Fifty countries are currently designated by the United Nations as least developed countries (LDCs).The list of LDCs is reviewed every three years by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the light of recommendations by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP). The criteria such as low income, human assets and economic vulnerability were used by the CDP in the 2006 review of the list of LDCs. For all three criteria, different thresholds are used. A country will qualify to be added to the list if it meets the three criteria and does not have a population greater than 75 million. A country will normally qualify for graduation from LDC status if it has met graduation thresholds under at least two of the three criteria in at least two consecutive reviews of the list. However, if the GNI per capita of an LDC has raised to a level at least double the graduation threshold, this country will be deemed eligible for graduation regardless of its performance under the other two criteria. After a recommendation to graduate a country has been made by the CDP and endorsed by ECOSOC and the General Assembly, the graduating country will be granted a three-year grace period before actual graduation takes place. In accordance with General Assembly resolution 59/209, this standard grace period is expected to enable the relevant country and its development partners to agree on a “smooth transition” strategy, so that the loss of LDC-specific concessions at the end of the grace period does not disturb the socioeconomic progress of the country.
