Norway, Australia and Switzerland are the world's three most developed countries according to the United Nations' Human Development Index.
Does that mean those countries are no longer developing?
United Nations Human Development Index. Dark green indicates the highest level of development. Yellow, orange, red? Not so much. Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Imagine if the Australian government went all-in on coal mining, to the detriment of the environment, and massively cut their science budget. It's not that hard to imagine if you follow Australian politics (which I don't suggest you do; it's painful), because that's pretty much exactly what the Australian government does.
Imagine if, say, China forged ahead with renewable energy and education. China currently has the world's largest installed capacity of hydro, solar and wind power. The number of universities in China has trebled since the turn of the century, at a rate of nearly 2 new universities per week. There are currently over 37 million university students in China. That's 150% of Australia's population.
Now apply these trajectories over 50 years. Would China still be a “developing” country? Would Australia still be number 2 in the world? Probably not.
Every country is a developing country.
Australia might be the second most developed country in the world, but this is someone's home in Canberra. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons
Patting yourself on the back and saying you're “developed” only incites complacency. Every country has inequality, poverty, illiteracy, disease, crime, social injustices, government corruption, and corporate corruption.
We need to stop being so arrogant with our NATO and our OECD and our G20, and help each other grow and develop together, for the betterment of homo sapiens sapiens and every other species living on this planet.
As for first world, second world and third world, well, they're Cold War terms referencing allegiance to the US, Russia, or neither. They need to die a quiet death.
People like to measure and categorize so I'm not surprised this kind of lists exist. I might even give a boost to 'less developed' countries like China to invest in education in an attempt to rise in the rankings.
But excellent point you make in the way they measure it. Not only current level of development and education should be accounted for but also the efforts to improve.
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Interesting article. I learned something new, as I didn't realize where the first world, second world, and third world terms came from.
Totally agree with the sentiment. So-called developed countries become way too complacent, or even slide backwards, while some 'developing' countries, e.g. China, are making big strides in improving conditions for their citizens, reducing environmental damage, etc. For better or worse, China starts to take over leadership while other countries sit around navel-gazing and talking about how great they are, but not actually doing anything great.
I very much had Trump's "shithole countries" comments in mind while writing this.
Fortunately, I don't think we use first, second, or third world that much anymore. Do we even really have any real second world countries?
I think first and third world are still fairly commonly used, although their definitions have been perverted. Second world is rarely used, but when it is used, it refers to countries that aren't absolutely stricken with poverty, but aren't quite as developed as first world countries either. South Africa, Turkey and Mexico are a few examples. But it's an idiotic terminology in my opinion.