Six Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including Bangladesh, are projected to graduate from their existing status by 2024, according to a latest report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Seven more LDCs might also come out of the league by 2021, according to the Least Developed Countries Report 2016, prepared and published Monday.
Moreover, two African LDCs -- Equatorial Guinea and Angola -- are set to graduate from the category in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
One Pacific LDC, Vanuatu, would also come out of the league in 2017.
This year's report focused on the graduation of LDCs from this category.
UNCTAD projected that Bangladesh's pre-eligibility for graduation will be completed in 2018 and, in 2021, the country will comply with all three criteria by becoming fully statistically eligible for graduation. "Finally, the graduation will take place in 2024."
The criteria are per capita income, Human Asset Index (HAI) and Economic Vulnerability Index (EVI).
According to the report: "Bangladesh is focusing primarily on the HAI criterion, as it has already fulfilled the EVI criterion and remains far below the graduation threshold for GNI."
Five other countries will follow the similar path. These are Afghanistan, Djibouti, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Yemen.
The UN body, however, cautioned that the decision on Afghanistan's actual graduation 'will eventually be delayed, in view of its lingering security concerns which can potentially have adverse effects on the three graduation criteria.'
Regarding Yemen, the report said: "A prolonged military conflict is likely to have adverse effects on the three graduation criteria."
Bhutan, Kiribati, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Tuvalu are projected to graduate from the LDC criteria by 2021.
UNCTAD also said: "Graduation may result from a broad-based process of development of productive capacities, structural transformation and diversification of the economic structure, in line with what this Report calls 'graduation with momentum', as in the case of two manufactures exporters (Bangladesh and Bhutan) and two mixed exporters (the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Myanmar)."
Bangladesh has graduated to the lower-middle income country class of the World Bank in 2015. Equatorial Guinea is now a high income country while Angola graduated to upper-middle income category in 2008.
The list of LDCs is generally reviewed every three years by the Committee for Development Policy (CDP), a group of independent experts reporting to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
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 triennial reviews of the list.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
