Question

According to the United Nations’ stages of economic development for classifying countries with respect to levels of industrialization, a country that is industrially underdeveloped, agrarian, has subsistence society with rural populations and extremely low per capita income levels falls under the category of _____.

A. first world countries
B. least-developed countries
C. less-developed countries
D. newly industrialized countries
E. frontier markets

Answer 1

The correct answer is letter "B": least-developed countries.

Step-by-step explanation:

Least-developed countries or LDCs are low-income countries highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have a low level of human assets. The United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) reviews the list of countries every 3 years and makes recommendations on inclusions and graduations of the countries if eligible. In order to classify those countries, they use 3 criteria:

* Human assets: imply secondary school enrollment, under-nourishment, maternal mortality, adult literacy and under-five mortality.

* Economic vulnerability: include population, remoteness, export concentration, victims of natural disasters, the share of agriculture and fishing in Gross Domestic Product, share of population in coastal zones, instability of exports and agriculture .

* Income per capita: according to the 2015 per capita threshold for the graduation of the LCD list is USD 1242.

In order for a country to graduate from the LCD list, 2 out of the 3 criteria must be improved after the review of the CDP in a period of 3 years, twice consecutively.