Would you be shocked to learn that the ten most underdeveloped countries in the world are all located in the same continent? Africa is home to all the nations ranking in our list, which may not be so surprising in the end. After all, the harsh economic conditions in the region are well documented, and the overall lack of basic services in many of its countries is a fact known to many. Nevertheless, we would have liked to see a little more diversity in the list of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, instead of having to accept that Africa is still severely trailing behind other continents in terms of development.
Although they are listed as the most underdeveloped countries in the world, you will be surprised to learn that the living costs in these countries are not as low as one would expect. In fact, not a single member of our ranking has managed to snag a spot among the 20 countries with the lowest cost of living in the world. Evidently, it is not cheaper to live in some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, than in far more advanced nations, like Romania or the Philippines.
The countries which appear in the following list are all facing a very complicated economic outlook and are plagued by a serious lack of infrastructure. They are not equipped to deal with natural disasters, their economies consist primarily of subsistence farming, and the health and education services suffer from a serious lack in funding. These are just some of the factors involved in determining which nations are to be included in the list of the most undeveloped countries in the world. Yet in order to find a more cohesive variable, we will take a look at the Human Development Index (HDI) in order to determine which countries are trailing behind the most.
10. Mozambique
The first country on our list is the East African nation of Mozambique. Although recent trends show a positive growth trajectory over the past years, the economy of Mozambique has gone through some very hard times in the past and suffered greatly from corruption, leaving it highly impoverished.
The list of African nations which are the most underdeveloped countries in the world continues on the next page.
