CIA developed country list

In an appendix to the CIA The World Factbook, there is an entry identifying developed countries (DCs). This list of DCs is identical to the list in The World Factbook published as early as 1991.

The CIA notes that the DCs form

The CIA argues that this list

However, ten new countries have joined the OECD since this list was created in the early 1990s: Mexico (1994), the Czech Republic (1995), South Korea (1996), Hungary (1996), Poland (1996), Slovakia (2000), Chile (2010), Estonia (2010), Slovenia (2010) and Israel (2010).

The CIA adds

to the list, alongside the OECD members. The criteria for including these states are not mentioned.

The CIA argues that the countries in its list are

The CIA notes that these countries

These descriptions are based on 2010 GDP per capita figures. As of 2012, four members of the OECD have a GDP per capita of less than $15,000 in nominal terms (Poland, Hungary, Turkey and Mexico) and, as of 2011, only four OPEC countries have a GDP per capita that is higher than $20,000 (Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia).

The CIA notes that the 33 DCs are as follows:

The CIA concludes its definition with the note that this list is;

This description is based on an old version of the IMF's list and also erroneously implies that Mexico is on the CIA's Developed Country (DC) list. In the same way, the new IMF's list also includes Malta, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia among "advanced economies".

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