Less developed country (LDC)
A country showing:
(1) a poverty level of income;
(2) a high rate of population increase;
(3) a substantial portion of its workers employed in agriculture;
(4) a low proportion of adult literacy;
(5) high unemployment; and
(6) a significant reliance of a few items for export.
Terms such as third world, poor, developing nations, and underdeveloped have been used to describe less developed countries.