underdevelopment

Term generally referring to countries which have not gone through the phase of industrialization (the development of mass production in factories) and have not reached post-industrialization (where the proportion of output and employment devoted to services rather than goods is expanding).

Underdevelopment has been subject to changing definitions, but countries which are referred to as less developed are those with a relatively high proportion of output and employment devoted to agriculture, and a low national income per head. Under these criteria, the majority of countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America would qualify as underdeveloped. There is disagreement over the extent to which economic development constitutes ‘progress’ or improvement in the quality of life.