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A least developed country (LDC) is a country that, according to the United Nations, exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed by the UN in its resolution 2768 (XXVI) of 18 November 1971.〔http://www.unitar.org/resource/sites/unitar.org.resource/files/document-pdf/GA-2767-XXVI.pdf〕 A country is classified as a Least Developed Country if it meets three criteria:〔UN-OHRLLS (Criteria for Identification and Graduation of LDCs ).〕〔π http://www.unohrlls.org/en/ldc/related/59/)〕 *Poverty (adjustable criterion: three-year average GNI per capita. (Per 2015 less than US $1,035 to be included, over $1,242 to graduate from the list.) *Human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education and adult literacy) and *Economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters) LDC criteria are reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Countries may "graduate" out of the LDC classification when indicators exceed these criteria. The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) coordinates UN support and provides advocacy services for Least Developed Countries. The classification () applies to 48 countries. Since the LDC category was initiated, only four countries have graduated to ''developing country'' status. The first country to graduate from LDC status was Botswana in 1994. The second country was Cape Verde, in 2007.〔("UN advocate salutes Cape Verde’s graduation from category of poorest States" ), UN News Centre, 14 June 2007.〕 Maldives graduated to ''developing country'' status on 1 January 2011, while Samoa graduated in 2014.〔("Maldives identifies challenges in graduating to a developing country" ), ''UN-OHRLLS'', 23 December 2010〕 It is anticipated that Equatorial Guinea and Vanuatu will be the next countries to be promoted from LDC status. At the UN's fourth conference on LDCs held in May 2011, delegates endorsed a goal targeting the promotion of at least half the current LDC countries within the next ten years.〔 There are three countries which presently meet the criterion for LDC status, but have declined to be included in the index, questioning the validity or accuracy of the CDP's data: Ghana, Papua New Guinea, and Zimbabwe. ==Usage and abbreviations== Least developed countries can be distinguished from developing countries, "less developed countries", "lesser developed countries", or other terms for countries in the so-called Third World. Although many contemporary scholars argue that "Third World" is outdated, irrelevant or inaccurate, others may use the term "Fourth World" in reference to least developed countries (although Fourth World is also used to refer to stateless ethnic groups). The term "less economically developed country" (LEDC) is also used today. However, in order to avoid confusion between "least developed country" and or LEDC "less economically developed country" (which may both be abbreviated as LDC), and to avoid confusion with landlocked developing country (which can be abbreviated as LLDC), "developing country" is generally used in preference to "less-developed country". During a United Nations review in 2009, the UN defined LDCs as countries meeting three criteria, one of which was a three-year average estimate of gross national income (GNI) per capita of less than US $905. Countries with populations over 75 million are excluded.〔(LDCs Default Page ) 〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Least developed country」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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