A developed country or "more developed country" (MDC), is a sovereign state that has a highly developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less developed nations. Most commonly the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development is gross domestic product (GDP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries are classified as being developed are contentious issues.
Developed countries have post-industrial economies, meaning the service sector provides more wealth than the industrial sector. They are contrasted with developing countries, which are in the process of industrialization, or undeveloped countries, which are pre-industrial and almost entirely agrarian. According to the International Monetary Fund, advanced economies comprise 65.8% of global nominal GDP and 52.1% of global GDP (PPP) in 2010. In 2011, the ten largest advanced economies by either nominal GDP or GDP (PPP) are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Spain, Republic of Korea, and Australia.
Read more about Developed Country: Similar Terms, Definition and Criteria, Human Development Index (HDI), Average Disposable Wage of OECD Members, Other Lists of Developed Countries
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“But country folks who live beneath
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—Arthur Hugh Clough (1819–1861)