developing country

American  

noun

• developing countries
  plural

1. a country having a standard of living or level of industrial production well below that possible with financial or technical aid; a country that is not yet highly industrialized.

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developing country British  

noun

1. a nonindustrialized poor country that is seeking to develop its resources by industrialization

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• developing countries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of developing country

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

developing country

The stocks powering them are neither dowdy bargains nor typical of a developing country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

"As a still developing country we have limited containment capacity... Our public health sector is in shambles," said a nurse in Nairobi, who asked for anonymity.

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

"They present themselves as a developing country when they're the second biggest economy in the world and in many ways rich," he said.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

The Seattle-based waste service is geared toward people who worry their waste will end up in the landfill, or get exported to a developing country in Asia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2026

In a developing country like China it seemed to him probable that the ends of ming shêng could best be served in many fields by private enterprise.

From The Political Doctrines of Sun Yat-sen: An Exposition of the San Min Chu I by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger