developing nation

Cultural  

1. A nation where the average income is much lower than in industrial nations, where the economy relies on a few export crops, and where farming is conducted by primitive methods. In many developing nations, rapid population growth threatens the supply of food. Developing nations have also been called underdeveloped nations. Most of them are in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. (See also Third World.)

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Example Sentences

More than 400,000 Cuban military and support staff served in Africa, one of the largest deployments ever of a developing nation in the Cold War.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 2026

"A five-day week culture is not what a rapidly developing nation of our size needs," said Sajjan Jindal, chairman of the JSW Group of companies.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2023

The setting of this year’s summit, Egypt, a developing nation in Africa, seemed to give the initiative a symbolic push.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 7, 2022

It also served as a conduit of Western culture — rock ‘n’ roll and reggae music, exotic foods and foreign fashion — at a time when South Korea was still a postwar, developing nation.

From New York Times • Nov. 5, 2022

Bahamas, The:   The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an   economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking.

From The 2001 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency