |access-date=2021-11-26 |issn=0971-751X}} The latter was originally selected to graduate to developing country status in 2018. However, the authorities of Nepal requested to postpone graduation until 2021.{{Cite web |title=Nepal braces for graduation from an LDC |url=https://www.np.undp.org/content/nepal/en/home/operations/projects/poverty_reduction/snpc/nepal-braces-for-graduation-from-an-ldc.html |website=UNDP in Nepal}} Graduation was later pushed back an additional five years.
Solomon Islands will graduate in December 2027.{{Cite web |url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/countries-approaching-graduation-and-graduated |title=Countries approaching graduation and already graduated |website=United Nations}}
Cambodia is expected to graduate in December 2029. It met the criteria in 2021 and was originally expected to graduate in 2027, but this was later postponed to ensure a smooth transition.{{Cite news |last=Mathew |first=Manoj |date=April 22, 2024 |title=Cambodia gears up for LDC graduation challenges |url=https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501475821/cambodia-gears-up-for-ldc-graduation-challenges/ |access-date=July 3, 2024 |work=Khmer Times}}
Senegal will graduate in December 2029.{{cite web|department=Committee for Development Policy|url= https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf|title=List of Least Developed Countries (as of 19 December 2024)|website= United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs|access-date= 2025-01-04}}
Djibouti, Kiribati and Tuvalu could graduate from LDC status in 2027 at the earliest.
Comoros and Myanmar met the graduation criteria at least twice. They could be recommended for graduation in 2027.
Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania met the graduation criteria for the first time in 2024. They could be recommended for graduation in 2027.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/united-republic-tanzania-graduation-status|title=United Republic of Tanzania graduation status|website=United Nations|access-date=2024-06-06}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/rwanda-graduation-status|title=Rwanda graduation status|website=United Nations|access-date=2024-06-06}}{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/ldcportal/content/uganda-graduation-status|title=Uganda graduation status|website=United Nations|access-date=2024-06-06}}
Angola was expected to graduate in 2021, but the preparatory period was extended by three years because of the economic difficulties of the country and its dependence on commodities.{{cite web |date=2021-02-04 |title=Extension of the preparatory period preceding the graduation of Angola from the least developed country category |url=https://undocs.org/en/A/75/L.57 |website=undocs.org}} Graduation was further postponed in December 2023, without any specific timeline.{{cite web|department=Committee for Development Policy|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240127234247/https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/ldc_list.pdf|title=List of Least Developed Countries (as of 13 December 2023)|website= United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs}}

References

External links

[https://www.un.org/ohrlls/ Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, United Nations]
[https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/list United Nations List of LDCs]
[https://unctad.org/topic/least-developed-countries/recognition Criteria for Identification of LDCs]
[https://www.un.org/en/conf/ldc/ Fourth UN Conference on the LDCs]
[https://unctad.org/publications-search?f%5B0%5D=product%3A392 UNCTAD Least Developed Countries Report (Series)]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20110418145425/http://www.ldcwatch.org/csf/ UN LDC-IV Civil Society Forum]