[thw_9a83c]

Such grouping is based on dubious theories. For example, China is classified as a "developing economy" (red), even though it is one of only three countries with the independent capability to send humans into Earth's orbit using its own launch systems and spacecraft.

[Legend2440]

China has had massive economic growth in recent years, but were undisputedly a developing country prior to that growth.

They may deserve to be reclassified now, although their GDP per capita is still much lower than the US.

[simonh]

Only because their population is so huge. Their Dollar GDP is about 2/3 that of the USA and is 4.5x that of Japan. In a sense it’s set of highly developed urban industrial zones that also has a massive underdeveloped rural area.

[freefrog334433]

GDP PPP is being used to compare countries productivity more often now. Australia has high GDP but low productivity as most is sunk into expensive, unproductive real estate. Every country has their rust belts and undeveloped rural areas.

[smsm42]

And that's why it is called "developing" - because some parts are developed but some are massively underdeveloped.

[simonh]

Sure, and I'm not arguing that designation is wrong, just that people have a tendency to package up a lot of assumptions with the developing country status that don't necessarily apply. It's a technical designation that needs to be taken into context.

My wife is Chinese and last year we went to my father in law's home village in Hebei and stayed with his brother and his family. They have a really nice bungalow they moved into about 10 years ago in a compound right next to the decaying remains of their former house. Almost the whole village has been rebuilt in the last few decades. Hardly anywhere in China is anything like the way it was 30 years ago.

Growing up in Shropshire in the 70s and 80s there were plenty of people in the little villages and isolated farm houses that lived like it was still the 1800s. France too in the early 2000s. Development is never evenly distributed.

[smsm42]

True, that's why they use aggregate measures like gdp per capita, to get the big picture. And China's one is still quite low. Compared even to Britain (which is not a rich country, below average in Europe), though of course there are a lot of people in China doing better thatn somd in Europe.

[smsm42]

Sending humans to orbit while leaving millions of other humans starving on Earth is not a sign of great economy. China undoubtedly made a lot of progress in recent decades, but it also started from a very low point. Its GDP per capita has improved greatly but still way lower than most Western countries.

[gowld]

China (and India) are near the border, which is creeping downward as nations develop economically.

Australia is the funny one.