The world’s 48 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) – a special category of developing nations created by the General Assembly in 1971 but refused recognition by the World Bank – have long been described as “poorest of the poor” in need of special international assistance for their economic survival.
But only three – Botswana, Cape Verde and the Maldives – have so far “graduated” from being classified as an LDC to a developing nation, based primarily on their improved social and economic performance.
At a U.N.-sponsored ministerial meeting of Asian and Pacific nations in Nepal last month, four more LDCs, namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Laos, were singled out as countries on the “threshold of graduation” based on their recent economic and social indicators.
And as economies improve, some predict that at least six more countries – Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Samoa, Angola and Equatorial Guinea (two African nations dependent on oil incomes) – are likely to be forced out of the ranks of LDCs, possibly by 2020 or beyond. (ipsnews.net)