Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This list should say: "Favorite developing nation" rather than "favorite third world country"
The problem is people associate the term "3rd world" with how developed/underdeveloped their country is. Therefore, when people hear 3rd world they think dirt roads and mud houses. By that standard there is no way a country like China is a third world country. It has one of the largest economies in the world and many parts of the country highly developed, just look at the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, and HongKong. Even Brazil and Malaysia are developed to a certain degree.
The 1st, 2nd, 3rd world classification dates back to the Cold War era.
As I stated before in a previous comment that the ORIGINAL definitions do not have to do with a country's state of wealth, but rather if they were allied with the Western Democracies (1st world), the Soviet Union and other communist countries (2nd world), or neutral/non aligned countries (3rd world).
Since Saudi Arabia chose a more neutral stance in the Cold War it was classified as a 3rd World country.
This misunderstanding is exactly why I proposed calling this thread: "Favorite Developing Countries"
This list should say: "Favorite developing nation" rather than "favorite third world country"
The problem is people associate the term "3rd world" with how developed/underdeveloped their country is. Therefore, when people hear 3rd world they think dirt roads and mud houses.
Not really.
At least that's not what I am thinking of, picturing the "third world country."
Russia ( for example) had plenty of "dirt roads" back in Soviet times, yet it was not a third world country, but second world country (not first, BECAUSE of those roads, lol.)
What matters I think in defining the rate of the country is following;
Are all children living in the country required to go to school from the age of 7? Are any under-age children allowed to work? How is pre-natal care in the country, what are the social services for women, sick and elderly people? What is the stand on marriage institution? Are there slums in the country? Are there homeless children on the streets? How the "guest-workers" are treated and what's the level of corruption in the country in question? How attainable is higher education for people who live there?
Those are the parameters by which the country should be judged I think, because "good roads" and modern sky-scrapers might be only a shiny facade of the society, while what really counts - is the "back-yard."
Some of those countries like Malaysia & Chile are not 3rd world. Still, it's a good list of interesting countries....I voted for Thailand....2nd favorite country in the world after the USA.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This list should say: "Favorite developing nation" rather than "favorite third world country"
