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CITs, countries in transition — English
Less developed states that are in the process of becoming more developed. It is purely an economic classification. In 1977, the World Bank classified 133 countries into four categories based on annual per capita income: the low income economies, the lower middle income economies, the upper middle income economies, and the high income economies. The countries in the first three categories of this classification are regarded as countries in transition, that is, countries that are on their way to become high income economies. The underlying economic assumption of this classification is that all economies will grow and the per capita income of all countries will increase (see “developing countries”). This economic theory was never universally accepted and since 1977 it has been proven incorrect as certain economies have declined. The 2008 international economic crisis demonstrated that even the economies of the high income economies (highly developed countries) might sometimes decline. The 1977 World Bank classification is far too old to use in 2013, and even the term “countries in transition” has fallen into disuse. Today we would regard the BRICS countries (see “economic growth”) as “countries in transition” because their economies are growing while even some of the traditionally high-income countries experience negative economic growth. Some of the lowest income economies of the 1977 classification, have become even poorer and have been joined by a number of the lower middle income countries. (See “development”, “developing countries”, “economic development” and “economic growth”.)
