developing country

American  

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of developing country

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

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

It is the largest yet and the first in a developing country, with India taking the opportunity to push its ambitions to catch up with the United States and China.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

In every developing country in which I have worked, fear lived just under the collective skin of the people.

From Slate • Oct. 29, 2025

Normally it would be a developing country, or perhaps the eurozone in the 2010s and infamously the UK in 2022.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2025

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 Linebarger, Paul Myron Anthony