LDC status

March 14, 2023

Bhutan will become seventh nation to graduate from United Nations’ list of Least Developed Country (LDC) status by 2023 end.
Bhutan was included in the first group of ‘Least Developed Countries’ in 1971.
- However, over the last few decades, it has made remarkable progress on a variety of socio-economic metrics.
LDCs are developing countries listed by UN that exhibit lowest indicators of socioeconomic development.
Currently, UN lists 46 countries that qualify as LDCs.
List of LDCs is reviewed every three years by Committee for Development Policy (CDP).
UN identifies three criteria for a country to be classified as an LDC
- Gross national income (GNI) per capita below threshold of USD 1,230 over a three-year average.
- Perform poorly on a composite human assets index based on indicators including nutrition, health and education.
- Country must demonstrate economic vulnerability such as being prone to natural disasters and possessing structural economic constraints.