Seun Ayoade*
*Independent Researcher, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
*Correspondence: Seun Ayoade, Independent Researcher, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. E-mail: seunAyoade@protonmail.com
Received date: 24 March, 2026; Accepted date: 07 April, 2026; Published date: 15 April, 2026
Citation: Seun, Ayoade. “A Logistician’s Definition of A Third World Country.” J Glob Entrep Manage (2026): 137. DOI: 10.59462/3068-174X.4.1.137
Copyright: © 2026 Ayoade S. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
What is a third world country? Having lived all my life in a third world country I believe I am qualified to define one. I define a first world country as a country with first class infrastructure, a second world country as a country with second class infrastructure, and a third world country as a country with third class infrastructure. The prevalence and indigenousness of the infrastructure are to be correlated. Forget all the political, economic and academic jargon [1-8]. This is my logistician’s guide to spot a third world country-
The country has never hosted the Summer Olympics.
The country has never hosted the winter Olympics.
The country has no subway or underground train.
The country’s army has no Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles.
The country’s navy has no submarines or aircraft carriers.
Most of the cars on the country’s roads are over 20 years old.
The leader of the country travels abroad for medical treatment.
Very few hospitals in the country have MRI or CAT scan machines.
The citizens of the country fear their police almost as much as they fear armed robbers.
Anytime there are elections in the country people are injured or killed.
Religious and ethnic minorities are routinely massacred and the culprits mostly get away scot free.
The citizens of the country are highly religious, yet highly corrupt.
The profession of astronaut does not exist in the country. The country possesses no spacecraft, high altitude balloons or long-range bombers.
Commercial motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles are numerous on the country’s roads.
In the country, the number of skyscrapers is fewer than 10, and the number of high rise buildings does not reach 50.
Most of the citizens of the country have never ridden on an elevator, escalator, cable car, jet ski, aeroplane, helicopter or rollercoaster.
The country has no bases or explorers at Antarctica or the Arctic.
Gas is rarely piped into houses. The citizens of the country buy gas cylinders and attach them to their gas cookers.
The laundromat hardly exists in the country. Most citizens wash their clothes by hand and dry them in the sun.
The country does not present Olympic athletes in the following sports-fencing, sport climbing, gymnastics, equestrian, archery, shooting, golf, skateboarding, surfing, Alpine skiing, bobsleigh, figure skating, ice hockey, skeleton, Artistic Swimming, curling or luge.
The police stations will lack the following-rape kit, gunshot residue kit, body cam, breathalyzer, finger printing, swabs or speed guns.
The country does not manufacture cars, ships or planes to any reasonable extent.
The veterinary hospital will be slightly better than the abattoir.
The country has produced no Nobel prize winners in Physics, Chemistry or Physiology.
The country does not have air ambulances, planetariums, observatories or nuclear reactors.