Developing countries

Japanese: 開発途上国 - かいはつとじょうこく（英語表記）developing countries

In contrast to developed countries, they used to be called underdeveloped countries or underdeveloped countries. Since the early 1960s, the terms "developing countries" and "underdeveloped countries" have come to be used to refer to countries where development or economic development is progressing, but the term "developing countries" is more common. Rather than saying "underdeveloped" in the abstract, it is more appropriate to say that the economy, industry, and technology are underdeveloped in order to clarify what is specifically underdeveloped. They are also called the Third World, including in the political sense.

Developing countries have a wide variety of characteristics, but some of the things they share in common are low income levels, an industrial structure centered on the primary commodity sector (especially agriculture) with low productivity, and a high rate of population growth. However, in recent years, the development gap within developing countries has been widening. In other words, polarization within developing countries has progressed between the developed countries with their remarkable economic growth and the least developed countries (LDCs) with their notable stagnation, and especially after the 1973 oil crisis, between the oil-producing countries that have enjoyed huge oil revenues and the countries that have been seriously hit by the oil crisis, giving rise to the so-called South-South problem.

The countries and regions that succeeded in rapid industrialization and achieved high economic growth in the 1970s are known as NIES (Newly Industrializing Economies), and representative examples include South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The development model of export-oriented industrialization that introduced foreign capital was adopted by Southeast Asia and China, which achieved high economic growth. However, in 1997, the economic crisis became serious. Meanwhile, the least developed countries, which have extremely low per capita income levels, literacy rates, and industrialization rates and have been left behind in development, are also known as the poorest countries, and development is becoming increasingly difficult and serious.

[Kenji Akiyama]

Group of 77

The G77 is a group of developing countries that work together to promote the economic and social development of developing countries at international organizations and conferences such as the United Nations. At the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held in Geneva in 1964, developing countries united to submit a joint resolution calling for the establishment of a new international organization to handle issues of international trade and development. This resolution was adopted over the objections of developed countries, and it was decided that UNCTAD would become a permanent organization. Furthermore, prior to the end of the conference, the 77 developing countries adopted the "Joint Declaration of the Group of 77," which included the raising of living standards in developing countries, the promotion of industrialization, and the strengthening of solidarity among developing countries. With this solidarity as a background, and because UNCTAD adopted a group-to-group negotiation method divided into Group A (Asia and Africa), Group B (Western developed countries), Group C (Latin American countries), and Group D (Eastern European countries), the 77 countries belonging to Groups A and C formed the so-called "Group of 77" and have been working together ever since. In 1967, the first Ministerial Conference of the Group of 77 was held and the Algiers Charter, which contained a plan of action for UNCTAD, was adopted, followed by the Lima Declaration in 1971. Furthermore, against the background of resource nationalism since 1973, the Group of 77 joined the Non-Aligned Movement, and at the UN General Assembly in 1974, they succeeded in adopting the "Declaration for the Establishment of a New International Economic Order" and the "Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States." They have also played an active role as a pressure group to coordinate opinions and unify policies among developing countries at subsequent conferences such as the UN Conference on the Law of the Sea and the UN Special General Assembly. As of 1997, the Group of 77 consists of about 160 countries, including such Eastern European countries as Poland and Romania, as well as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), but there is no permanent organization. Since the 1980s, developing countries have been faced with new challenges, such as the growing tendency for differentiation between NIEs and low-income countries, the problem of accumulated debt, the stagnation of development, and the balance between development and the environment, and these, combined with conflicts of interest among countries in the deliberation of specific issues, have led to stagnation in the activities of the group as a whole.

[Yokokawa Arata]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

先進国に相対するものとしてかつては後進国、低開発国などといわれた。1960年代初めごろから、発展あるいは経済開発が進みつつある国として発展途上国または開発途上国という語が使われるようになったが、開発途上国といういい方が一般的である。抽象的に発展途上というよりも、具体的になにが開発途上かを明確にするには、経済、産業、技術が開発途上にあるといういい方が妥当であるからである。政治的意味合いを含めて第三世界ともいわれる。

　開発途上国はきわめて多様な特徴をもっているが、そのうちある程度共通しているものとして、所得水準が低いこと、一次産品部門（とくに農業）を中心とする産業構造をもち、しかも生産性が低いこと、人口増加率が高いこと、などがあげられる。しかし近年、開発途上国内部で開発の格差の拡大が進んできている。すなわち、経済成長の著しい先発開発途上国と停滞の目だつ後発開発途上国（Least Developed Countries＝LDC）、そしてとくに1973年の石油危機後は、莫大(ばくだい)な石油収入を得た産油国と石油危機によって深刻な打撃を受けた国々など、開発途上国内部の分極化が進み、いわゆる南南問題が発生している。

　1970年代急激な工業化に成功し、高い経済成長を遂げた国や地域はNIES（新興工業経済地域）とよばれ、その代表として、韓国、台湾、香港(ホンコン)、シンガポールなどがある。これらの外国資本を導入した輸出指向工業化の発展モデルは、東南アジアや中国に取り入れられ、高い経済成長を実現していた。しかし、97年には経済危機が深刻化した。一方、1人当りの所得水準や識字率、工業化率などがきわめて低く、発展から取り残された後発開発途上国は、最貧国ともよばれ、開発はますます困難を極め、深刻化している。

［秋山憲治］

77か国グループGroup of 77

国連などの国際機構や国際会議において、開発途上国の経済的・社会的発展を進めるために結束して行動をとっているグループで、G77と略称される。1964年にジュネーブで開催された国連貿易開発会議（UNCTAD(アンクタッド)）において、開発途上国は団結して、国際貿易と開発の諸問題を担当する新しい国際機構の設立を求める共同決議案を提出した。この決議案は先進国の反対を押し切って採択され、UNCTADの常設機関化が決定された。さらに会議の終了に先だって開発途上77か国は、開発途上国の生活水準の引上げ、工業化の促進、途上国間の団結の強化などを内容とする「77か国共同宣言」を採択した。これらの団結を背景とし、さらにUNCTADがAグループ（アジア・アフリカ諸国）、Bグループ（西側先進諸国）、Cグループ（中南米諸国）、Dグループ（東欧諸国）に分かれたグループ間交渉方式を採用していたため、A・Cグループに属する77か国がいわゆる「77か国グループ」を形成して、以後共同歩調をとることとなった。1967年には第1回77か国グループ閣僚会議を開いてUNCTADへの行動計画を内容とするアルジェ憲章を採択し、ついで71年にはリマ宣言を採択した。さらに73年以降の資源ナショナリズムを背景として77か国グループは非同盟運動と合流し、74年の国連総会では「新国際経済秩序樹立宣言」や「国家の経済権利義務憲章」の採択に成功し、その後の国連海洋法会議や国連特別総会などの諸会議においても途上国間の意見の調整と政策の統一を図るための圧力グループとして活躍してきた。1997年現在、77か国グループにはポーランド、ルーマニアなどの東欧諸国も含めて約160か国とパレスチナ解放機構（PLO）が参加しているが、常設機構は存在していない。1980年代以降、開発途上国はNIESと低所得国間の分化傾向の拡大、累積債務問題、開発の停滞、開発と環境の調和などの新たな課題を抱えるようになり、具体的問題の審議における各国の利害関係の対立とあいまって、グループとしての活動も停滞化の方向をたどっている。

［横川　新］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例

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