Developed “First” World

The first world, now known as the developed, industrialized, or Western world, are terms used to describe countries that have collectively attained a good standard of living, a high per capita gross national product and a strongly diversified technology base. The United Nations (UN) state that “developed countries tend to have high gross domestic products, high literacy rates, minimal spread of poverty, and are technologically advanced.”

Standard of living describes the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people in any given country. It is generally measured by real (i.e., inflation adjusted) income per person, and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country is defined as the total value of final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a year, regardless ...