According to UN Department of Statistics, there is no classification of countries as "Developed" or "Underdeveloped". However still the phrase "Developed nations" is omnipresent. This is largely because of the state of industrialization in a state. One of the first countries to be industrialized was United Kingdon then in no time it spread to Germany, France and other parts of Europe and finally to mainland US. A widely accepted phenomenon for a developed country is that its PCI (per capita income) should be more than or at least 12000 US Dollars. However, this figure is widely disputed among the economists and many of them believe that the mark of 25000 US Dollar is minimal for a country to be declared developed.
Many rating and credit allocation agencies also take HDI (Human Development Index) into account as HDI is a parameter which helps in determining the quality of life of the citizens in a nation-state. According to OECD, there are currently 78 countries which could be considered developed. According to UNHRC, a UN body, if HDI is taken into account then Nordic countries always tops the list followed by Canada and prominent western European economies.
Other factors which also plays a vital role in determining the level of overall development are mentioned below.
1> The Balance in Gender ratio: There should be a balanced gender ration as it directly influences the characteristics of a system both economically and socially in a nation-state.
2> The balance in Death and Birth rate: The equivalent of both should be zero in an ideal system although a variation of 0.3 is considered manageable.
3> They have a high level of debt: In a complex economy, the term "Fiscal deficit" is quite common and is considered a parameter of overall development, however, the fiscal deficit should be maintained uniformly meaning it should not get out of hand like in the case of Venezuela because it also increases the inflation.
4> Good utilization of natural resources like oil: A developed economy is always in need of more and more energy and thus if internally available they extract it, and if not, then imports it.