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A developed country is one that enjoys a relatively high standard of living derived through an industrialised, diversified economy. Countries with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) are generally considered developed countries. This usually coincides with countries that have a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita; however, some countries have achieved a (usually temporarily) high GDP through natural resource exploitation (e.g., Nauru through phosphate extraction and Equatorial Guinea) without developing the diverse industrial and service-based economy necessary for "developed" status.

Synonyms include industrialised countries, more economically developed countries (MEDC) and the First World. Other terms sometimes used to describe the developed/developing country dichotomy are First World/Third World (the term Second World refers to communist states during and since the Cold War); North/South; and industrialised countries/non-industrialised countries. The term Western countries has a similar meaning, but its connotations restrict its usage, especially in Asia.

Different observers and theorists often see different reasons for why certain countries (and not others) enjoy a high level of economic development. Many argue that economic development requires some combination of representative government (or democracy), a free market economic model, and a general lack of corruption. Some hold that rich countries grew wealthy by exploitation of poorer countries in the past, through imperialism and colonialism, or in the present, through the process of globalization.

According to the United Nations Statistics Division:

In the United Nations system there is no established convention for the designation of "developed" and "developing" countries or areas. In common practice, Japan in Asia, Canada and the United States in North America, Australia and New Zealand in Oceania, and Europe are considered "developed" regions or areas. In international trade statistics, the Southern African Customs Union is also treated as a developed region and Israel as a developed country; and countries of eastern Europe and the former U.S.S.R. countries in Europe are not included under either developed or developing regions.

The UN HDI is a statistical measure that gauges a country's level of human development. Countries with an HDI of 0.8 or more — largely corresponding to what the conventional definition of being a 'developed' country is — exhibit high development, and those with an HDI between 0.5 and 0.8 (including many of the former Soviet and Eastern Bloc states) exhibit moderate development. All countries listed here as "developed" posses an HDI over 0.9.

Developed countries

Organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Intelligence Agency, generally agree that the group of developed countries include:

The following European Union member states:

The following non-EU European countries:

The following non-European countries:

Meets most benchmarks of a developed country, but its authorities have consistently resisted being classified as such, citing its lack of development outside the economic and physical infrastructural fields. According to Mr. Kausikan, Singapore's current Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is due to the young country's reluctance in playing the bigger role in international humanitarian efforts that is expected of developed countries.
A relatively newly industrialised country, does not consider itself as developed. Like Singapore, this has led to accusations that it prefers to avoid the obligations placed upon developed nations, and some organizations do not consider it developed. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau are considered developed by some organizations; however, the People's Republic of China, a developing country, claims the sovereignty and land of the first, and exercises sovereignty over the latter two.

• Country classifications