Describing some of the countries as developed countries means that they are certain defined criteria and features, which are considered as symbol of high development. The criteria, which have been set for such classification of such countries, are sometimes considered as contentious and are debated by different authorities and organizations. However some of the most accepted and frequently used parameters or indicators for measuring development, and which are considered as the common characteristics of the developed countries are high rate of economic growth, high income per capita, a low rate of unemployment, population growth rate, infant mortality rate, literacy rate, health of the population, industrialized economy etc.. One of the most common feature that can be seen in countries that are termed as developed countries or which fall in the category of developed world or first world countries, is that they are highly industrialized and feature a strong and comprehensive infrastructure. The developed world countries are a term as the industrialized nations, the civilized world, or the rich countries. A high Human development index, which is published by the United Nations on an annual basis, is also termed as common characteristics of the developed world countries. We will only throw light on some of these common characteristics just to get an idea of what they are.
One of the most highly used indicator for measuring the economic growth and development of a country is its Gross National Income per capita (GNI). It is a common characteristic for the developed world countries to feature a high rate of GNI. IT is also called the Gross national Product of a country and is the sum of value of the good and services produced in an economy during a year, and includes the net foreign income from abroad. When arriving at the gross national income, the effect of the currency exchange rate is adjusted for the purchasing power parity. Its population for arriving at the gross national income per capita divides the total income of the country. According to a report submitted by the World Bank in 2012, the GNI per capita of the developed countries is more than $12,476 on average for a year.
Human Development Index (HDI) is a more recently used indicator for measuring the development of countries. Countries that are considered as developed countries have a high HDI. The United Nations measure the HDI in three ways. The first way is to measure the level of health and life expectancy in the respective country. The second way is measuring through the adult literacy rate. The third measure is measured through the gross domestic product per capita. Combing all these measures, we get the HDI for a country. The HDI rating is high for the developed countries. In terms of the HDI, USA came at the fourth place and was behind Norway, Australia, and New Zealand.
Some of the population characteristics of the developed countries are also common. One of such population characteristics is the infant mortality rate. However, the rate differs for even the developed countries, but it is always less than the developing or underdeveloped countries. Infant Mortality Rate gives the percentage of how many newborn children die before they reach the age of 1 year. ON average, the developing countries have an infant mortality rate, which is about 18 times higher than the rate in the developed countries. Therefore, a common characteristic between the developed countries is that they have an infant mortality rate of less than one percent. It is because the developed countries provide people with high access to medical care, they have a proper and safe sanitation system, and the prevalence of diseases is low as a result.
Another most common characteristic of the developed countries is that they are highly industrialized. Now the term industrialization has a broad definition, but in terms of defining the developed countries, industrialization means that these countries allow for policy making to promote their local industry. Developed countries have a higher degree of exports as compared to the imports. They do not engage themselves in importing resources or finished goods, which are efficiently produced in the economy. There is optimal utilization of the natural resources and the potential of labor to keep the circle of the industry flowing. The tax and trade policies of the developed countries are encouraging for the local industry. This is turn also invites foreign investors to make investments in the country. USA and United Kingdom being highly industrialized nations attract foreign investment from all over the world. This causes to increase their national output and ultimately increases the standard of living.
Other common characteristics of the developed world countries is that they have a relatively smaller population growth rate per year, a relatively smaller death arte per year, the majority of the population is urban, they have a life style market economy, and they provide for open trade with other developed and developing countries of the world.
Works Cited
Cunningham, Margaret. Population characteristics of highly developed and developing countries. 2014. Web. 23 September 2014. <http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/population-characteristics-of-highly-developed-developing-countries.html#lesson>.
Nationsonline.org. Countries of the first world. 2005. Web. 23 September 2014. <http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/first_world.htm>.
Pasquali, Valentina. Countries by income. 9 April 2010. Web. 23 September 2014. <https://www.gfmag.com/global-data/economic-data/pagfgt-countries-by-income-group>.
Saltavaris. The characteristics of developed and developing countries. 1 September 2011. 23 September 2014. <http://dailytape.com/2011/09/01/the-characteristics-of-developed-and-developing-countries.html>.
World Bank. World development indicators. Washington: World Bak Publications, 2005. Print.
