What is the Third World?

Updated September 9, 2022 | Paul Kersey

What does "Third World" actually mean?

The "Third World" is a term whose meaning has always been a bit vague. It came into use during the cold war, and referred to nations that were not aligned with either the United States or the Soviet Union. Over time its meaning evolved, having less to do with ideology and more to do with overall stability and wealth -- Third World nations were generally poor, corrupt, and chaotic.

When the Soviet Union fell, the notion of a third world became less useful, and while you still occasionally hear references to the Third World, it is less likely to be a reference to a specific country and more likely a general description of economic or political failure, as when former President Trump alleged that American elections reminded him of those in the third world.

The Three "Worlds" of the Cold War

At the end of the Second World War the "Big Three" powers that defeated Germany and Japan, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, had an inevitable falling out. The Soviet Union's commitment to Marxism could not be reconciled with the democratic and capitalist ways of the western powers. The "Cold War" conflict between the US and the Soviets became the defining issue of world politics.

Both sides quickly built up their own networks of allies and satellites. But many nations did not really fit in either camp. What role was there for them on the world stage?

Alfred Sauvy's Division of the World

French demographer and economic historian Alfred Sauvy coined the term "Third World" in an article he wrote for the French Magazine L'Observateure in 1952. He described the Tiers Monde as a collection of non-aligned nations that were "ignored, exploited, scorned" by the leading powers and described their pursuit for influence as they navigated between the two.

The First World

In Sauvy's breakdown, the first world was composed of the United States and its allies. The core of the first world was in North America and Western Europe, including NATO members like Great Britain, Germany, and France. But it also included some Pacific nations, such as Japan and Australia. First World nations were almost entirely capitalist. They tended to be technically advanced and democratic.

The Second World (The Communist Bloc)

The Second World was composed of the Soviet Union and its satellites. In 1952 this would have included the People's Republic of China, still under the Soviet Union's influence. The Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe, such as Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, also fell into this category. These nations were single-party dictatorships governed according to Marxist-Leninist principles. The First and Second Worlds were the main competitors during the Cold War.

The Third World

The Third World was composed of nations that were not firmly entrenched in either of the first two camps. Their economics and political outlooks varied. Some attempted to implement some variety of social democracy or even had brief communist periods. Many, especially in Africa, had just emerged from decades of European colonization.

The Evolving Third World

Sauvy's original division was political more than economic, and it had some shortcomings. Some European nations such as Switzerland and Austria were officially neutral during the Cold War and technically belonged to the Third World, but their democratic governments, market economies, and close ties to Western Europe meant they strongly resembled first-world countries anyway.

The term "Second World" never caught on. Most commentators referred to the Soviet Union and its allies as the "Communist Bloc." The Bloc fractured when the People's Republic of China broke away from the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, pursuing its own version of communism.

The meaning of the "Third World" evolved as well. More emphasis was placed on political instability and the lack of economic development. "Third World" came to mean "backward" as much as "unaligned." Still, the concept of the "Third World" was useful. Nuclear deterrence ensured there would not be a direct confrontation between the forces of NATO and the Warsaw Pact, so Third World countries became the scene of many proxy battles of the Cold War.

Shifting Alliances

Some nations shifted their allegiances and sometimes their place among the three tiers. For example:

• War in Korea created two states, with South Korea developing rapidly. South Korea's economic growth meant that per capita income rose to the point where it became part of the First World.
• Cuba had been under American influence until a communist revolution in 1959. However, the government struggled to achieve the economic development reached by the Soviet Union or its Warsaw Pact satellites. Cuba became a sort of borderline case, treated as a Communist Bloc or Third World nation, depending on whether one emphasized ideology or economic development.
• Vietnam was another hot spot of the Cold War. After long wars against French colonizers and American troops, Vietnam emerged under a communist government in 1975. But it remained poor and was as likely to be considered part of the Third World as it was part of the Communist Bloc.

Which Countries are "Third World?"

There is no official list of First, Second, or Third World countries, but a loose consensus emerged in time. Most of sub-Saharan Africa was considered part of the Third World, as were poorer nations in southeastern Asia such as Laos or Cambodia. Poorer nations in Latin America, such as Guatemala or Mexico also fell in this category. Brazil and India were the most influential Third World Nations throughout the Cold War period.

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 changed the meaning of "Third World." With the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union ended, ideology was no longer paramount. Wealth and stability became the main criteria. The "First World" remained centered on the United States and Western Europe. But the First World also added many eastern European states that joined the European Union, adopted market economies, and installed democratic governments.

Developed, Developing, and Least Developed Countries

Today Third World countries are distinguished by relative poverty and unstable or dictatorial government. Sauvy's "Three Worlds" are slowly falling out of favor as the Cold War divisions become less and less important.

Europe and North America make up the core of the Developed World, along with Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, and other market economies. Developed countries share the traits of the original First World -- market economies, strong gross domestic product (gdp) figures, and democratic politics.

Brazil and India are advancing economically, and are sometimes grouped together with Russia and China -- the old powers of the Communist Bloc -- to make up the BRICS, a potent group of fast-growing middle-income countries. Mexico is also a good example of this middle group, the Developing Countries. These developing countries can also be democratic and are often in the process of creating free-market economies. The long-term future for many of these developing nations is bright.

In this new division, the "Third World" is more often referred to as "underdeveloped" or "least developed."

Conclusion:

The concept of a "Third World" came about in the stark ideological divisions of the Cold War. It included many nations, all with their own local conditions. Like all generalizations, it had some uses in the midst of the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union.

But that contest is over, and talk of the Third World has become less common. Today the division among wealthy and poorer nations is more important. Groupings based on economic development and political stability have become more relevant and more common.