UNDERSTANDING THE WTO:
THE ORGANIZATION
Least-developed countries
The WTO recognizes as least-developed countries (LDCs) those countries which have been designated as such by the United Nations. There are currently 45 least-developed countries on the UN list, 35 of which to date have become WTO members.
These are:
Afghanistan
Angola
Bangladesh
Benin
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Central
African Republic
Chad
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Djibouti
Gambia
Guinea
Guinea
Bissau
Haiti
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mozambique
Myanmar
Nepal
Niger
Rwanda
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Solomon
Islands
Tanzania
Togo
Uganda
Yemen
Zambia
Seven more least-developed countries are negotiating to join the WTO. They are: Comoros, Ethiopia, Sao Tomé & Principe, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Timor-Leste.
There are no WTO definitions of “developed” or “developing” countries. Developing countries in the WTO are designated on the basis of self-selection although this is not necessarily automatically accepted in all WTO bodies.