HC Deb 20 January 2004 vol 416 cc1147-51W
Tom Brake

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what definition he uses of(a) poor and (b) middle income countries; and if he will list the countries so defined.[148499]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

The poorest countries are those classified as low income, while poor countries also include those classified as middle income. DFID uses the same classification system as the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD. Under this system, countries are classified according to their GNI per capita levels in 1998: Low income countries are those with a 1998 GNI per capita less than $760. Lower middle income countries have a 1998 GNI per capita level of $761 or above but not exceeding $3,030. Upper middle income countries have a 1998 GNI per capita level of $3,031 or above but not exceeding $9,360.

The following list shows the countries that fall into each of these categories and current statistics are based on these groups.

These classifications will change for aid flows after 1 January 2003 when thresholds based on 2001 GNI per capita levels will be used.

Low income

  • Afghanistan
  • Angola
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bangladesh
  • Benin
  • Bhutan
  • Burkina Faso
  • Burma
  • Burundi
  • Cambodia
  • Cameroon
  • Central African Republic
  • Chad
  • China
  • Comoros
  • Congo
  • Congo (Dem. Rep.)
  • Cote d'lvoire
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Gambia
  • Ghana
  • Guinea
  • Guinea-Bissau
  • Haiti
  • Honduras
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Kenya
  • Korea (North)
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Laos
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Madagascar
  • Malawi
  • Mali
  • Mauritania
  • Moldova
  • Mongolia
  • Mozambique
    • 1149W
  • Nepal
  • Nicaragua
  • Niger
  • Nigeria
  • Pakistan
  • Rwanda
  • Sao Tome and Principe
  • Senegal
  • Sierra Leone
  • Solomon Islands
  • Somalia
  • Sudan
  • Tajikistan
  • Tanzania
  • Togo
  • Turkmenistan
  • Tuvalu
  • Uganda
  • Vietnam
  • Yemen
  • Zambia
  • Zimbabwe

Lower middle income

  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Belarus
  • Belize
  • Bolivia
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Cape Verde
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Cuba
  • Djibouti
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • East Timor
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • El Salvador
  • Equatorial Guinea
  • Fiji
  • Georgia
  • Guatemala
  • Guyana
  • Indonesia
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Jamaica
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kiribati
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Macedonia (FYR of)
  • Maldives
  • Marshall Islands
    • 1150W
  • Micronesia, Fed. States
  • Moldova
  • Morocco
  • Namibia
  • Nieu
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Pitcairn
  • Romania
  • Russia
  • Samoa (Western)
  • Serbia and Montenegro
  • Slovakia
  • South Africa
  • Sri Lanka
  • St. Vincent
  • Surinam
  • Swaziland
  • Syria
  • Thailand
  • Tokelau
  • Tonga
  • Tunisia
  • Turkmenistan
  • Ukraine
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Wallis and Futuna
  • West Bank and Gaza Strip
  • Upper middle income
  • Anguilla
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Bahrain
  • Barbados
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Cook Islands
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Estonia
  • Gabon
  • Grenada
  • Hungary
  • Lebanon
  • Malaysia
  • Mayotte
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Montserrat
  • Nauru
  • Oman
  • Palau Islands
  • Panama
  • Poland
    • 1151W
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Seychelles
  • St. Helena and Dependencies
  • St. Kitts-Nevis
  • St. Lucia
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Turkey
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Uruguay
  • Venezuela