The level of economic development varies greatly among countries in the world. The so-called developed countries and developing countries are divided into two types according to their economic strength.

Compared with developing countries, developed countries are relatively developed economically. Including most countries in Europe, the United States and Canada in North America, Japan in Asia, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania. The economies of these countries are generally more developed and richer. However, the economic development between them is also unbalanced. The United States and the Soviet Union are the two most prominent countries. They are rich in resources, strong in economic strength and high in science and technology. In the world gross national product, the United States ranks first and the Soviet Union ranks second (from 65438 to 0979, the United States accounted for nearly a quarter of the world gross national product and the Soviet Union accounted for more than a tenth). In addition to the United States and the Soviet Union, other developed countries have strong economic strength. Their territory accounts for about 17% of the world's settled land area and their population accounts for about 15% of the world, but their gross national product accounts for more than two-fifths of the world. However, most of the resources in these countries are relatively poor, raw materials and fuels are heavily imported, and industrial products need to be sold in the international market.

Developing countries are rich in resources, but they have been in a colonial and semi-colonial state for a long time in history and their economies are underdeveloped. After the Second World War, China became independent one after another, and its economy developed rapidly, but its economic strength was still relatively weak, accounting for only one fifth of the world's gross national product, so it was called a developing country. Of course, the situation in developing countries is also different, and the level of economic development is also very different. Oil exporting countries with high income (per capita GNP 1 10,000 USD or more); There are also countries with a certain level of industrialization, such as Romania, Yugoslavia, Mexico, Brazil and Singapore. Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania also have countries and regions with low levels of economic development.

The term "least developed country" first appeared in the Algerian Charter adopted by the Group of 77 in 1967. 197 1 year, the United Nations General Assembly formulated the criteria for least developed countries, and listed 24 countries as least developed countries.

At present, there are 49 least developed countries approved by the United Nations in the world, including 9 countries in Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Yemen.