what is the first world 
 first world a term developed during the cold war in the 1950s originally referred to a country that was aligned with the united states and other western nations in opposition to what was then the soviet union and its allies since the collapse of the soviet union in 1991 the term s meaning has largely evolved currently it describes a developed and industrialized country characterized by political and economic stability democracy the rule of law a capitalist economy and a high standard of living understanding the first worldexamples of first world countries include the united states canada australia new zealand and japan several western european nations qualify as well especially great britain france germany switzerland and the scandinavian countries the ways that first world countries are defined can vary for example a first world nation might be described as aligned or amicable with western countries or those in the northern hemisphere highly industrialized possessing a low poverty rate and or high accessibility to modern resources and infrastructure various metrics have been used to define first world nations including gross domestic product gdp gross national product gnp mortality rates and literacy rates the human development index is also an indicator of which countries might be categorized as having first world status economically speaking first world countries tend to have stable currencies and robust financial markets making them attractive to investors from all around the world while they may not be purely capitalist first world nations economies tend to be characterized by free markets private enterprise and private ownership of property under the original cold war alliance designations the first world consisted of the u s western europe and their allies the second world was the so called communist bloc the soviet union china cuba etc the remaining nations which didn t align with either group were assigned to the third world most of africa asia the middle east and latin america however this definition includes many countries that are economically stable which does not fit the contemporary definition of a third world country criticism of the first world designationcontroversy exists around the use of the term first world to describe democratic countries in comparison with developing nations and those with political regimes that do not align with western nations there is a tendency toward using the phrase as a way to rank some nations above others in terms of geopolitical significance such references can lead to divisive tension in international relations especially as developing nations seek to negotiate with so called first world countries or appeal to the international community for support of their causes it is not uncommon for first world nations to press for international policies especially economic ones that will favor their industries and trade to protect or enhance their wealth and stability this can include efforts to influence decisions made in such forums as the united nations or the world trade organization wto designation as a first world nation does not necessarily mean a country has local access to certain luxuries or resources that are in demand for example oil production is a staple industry in many countries that historically have not been regarded as first world nations brazil for instance contributes substantial amounts of oil to the overall world supply along with other forms of production however the country is recognized as a developing industrialized state rather than as a first world nation in contemporary parlance developed or industrialized nation is considered a preferable term to first world country an antiquated modelthere is an argument to be made that the model of dividing nations into first second or third worlds represents an archaic and antiquated perspective since the end of the cold war the united states has become one of the world s superpowers and an increasing number of countries have embraced or are in the process of adopting american style democracy and capitalism these countries are neither abysmally poor nor exceedingly rich rule of law and democracy are their defining features as such it would be counterintuitive to describe them with the pejorative term of third world examples of these types of countries include brazil and india the original definition of first world as a country aligned with the united states has also led to some odd classifications of quite prosperous and advanced nations oil rich saudi arabia which has a higher per capita income than first world country turkey is still often technically slotted as a second or third world nation for example or at least denied the first world designation then there is the increasing problem of wealth inequality the high per capita income associated with the first world often belies an extremely uneven distribution of wealth in these nations several first world countries have poverty stricken regions where conditions are comparable to those in developing countries for example residents of appalachia and other rural areas of the united states often lack resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living even certain sections of large cities such as the south side of chicago or northern milwaukee s 53206 neighborhood feature impoverished conditions 