Did Korea just barely make the cut as a developed nation? Countries that joined after Korea

Sometimes when I see posts or comments online, people say that Korea just happened to catch the last train to become a developed country at the right time.

That is not the case at all.

There are various criteria for determining what a developed country is, and since someone else already wrote a great post about it,

I've summarized it by referring to several of their criteria.

1. IMF 'Advanced Economies' classification criteria

Korea began to be classified as an advanced economy in 1997, along with Taiwan, Singapore, Israel, etc.

Since then,

Cyprus (2001)

Slovenia (2007)

Malta (2008)

Slovakia (2009)

Czech Republic (2009)

Estonia (2011)

San Marino (2012)

Latvia (2014)

Lithuania (2015)

Andorra (2021)

Croatia (2023)

and others were added.

2. DAC (Development Assistance Committee) donor membership criteria

Korea joined in 2010,

and since then, Slovakia (2013)

Slovenia (2013)

Iceland (2013)

Czech Republic (2013)

Poland (2013)

Hungary (2016)

Lithuania (2022)

Estonia (2023)

Latvia (2025)

followed suit.

3. GDP per capita of $30,000

According to several major institutions, Korea surpassed a GDP per capita of $30,000 starting in 2014.

According to the IMF:

Taiwan (2021), Slovenia (2022), Czech Republic (2023), Estonia (2024)

According to the World Bank:

Estonia (2024), Czech Republic (2024),

Spain (re-entered 2021), Italy (re-entered 2021)

The World Bank does not separately track Taiwan.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

Even with a very conservative approach, there are 3 countries that became developed after Korea.

With a standard approach, 9 to 11 countries became developed.

TL;DR

1. Korea didn't just barely catch the last train to become a developed country.

2. Quite a few countries became developed after Korea.

3. The "last train" hasn't left the station yet.

Source: https://www.fmkorea.com/best/9895942313