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What is the 3rd World vs the 2nd World vs the 1st World?

Updated: Jan 7, 2022

The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the First World, while the post-Soviet Union countries, China, Cuba, and their allies represented the Second World. This terminology provided a way of broadly categorizing the nations of the Earth into three groups based on political and economic divisions. Since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term Third World has decreased in use. It is being replaced with terms such as developing countries, least developed countries or the Global South. The concept itself has become outdated as it no longer represents the current political or economic state of the world. Wikipedia

1st World | 2nd World | 3rd World

The "three worlds" of the Cold War era, April – August1975

1st World: Western Bloc led by the USA and its allies

2nd World: Eastern Bloc led by the USSR, China, and their allies

3rd World: Non-Aligned and neutral countries


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