Full List of Third World Countries in 2025 Released After Trump’s Immigration Ban Announcement
- Donald Trump’s November 28, 2025, announcement to halt immigration from “Third World countries” reignited global debate over the relevance of the term
- Analysts explained that the phrase, once rooted in Cold War politics, had since shifted to describe economically poor and non‑industrialised nations
- Experts stressed that the label is now widely considered outdated and derogatory, with modern alternatives such as developing countries or low‑income nations preferred
Donald Trump announced on November 28, 2025, that the United States would “permanently pause” immigration from all so-called Third World countries, sparking renewed debate about the relevance and meaning of the term.
The announcement came after a violent incident in Washington, DC, in which two National Guard members were shot near the White House. One of the soldiers later died, and an Afghan national was identified as the suspect.
Source: Getty Images
Meaning of “Third World”
The president’s statement reignited debate about the term Third World. Analysts explained that the phrase originally referred to countries not aligned with either NATO or the Communist Bloc during the Cold War.
After the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, the term shifted to describe economically poor and non-industrialised nations.
Under this modern definition, Third World countries are those facing high poverty rates, economic instability, and limited access to essential resources.
However, experts noted that the term is now widely considered derogatory and inaccurate.
Observers stressed that most modern speakers and institutions now avoid the phrase. Instead, they use more precise and respectful terms such as “developing countries,” “least-developed countries” (based on the United Nations Human Development Index), or “low-income countries” (as defined by World Bank data).
Full list of the third world countries, according to World Population Review:
- Bhutan
- Iraq
- Eswatini
- Tajikistan
- Tuvalu
- India
- Bangladesh
- El Salvador
- Palestine
- Equatorial
- Guinea
- Cape Verde
- Namibia
- Guatemala
- Republic of
- the Congo
- Honduras
- Kiribati
- Sao Tome and
- Principe
- Timor-Leste
- Kenya
- Ghana
- Nepal
- Vanuatu
- Laos
- Angola
- Micronesia
- Myanmar
- Cambodia
- Comoros
- Zimbabwe
- Zambia
- Cameroon
- Solomon
- lslands
- Uganda
- Ivory Coast
- Rwanda
- Papua New
- Guinea
- Togo
- Syria
- Mauritania
- Nigeria
- Tanzania
- Haiti
- Lesotho
- Pakistan
- Senegal
- Gambia
- DR Congo
- Malawi
- Benin
- Guinea-Bissa
- Djibouti
- Sudan
- Liberia
- Eritrea
- Guinea
- Ethiopia
- Afghanistan
- Mozambique
- Madagascar
- Yemen
- Sierra Leone
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
US mentions 19 countries whose green cards will be re-examined
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Donald Trump administration announced that it would reexamine all green cards issued to people from 19 countries identified as nations “of concern.” According to CNN, the move followed the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, DC, allegedly carried out by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national.
Joe Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), wrote on X Thursday: “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”
Authorities identified Lakanwal as the suspect in the shooting. He had previously worked with the US government, including the CIA, before arriving in 2021 under President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome.” He applied for asylum in 2024, and the Trump administration granted it in April 2025.
Source: Legit.ng
