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

"And yet they still have the pretence of being a developing country in the WTO and in the World Bank, and they could suspend that," Malpass added.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

The summit -- attended by tens of thousands including top tech CEOs -- was the fourth annual global meeting to discuss the promises and pitfalls of AI, and the first hosted by a developing country.

From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 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

Situated in the midst of a rapidly developing country the enterprises of these free Negroes increased in importance every year.

From The Journal of Negro History, Volume 6, 1921 by Various