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

Malpass, who ran the World Bank from 2019 to 2023, also said that Beijing's claim to be a developing nation was no longer credible.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Both Japan and China are major development partners of Bangladesh, which strives to graduate from the least developed to a developing nation by 2026 on a World Trade Organization list.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 28, 2022

While it is the world's second-biggest economy, the United Nations classifies China as a developing nation.

From Reuters • Nov. 19, 2022

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

From The 2002 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency