When an economy grows and enables an evolution towards a better quality of life, we speak of development . A developed country , in this framework, is one that allows its inhabitants to satisfy their needs in freedom and in a safe environment .
Economic development is usually associated with a good quality of life . This can be measured through different indicators that analyze wealth , access to health and education , infrastructure and other issues.
A developed country, in this way, has a high gross domestic product (GDP) , as well as high per capita income . These are nations that have equipped hospitals, roads in good condition and modern educational centers, to name a few possibilities.
Generally, developed countries are those that are industrialized . At the other extreme, underdeveloped or developing countries base their economies on agriculture . Therefore, while underdeveloped countries sell raw materials without added value, developed countries add value and offer higher priced products.
Many times a differentiation is drawn between the first world (whose members have reached an advanced degree of human development) and the third world (with members who suffer from economic and social backwardness). Developed countries are located in the first world, while underdeveloped or peripheral countries are in the third world .
In short, a developed country is rich , or at least has wealth above average. This allows it to lay the foundations so that its citizens, for the most part, do not suffer material deprivation and can take advantage of their potential.
An indicator that is among the most used to determine the level of development of a country is the human development index , which is often mentioned as HDI . Various factors are taken into account in the HDI, such as education , wealth and health.
On the other hand, we have the per capita margins of developed countries , an indicator established by the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), an organization located in the United States that since 1944 has fulfilled functions such as granting financial resources to countries that cannot cope. to their debts by relying solely on their own industries.
Per capita margins start at US$20,000, although in the case of purchasing power parity this value starts at US$22,000. This last concept, the PPP , is defined as the final sum of all the goods and services that a given country has acquired at the monetary value of another, which is taken as a reference.
There is no single criterion to qualify the development of a country, although the most reliable and generalized is the concept of quality of life , which brings together a wide and varied series of aspects , from the social to the mental, including the community and medicine, politics and sociology.
Although a single criterion cannot be used infallibly to study these aspects, we can say that in more than one case the following three points speak of a country that can be classified as developed:
* has a very high HDI, in accordance with what is determined by the United Nations (UN);
* The IMF statutes allow us to point out that it has the status of an advanced economy ;
* Their income is high, according to what the World Bank indicates.
The former Secretary General of the UN , Kofi Annan , provided as part of his work a definition of the concept of a developed country that is very easy to understand, although he shows us how difficult it is for a society to achieve this goal: it is one in which the inhabitants can live in freedom and enjoy health in a safe environment.