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Definition Developing Countries

The definition of developing or less affluent countries to be used by IMU has been revised by the IMU Executive Committee in October 2019, based on a proposal by the CDC.
The list consists of all the countries classified by the World Bank (WB) in the categories: Low income (<USD 1.025), Lower middle income (USD 1.026 – 3.995), and Upper middle income (USD 3.996 – 12.375) in accordance with the WB Database by July 2019. These are all countries with Gross National Income (GNI) per capita in USD, not exceeding USD 12.375, with the WB data of 2018. See https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD

As in the previous term, the following subdivision in priority groups has been established, for different purposes:

Priority 1 (WB Low income) - GNI per capita in USD below 1.025
Priority 2 (WB Lower middle income) - GNI per capita in USD 1.026 – 3.995
Priority 3 (WB Upper middle income, A) - GNI per capita in USD 3.996 – 6.785
Priority 4 (WB Upper middle income, B) - GNI per capita in USD 6.786 – 9.575
Priority 5 (WB Upper middle income, C) - GNI per capita in USD 9.576 – 12.375

At any moment, IMU member countries can ask the IMU to consider inclusion/exclusion as a developing or less affluent country. The application should be motivated and, on the basis of the evidences presented by the country, CDC would make a recommendation to EC for a case-by-case decision. If a country's World Bank status as a developing or less affluent country has changed between the data used to decide on the status and the time of the request, this information should be included as part of the evidence.

Alphabetical list

All countries classified as "developing or less  affluent countries" (based on the GNI from 2018) can be found - listed alphabetically - below

  • A
  • Afghanistan (Priority 1)
    Albania (Priority 3)
    Algeria (Priority 3)
    Angola (Priority 2)
    Argentina (Priority 5)
    Armenia (Priority 3)
    Azerbaijan (Priority 3)
  • B
  • Bangladesh (Priority 2)
    Belarus (Priority 3)
    Belize (Priority 3)
    Benin (Priority 1)
    Bhutan (Priority 2)
    Bolivia (Priority 2)
    Bosnia and Herzegovina (Priority 3)
    Botswana (Priority 4)
    Brazil (Priority 4)
    Bulgaria (Priority 4)
    Burkina Faso (Priority 1)
    Burundi (Priority 1)
  • C
  • Cabo Verde (Priority 2)
    Cambodia (Priority 2)
    Cameroon (Priority 2)
    Central African Republic (Priority 1)
    Chad (Priority 1)
    China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) (Priority 4)
    Colombia (Priority 3)
    Comoros (Priority 2)
    Congo, Dem. Rep. (Priority 1)
    Congo, Rep. (Priority 2)
    Costa Rica (Priority 5)
    Côte d'Ivoire (Priority 2)
    Cuba (Priority 4)
  • D
  • Djibouti (Priority 2)
    Dominica (Priority 4)
    Dominican Republic (Priority 4)
  • E
  • Ecuador (Priority 3)
    Egypt, Arab Rep. (Priority 2)
    El Salvador (Priority 2)
    Equatorial Guinea (Priority 4)
    Eritrea (Priority 1)
    Eswatini (Priority 2)
    Ethiopia (Priority 1)
  • F
  • Fiji (Priority 3)
  • G
  • Gabon (Priority 4)
    Gambia, The (Priority 1)
    Georgia (Priority 3)
    Ghana (Priority 2)
    Grenada (Priority 4)
    Guatemala (Priority 3)
    Guinea (Priority 1)
    Guinea-Bissau (Priority 1)
    Guyana (Priority 3)
  • H
  • Haiti (Priority 1)
    Honduras (Priority 2)
  • I
  • India (Priority 2)
    Indonesia (Priority 2)
    Iran, Islamic Rep. (Priority 3)
    Iraq (Priority 3)
  • J
  • Jamaica (Priority 3)
    Jordan (Priority 3)
  • K
  • Kazakhstan (Priority 4)
    Kenya (Priority 2)
    Kiribati (Priority 2)
    Korea, Dem. People´s Rep. (Priority 1)
    Kosovo (Priority 3)
    Kyrgyz Republic (Priority 2)
  • L
  • Lao PDR (Priority 2)
    Lebanon (Priority 4)
    Lesotho (Priority 2)
    Liberia (Priority 1)
    Libya (Priority 3)
  • M
  • Madagascar (Priority 1)
    Malawi (Priority 1)
    Malaysia (Priority 5)
    Maldives (Priority 4)
    Mali (Priority 1)
    Marshall Islands (Priority 3)
    Mauritania (Priority 2)
    Mauritius (Priority 5)
    Mexico (Priority 4)
    Micronesia, Fed. Sts. (Priority 2)
    Moldova Rep. (Priority 2)
    Mongolia (Priority 2)
    Montenegro (Priority 4)
    Morocco (Priority 2)
    Mozambique (Priority 1)
    Myanmar (Priority 2)
  • N
  • Namibia (Priority 3)
    Nauru (Priority 5)
    Nepal (Priority 1)
    Nicaragua (Priority 2)
    Niger (Priority 1)
    Nigeria (Priority 2)
    North Macedonia (Priority 3)
  • P
  • Pakistan (Priority 2)
    Papua New Guinea (Priority 2)
    Paraguay (Priority 3)
    Peru (Priority 3)
    Philippines (Priority 2)
  • R
  • Romania (Priority 5)
    Russian Federation (Priority 5)
    Rwanda (Priority 1)
  • S
  • St. Lucia (Priority 4)
    Samoa (Priority 3)
    Sao Tome and Principe (Priority 2)
    Senegal (Priority 2)
    Serbia (Priority 3)
    Sierra Leone (Priority 1)
    Solomon Islands (Priority 2)
    Somalia (Priority 1)
    South Africa (Priority 3)
    South Sudan (Priority 1)
    Sri Lanka (Priority 3)
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Priority 4)
    Sudan (Priority 2)
    Suriname (Priority 3)
    Syrian Arab Republic (Priority 1)
  • T
  • Tajikistan (Priority 1)
    Tanzania (Priority 1)
    Thailand (Priority 3)
    Timor-Leste (Priority 2)
    Togo (Priority 1)
    Tonga (Priority 3)
    Tunisia (Priority 2)
    Turkey (Priority 5)
    Turkmenistan (Priority 3)
    Tuvalu (Priority 3)
  • U
  • Uganda (Priority 1)
    Ukraine (Priority 2)
    Uzbekistan (Priority 2)
  • V
  • Vanuatu (Priority 2)
    Venezuela, RB (Priority 5)
    Vietnam (Priority 2)
  • W
  • West Bank and Gaza (Priority 2)
  • Y
  • Yemen, Rep. (Priority 1)
  • Z
  • Zambia (Priority 2)
    Zimbabwe (Priority 2)