The United Nations has categorized the poorest countries of the world based on three major criteria. They are annual gross domestic product below $900 per capita and the quality of life that is a function of life expectancy at birth, per capita calorie intake, primary and secondary school secondary enrollment rates and adult literacy rate. The third criteria is economic vulnerability which mainly depends on the stability in agricultural production, export and import.
The average per capita income of the poorest countries in the world were measured in the second half of the 1990s. Calculated in terms of the current prices and the official exchange rates, the average per capita income was $0.72 a day and the average per capita consumption was $0.57 per day. Hence we can deduce that the contribution per person in the private capital formation, public investment in infrastructure and important public services that include health, education, administration, law and order.
As far as literacy rate is concerned, it was 34% in the poorest countries in the world for the age group 15-24.
During the period 1990-2001, about 60% of the poorest countries in the world faced civil conflicts that was followed after a period of economic depression. The poorest countries in the world along with their per capita income level is given in the following table.
GDP* Per capita
Source: - United Nations, Human Development Report