A developing country, also called a less-developed country, is a nation with a lower living

standard, underdeveloped industrial base, and low Human Development Index (HDI) relative to
other countries.[1] There is no universal, agreed-upon criterion for what makes a country developing
versus developed and which countries fit these two categories,[2] although there are general
reference points such as a nation's GDP per capita compared to other nations

A developed country, industrialized country, or "more economically developed country"

(MEDC), is a sovereign state that has a highly developed economy and advanced technological
infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating
the degree of economic development are gross domestic product (GDP), the per capita income,
level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living.[1]

Economic criteria have tended to dominate discussions. One such criterion is income per capita;
countries with high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita would thus be described as developed
countries. Another economic criterion is industrialization; countries in which
the tertiary and quaternary sectors of industry dominate would thus be described as developed.
More recently another measure, the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines an economic
measure, national income, with other measures, indices for life expectancy and education has
become prominent. This criterion would define developed countries as those with a very high (HDI)
rating. However, many anomalies exist when determining "developed" status by whichever measure
is used.

The United States has the largest economy in North America, and in the world.[48] In 2011, the US
has an estimated per capita gross domestic product (PPP) of $47,200, and is the most
technologically developed economy in North America.[48] The United States' services sector
comprises 76.7% of the country's GDP (estimated in 2010), industry comprises 22.2% and
agriculture comprises 1.2%.