Global South Countries: Who Is Actually On The List
The Global South covers roughly 130 countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania. There is no single official list, but the UN-recognised Group of 77 comes closest. This article gives you the regional breakdown, the disputed cases like China, Turkey and the Gulf states, and how the term differs from Third World and developing country.
The Global South covers roughly 130 countries across Africa, Latin America, Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania. There is no single official list, but the UN-recognised Group of 77 comes closest. This article gives you the regional breakdown, the disputed cases like China, Turkey and the Gulf states, and how the term differs from Third World and developing country.
How many countries are in the Global South, and which ones
The Global South usually means about 130 countries: nearly all of Africa, all of Latin America and the Caribbean, most of Asia except Japan, South Korea and Israel, and the Pacific island states. Roughly 85 percent of the world's population lives in them. There is no official register, so the closest thing to a definitive list is the Group of 77 at the United Nations, a negotiating bloc founded in 1964 that now has 134 members and is chaired on a rotating basis.
The simplest way to read the list is by region rather than country by country. Africa is entirely Global South, all 54 states, with no serious argument otherwise. The Americas split at the US-Mexico border: everything from Mexico south, plus the whole Caribbean, is Global South; the US and Canada are not. Asia is the messy part, and Europe is almost entirely Global North apart from a few arguable cases in the Balkans and the Caucasus.
Oceania divides between Australia and New Zealand on one side and the Pacific island states, from Fiji and Papua New Guinea to Tuvalu, on the other. Those island states are among the loudest Global South voices in climate negotiations, which matters more than their size.
| Region | Counted as Global South | Notable exclusions |
|---|---|---|
| Africa | All 54 states | None |
| Latin America | All, from Mexico southward | None |
| Caribbean | All, including Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago | Puerto Rico and other US or EU territories |
| Asia | South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, China, Mongolia, North Korea | Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore (disputed) |
| Oceania | Pacific island states including Fiji, PNG, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tuvalu | Australia, New Zealand |
| Europe | Generally none | All of Europe, though some place Moldova, Albania or Georgia in between |
The disputed cases nobody agrees on
Ask five analysts whether China is Global South and you will get five answers. China calls itself the largest developing country in the world and is a member of the Group of 77 in the awkward formulation Group of 77 and China. It is also the world's second-largest economy and a creditor to dozens of poorer states. Both things are true, which is exactly why the label strains.
The Gulf states create the same problem from the other direction. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have per capita incomes above much of Western Europe, yet they sit in the Group of 77 and align with Southern positions on sovereignty and non-interference. Income clearly is not the deciding factor.
Other recurring arguments: Singapore, rich and Asian, usually excluded on income but included on history; Turkey, which straddles NATO membership and Southern rhetoric; Russia, which is neither, having been the Second World in the Cold War framing; South Korea and Japan, both Asian, both firmly counted as North; Israel, geographically in West Asia and politically in the North. Mexico and Chile belong to the OECD and are still counted as Global South.
The pattern behind the disputes is that the term tracks political history more than current GDP. Countries that were colonised, that stayed out of the Cold War blocs, or that see themselves as outsiders in institutions like the IMF and the Security Council tend to be Global South regardless of how wealthy they have since become.
Where the term came from
Carl Oglesby, an American activist, used the phrase in 1969 to describe how the northern hemisphere's dominance had produced an intolerable social order. It stayed niche for decades. The 1980 Brandt Report drew a line across the world map, dipping below the US, running along the top of Africa and Asia and then curving south around Australia. That line is why people still picture the divide geographically even though it never was.
The phrase took over from Third World after the Soviet collapse in 1991 made First, Second and Third World labels meaningless. Third World had also picked up an insult's tone. Global South was cleaner, and unlike developing country it did not embed a judgement about who was behind and who was ahead.
The institutions came earlier than the vocabulary. The Bandung Conference in 1955 brought together 29 Asian and African states. The Non-Aligned Movement followed in 1961, the Group of 77 in 1964. Today's Global South politics runs through those bodies plus BRICS, the African Union and the Voice of the Global South summits India has hosted since 2023.
Global South versus the terms people confuse it with
Developing country is an economic classification. The World Bank sorts countries by income into low, lower-middle, upper-middle and high, and the UN maintains a separate list of 44 Least Developed Countries. Those lists move as economies grow. Global South barely moves, because it is about political position, not income band.
Third World meant non-aligned with either Cold War bloc. It is obsolete and now mostly pejorative. Emerging market is a finance term about investable markets, which is why it includes South Korea and Taiwan while excluding most of Africa.
The Global North, for the record, is about 30 to 40 countries: the US, Canada, Western and Central Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. A quarter of the world's people, most of its wealth, most of the permanent Security Council seats.
| Term | What it measures | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| Global South | Political and historical position | No official body; usage and self-identification |
| Developing country | Income and development indicators | World Bank, UN, IMF |
| Least Developed Country | Income, human assets, economic vulnerability | UN Committee for Development Policy |
| Third World | Cold War alignment | Obsolete after 1991 |
| Emerging market | Market size and investor access | Index providers such as MSCI and FTSE |
Why the label still gets used
The Global South is not a bloc. India and China have fought over their border. Saudi Arabia and Iran spent decades in proxy conflict. Argentina walked away from a BRICS invitation. Any claim that 130 countries share a common interest falls apart on contact with the details.
What holds it together is a set of shared grievances about who sets the rules. Africa has 54 states and no permanent Security Council seat. Voting power at the IMF still reflects 1944 economics more than 2025 ones. Climate finance promised to poorer countries keeps arriving late and short. When Global South leaders speak as a group, it is almost always about one of those three things.
That is the useful way to read the term. It is not a description of poverty or a region on a map. It is a claim about representation, made by countries that would otherwise be negotiating one at a time. When you see a headline saying the Global South refused to pick sides on Ukraine or pushed back at a COP summit, that is the claim being made in practice.
FAQs
Is India part of the Global South?
Yes, and it actively positions itself as a leader of it. India chaired the Group of 77 in 1970s and has hosted Voice of the Global South virtual summits since 2023, pushing for African Union inclusion in the G20.
Which countries are in the Global North?
Roughly 30 to 40: the United States, Canada, Western and Northern Europe, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia and New Zealand. They hold about a quarter of the world's population and most of its wealth.
Is Russia in the Global South or the Global North?
Neither, in most usage. Russia was the centre of the Cold War's Second World, and while it now courts Global South partners through BRICS, it is not counted as a member.
Is the Global South term offensive?
No, and unlike Third World it is widely used by the countries it describes, including in official diplomacy at the UN. The main criticism is that it is imprecise, not that it is insulting.
What is the Group of 77?
A UN negotiating bloc formed in 1964 by 77 developing countries, now with 134 members. It is the closest thing to an official Global South membership list.
Is Brazil a Global South country?
Yes. Brazil is a founding BRICS member, a Group of 77 member and one of the most active Global South voices on trade and climate negotiations.