How are nations determined to be 3rd world countries?

Who decides this and which countries are 1st and 2nd? The shithole of India doesn't even have an established sewer system, yet their economy is ok these days. Is India a 3rd world country? What about Thailand?

• Yes, India is still a 3rd world country, and it's economy is only "ok" in so far as it's better than it used to be. The place is still a shit hole of the first order (at least that's one way in which it's first).

• These are Cold-War era designations that stuck. The first world is the western, capitalistic world. The second world are those nations that are communistic. The third world are those nations which are neither, and are sort of "up for grabs."

  History%20Dude

• I thinks that's how it started, r2, but now it is as OP and r1 describes -- "shit holes." It's funny how now, if you want to control a country, you don't need to invade it, only rain a lot of money on it. If China wants the Philippines to go Commie, a few trillion on the people themselves would have them denouncing the US in no time.

• If a nation doesn't have a series of reality shows produced by Andy Cohen or Ryan Seacrest, it's a 3rd world country.

• It's done with Pantone swatches matched against skin color.

• Are Middle Eastern countries 2nd world? What about Israel?

• or Dubai

• What about Antarctica? Won't somebody PLEASE think about Antarctica?

• No, "Second World" meant Communist countries: the USSR, People's Republic of China, and all their client states. "Third World" referred to those countries that belonged neither to the liberal capitalist world nor to the socialist bloc. They tended to refer to themselves as "non-aligned."

• Third world to me: Most of Africa. Most of Asia. Most of the Middle East. Most of the deep South.

• Israel was "First World"; Dubai and other countries in the region would have been technically "Third World."

• R10, you seem to be equating "Third World" with "undeveloped", which is not what it meant (past tense, because since the demise of the socialist bloc it's not a currently concept).

• ^current concept, of course. I had written "not currently of any value" and didn't edit properly.

• So who's the second world? How come we don't see that term as much? Here's how I think of it, but I could be wrong. 1st world-USA, Canada, France, UK, Switzerland, etc 2nd world--Egypt, Romania, Thailand, etc 3rd world--most of Africa, parts of Central/South America am I close???

• Well I would say living in Bangkok I think the standard of living is quite alright... All of my staff is Thai and they seem to be doing well...

• [quote]So who's the second world? How come we don't see that term as much? The Soviet Union and the Communist counties of Eastern Europe. We "don't see that term as much" because those countries aren't Communist anymore.

• Pictures were shown to Bette Davis-if she replied "What a dump!" they were deemed third world.

  Martha

• Israel was third world. They didn't have their own t.v. station until 1967.

• First world was OECD

• [quote]Israel was third world. They didn't have their own t.v. station until 1967. Again, "Third World" didn't mean poor or undeveloped. It meant non-aligned, an ally of neither the US nor the USSR.

• R17 wins forbest reply.

• Those countries whose inhabitants' ancestors were native to Earth, the third world from the sun, became third world. Those whose ancestors have DNA from other planets in this solar system, especially from Venus, were deemed second world. That is increasingly rare given that first worlders, those with DNA from non-solar system alien genetic experiments to speed up evolution in ancient hominids, came to predominate the planet given their superior characteristics.

• [quote]It meant non-aligned, an ally of neither the US nor the USSR. Yes, that is what it meant in the past. That meaning ended decades ago. "Third World" is an expression used today but it has nothing to do with a nation's alliance with another nation.

• Even though the term "Third World" is still used in popular parlance, in academia and the geopolitical arena, it is considered politically incorrect, insensitive, and, along with the terms "First World" and "Second World," outdated. When I was in college back in the '90s, we were instructed to use the terms "developed country" and "developing country" because dividing nations into First and Third World categories automatically implied that there was a hierarchy of nations. We were supposed to presume (pretend?) that in this Global Village all nations are of equal importance (I can just hear some of you DLers snickering). Also, consider a country like China. Its de jure Communist status would've automatically placed it in classical Second World category. However, its strong economy and highly developed financial/technical/industrial sectors places it in First World. But, much of China is still largely agrarian with huge populations living in poverty, and large disparities of wealth, health, and education increasing, giving the country a Third World feel. So, obviously, these first, second, third world labels no longer accurately apply to China and many other countries.

• Human Development Index. It's a formula with life expectancy, education, and economy as variables.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index