LDC Criteria
The Committee for Development Policy (CDP) is mandated by the General Assembly (GA) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to review the list of LDCs every three years and to make recommendations on the inclusion and graduation of eligible countries using the following criteria:
Income | Human Assets | Economic Vulnerability |
Application and Indicator Selection
- Countries are eligible to enter or leave the LDC category if they meet the defined inclusion or graduation thresholds of the criteria. The graduation thresholds are set higher than the thresholds for inclusion. This asymmetry aims to ensure that graduation is sustainable.
- Each of the three criteria is measured using key indicators which reflect long-term structural handicaps. These indicators are chosen on the basis that they are methodologically robust, maintain stability of the criteria, ensure equal treatment of countries over time, and are frequently updated for all countries. They are periodically revised to reflect improved data availability and insights from new research.
Additional information
The Handbook on the Least Developed Country Category provides additional information on the LDC criteria and their indicators
Download the handbook: English, French
Download the handbook: English, French
