“Third world countries” is an old Cold War–era term that originally meant countries not formally aligned with either the US‑led (First World) or Soviet‑led (Second World) blocs, many of which were in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific. Today, it is widely considered vague and disrespectful, and people usually say “developing countries,” “low‑income countries,” or “least developed countries” instead.

Origin of the term

• The phrase was coined in the early 1950s as part of a “three worlds” system based on political alignment during the Cold War.

• Countries that were neither in NATO nor in the Communist Bloc, including many in the Global South, were labeled “Third World” regardless of their actual income level.

How the meaning changed

• After the Cold War, people began using “third world” to mean countries with high poverty, weaker industrial development, and lower social indicators such as life expectancy and education.

• In practice this often overlaps with what the UN calls “least developed countries” or what the World Bank calls “low‑income countries.”

Why the term is discouraged

• The term suggests a hierarchy (first, second, third) and is viewed as stigmatizing and inaccurate, since some “non‑aligned” states are now wealthy while some allies remain poorer.

• Because of this, international organizations and most researchers avoid “third world” and prefer more precise categories like “developing countries,” “least developed countries,” or “Global South.”

Examples using current terms

• The United Nations currently lists 44 “least developed countries,” most of them in Africa, plus several in Asia and a few in the Caribbean and Pacific.

• Examples include countries such as South Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, Niger, Afghanistan, Haiti, and others that have low Human Development Index scores and face serious structural challenges.

How to refer to these countries

• For respectful, modern language, use terms like “developing countries,” “low‑income countries,” “least developed countries,” or “countries in the Global South,” depending on context.

• When possible, it is better to name the specific country or to refer to a concrete group (for example, “low‑income countries in sub‑Saharan Africa”) rather than use “third world.”