THE LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES :
DEFINITION AND EVOLUTION

I – DEFINITION

Since 1971, the United Nations Organization (UNO) designates as ‘’Least Developed Countries’’ a number of States (currently 49) that are deemed structurally handicapped in their development and need special attention from the International Community within the context of their development efforts.

Acknowledging the severity of the economic and social situation of the Least Developed Countries, UNO favoured these State in the allocation of Cooperation Programmes resources.

At the same time, the Organisation sends an important message to other development partners of the Least Developed Countries by periodically revising the list of such countries and highlighting the structural problems which need special support measures, in particular in area of development financing within the multilateral trade framework.

During its last three year review of the list of the Least Developed Countries in 2000, the United Nations Economic and Social Council resorts, to draw up the new list on the basis of the following three criteria according to the Development Policiy Committee recommendations.

A low income criterion : based on an average estimate, over three years, of the Gross Domestic Product per inhabitant (less than 900 dollars for the new members in the category and more than 1035 dollars for those getting out of it).

A criterion in the delayed human capital development based on a revised index of the quality of physical life made of the indicators ; (a) calories (b) health care ; (c) schooling rate and (d) adult literacy.

And an economic vulnerability criterion, based on the index of economic vulnerability including indicators of (a) instability in goods and services exports (b) economic importance of non-traditional exports (share of the industrial sector and modern services in the GDP), (c) export goods concentration and (d) hindrances to small size economy (measured by the population in logarithm).

During the review of the list in 2000, the requirements set out before joining the 48 countries previously identified as belonging to this category were the above – mentioned criteria as well as population meeting these conditions, below 75 million. This rule implementation is at the origin of Senegal eligibility.

II – EVOLUTION

Since the establishment of the Least Developed Countries’ Group, the International Community held three Conferences to agree on aid programmes for the benefit of these countries.

The first, referred to as the First United Nations Conference on LDCs held in 1981 in Paris which ended with the adoption of an aid Programme for the 1980s.

Within the framework of this programme, the Developed Countries pledged, inter alia, to grant LDCs, 0.15o/o of their GDP as Public Development Aid.

The Second United Nations Conference on LDCs was also held in Paris in Septembre 1990. It ended up with the adoption of a Programme of Action for the benefit of LDCs for the 90s whose main objective was to prevent the economic situation of the said countries deteriorate stimulate and speed up their growth and development.

The third United Nations Conference on LDCs was held in Brussels in May 2001 and ended with the adoption of a Third Programme of Action designed to give a real and definite impetus to the LDCs development take-off.