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Less & Least Developed Countries
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In this lesson on Less & Least Developed Countries, you will learn the following concepts:
*What are LDCs?
*Why are some countries less or least developed while others are not?
*What are the Major Constraints that LDCs face moving forward?
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Steven M. Reff
Economics Lecturer
University of Arizona
(2007 - 2016)
The 2015 University of Arizona
Five-Star Faculty Award
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What are LDCs?
What are the Major Constraints that LDCs face moving forward?
The term LDCs stands for Less Developed Countries. Shown in blue on the
interactive map below are the least developed countries of the world. The country
labeled in green, Botswana, has been upgraded to a developing country.
Use your cursor and touch the different countries on the map to see
the names of the LDCs and where each LDC is located.
Africia:
In Africa, there are 33 countries that are classified as
least developed countries:
Angola
Benin
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mozambique
Niger
Rwanda
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Americas
In the Americas, there is 1 country that is classified as
a least developed country:
Haiti
Asia
In Asia, there are 9 countries that are classified as least
developed countries:
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
East Timor
Laos
Myanmar
Nepal
Yemen
Oceania
In Oceania, there are 4 countries that are classified as
least developed countries:
Kiribati
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
^ "Least Developed Countries at a Glance". United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, Development Policy and Analysis Division.
Major Constraints to LDCs: Form of Government
Major Constraints to LDCs: Population and Growth Rate
Major Constraints to LDCs: Capital Flow
Major Constraints to LDCs: Communication
Major Constraints to LDCs: Education
Major Constraints to LDCs: Property Rights
Major Constraints to LDCs: Transportation
Major Constraints to LDCs: Other Constraints
Major Constraints to LDCs: "Free" Markets
Major Constraints to LDCs: Energy
Listed below in no particular order are Ten Major Constraints that LDCs
face in becoming developing countries rather than remaining as LDCs.
In this lesson on Economic Growth, Part II, you learned the following concepts:
*What are LDCs?
*What are the Major Constraints that LDCs face?
*What are the Major Constraints that LDCs face moving forward?
LDCs that are willing to tackle the Major Constraints they face will have a
better chance of becoming developing countries. If not, they will continue
being LDCs and their citizens will continue to have the lowest standard of
living in the world.
Inside the yellow rectangle below are the list of counties that are the least
developed in the world according to the United Nations.
Why are some countries less or least developed while others are not?
Remember in the map above, Botswana has been upgraded from a least-
developed country of the world to a developing country of the word. In 2019
the World Bank of Botswana gave the reasons for this country's turnaround.
"One of the world’s poorest countries at independence in 1966,
it rapidly became one of the world’s development success stories.
Significant mineral (diamond) wealth, good governance, prudent
economic management and a relatively small population of slightly
more than two million, have made it an upper middle-income country."
The same reasons given in Botswana's rise in becoming a developing country,
plus several other reasons, are shown in the lessons below that I wrote in 2003.
The Major Constraints for LDCs shown in the slide shows below have data from
2002, but realize that the Major Constraints still hold true today (2020).
