Countries of the First World

List of Countries of the First World The term First World originally refers to the capitalist, industrialized countries, within the Western European and United States' sphere of influence, (e.g. member states of the Whoever uses the term today in a variety of meanings, mostly tries to describe the top end of the evolution of countries. Nations with the most advanced economy, highest st technology, the greates influence in the world. The term could also mean: industrialized nations, developed countries, rich countries or the civilized world, in contrast to the poor, under-developed, un-civilized, exploited nations of the so called Third World. also included other industrialized capitalist countries such as Japan and some of the former British

First World - Industrialized Countries, within the Western European and United States' Sphere of Influence
NATO Member States during the Cold War

Belgium France Iceland Netherlands Spain (since 1982) USA

Canada Germany (West) Italy Norway Turkey

Denmark Greece Luxembourg Portugal United Kingdom

US Aligned States Israel Japan Korea (South)

Former British Colonies Australia New Zealand

Neutral and more or less industrialized capitalist countries Austria Switzerland Ireland Sweden

Top 10: First World Countries in terms of their Gross National Income
The GNI based on purchasing-power-parity (PPP) per capita in int'l Dollars. # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Luxembourg Norway United States Ireland Bermuda (overseas territory of the UK) Iceland Denmark San Marino Canada Switzerland Country Region Western Europe Northern Europe North America Northern Europe North America Northern Europe Northern Europe Southern Europe North America Western Europe GNI per Capita 66 821 41 941 41 557 40 003 *36 000 35 686 34 718 *34 600 34 444 33 168

Sources: IMF -- International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2005 (*) CIA The World Factbook (covers countries not mentioned by the IMF, information may refer to 2004 or earlier.) Slightly different figures you will find at The World Bank Group

Full list of National Economic Accounts for Countries and Regions around the World

Top Ten: First World Countries in Terms of their Human Development

The Human Development Index (HDI) is published annually by the UN. It measures the average achievements in a country in three basic dimensions of human development:
A long and healthy life

as measured by life expectancy at birth.

Knowledge

as measured by the adult literacy rate (with two-thirds weight) and the combined primary,secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (with one-third weight).
A decent standard of living

as measured by GDP per capita* (PPP US$). Below the list of 10 countries with the highest Human Development Index (HDI)

Country

Life expect. at birth

Adult literacy rate

Combined gross enrolment

GDP per capita (PPP US$)

Life expect. index

Educat. index

GDP index

HDI

GDP rank minus HDI rank

1 Norway 2 Sweden 3 Australia 4 Canada 5 Netherlands 6 Belgium 7 Iceland 8 USA 9 Japan 10 Ireland

78.9 80.0 79.1 79.3 78.3 78.7 79.7 77.0 81.5 76.9

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

98 114 113 95 99 111 90 92 84 90

36,600 26,050 28,260 29,480 29,100 27,570 29,750 35,750 26,940 36,360

0.90 0.92 0.90 0.90 0.89 0.90 0.91 0.87 0.94 0.86

0.99 0.99 0.99 0.98 0.99 0.99 0.96 0.97 0.94 0.96

0.99 0.93 0.94 0.95 0.95 0.94 0.95 0.98 0.93 0.98

0.956 0.946 0.946 0.943 0.942 0.942 0.941 0.939 0.938 0.936

1 19 9 5 6 7 1 -4 6 -7

Source: UN Human Development Report 2004

Country List of Human Development Index (HDI)

Top 10 First World Countries in Terms of Press Freedom

Reporters Without Borders is publishing annually an index of the countries of the world according to their respect for press freedom. The 10 highest-ranked countries with the most media independence are in Europe. Below the list of countries, at the top of the fourth World Press Freedom Index.

Rank 1 -

Country Denmark Finland Iceland Ireland Netherlands Norway

Region Northern Europe Northern Europe Northern Europe Northern Europe Western Europe Northern Europe

Score 0,50 0,50 0,50 0,50 0,50 0,50

8 9 -

Switzerland Slovakia Czech Republic Slovenia

Western Europe Eastern Europe Eastern Europe Southern Europe

0,50 0,75 1,00 1,00

Source: Reporters Without Borders