Developing countries, and/or the inaccurate, out-of-date terms majority world, Third world and the "South" all refer to the countries that rank the lowest on the Human Development Index.
History
The "South" or "Global South"
The Global South carries strong connotations of division, emphasizing the geographic division that correlates to some extent with the distribution of poverty. It has the advantage of offering a convenient shorthand (such as South-South or South to North knowledge transfer).
However it is inaccurate and perhaps unhelpful in suggesting a simple division into two regions, and in suggesting that the nations in question are further South than the most developed nations. Consider Australia and Mongolia as two obvious counter-examples. Further, consider Albania, Japan and Malaysia as counter-examples to the idea of countries in the same region belonging to the same economic class.
Economic growth
Developing countries generally have a (much) higher economic growth than developed countries. See the World Economic Outlook 2012 map The downside of this however that this sparks more urbanization which negatively effects the environment in these (still relatively pristine) countries.
Notes and references
Template:Reflist The concept of Fair Trade Photography evolved from the idea that photographers of the majority world were excluded from their self representation. An Internet portal www.majorityworld.com has been set up to promote the work of majority world photographers.