What is a 4th World Country?

After traveling extensively throughout the world while serving in the Air Force, I have witnessed a level a poverty that I have yet to see in the United States. The places I traveled to were referred to as 3rd world countries.

Third world countries are loosely defined as "Countries that represent a modern society, but in the process of potential development as recognized continental representatives of the world community today. The majority among this group, comprises of many moderately wealthy, but militarily effective governments. To include to this, many Third World nations (especially in Africa), are affected drastically by political problems, or bad geographical conditions, such as droughts and non-fertile soil. Famines, shortages, regional wars, and etc., have all caused much instability and no hopes of restoration in the public in Third World nations. Today, the First World, and the Second World, come forth to bring aid and civil support to bring about strong foreign relations, and bring them into any of their collective orbits'. Many members of the Third World state of national powers, are of course nonaligned with any global significance and squander on their various economic or political concerns in regional affairs."

This December, I will be traveling to Haiti to be a part of medical mission trip. For the first time in my life, I heard the phrase "4th World Country". Haiti is defined as a 4th world country. A 4th world country is defined as, "Countries which according to the United Nations exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development, with the lowest Human Development Index ratings of all countries in the world. A country is classified as a 4th world country if it meets three criteria based on:
-low- income (three-year average GNI per capita of less than US $750, which must exceed $900 to leave the list)
-human resource weakness (based on indicators of nutrition, health, education, adult literacy)
-economic vulnerability (based on instability of agricultural production, instability of exports of goods and services, economic importance of non-traditional activities, merchandise export concentration, handicap of economic smallness, and the percentage of population displaced by natural disasters)

In my opinion, I believe I still have yet to see the worst. As of January 2009, there are 49 countries that are classified as 4th world countries.

As a sponsor of Compassion International, I was struck by Wes Stafford's, the president of Compassion, words this year. He said, "In Haiti, mothers are making dirt "cookies." They mix together mud, oil and salt, shape the "dough" into cookies and bake them in the scorching sun.In my 32 years with Compassion, I have never seen the poor so poor."

For a man whose life revolves around those who are less fortunate, this is a big statement.