Why calling Trinidad & Tobago a "third world country" makes you seem just a little bit dense: A THREAD

In modern society the term "third world" is used to refer to a country that isn't advanced, and/or is impoverished, it and carries economic connotations. However the original meaning of "third world" has little to do with economics or development, but rather political alliance.

Emerging during the Cold War, the system of ranking countries was used to indicate their alliance. "First world" countries were aligned with the U.S. and NATO. "Second world" countries referred to the Soviet Union and their allies.

"Third world" countries were those that had no alliance and were neutral in the war. While this rank included impoverished countries that also fit the modern definition of third world, it also encompasses countries that are not so by today's standards, like Switzerland or Ireland

Because of the origination of this ranking system, it's considered too outdated and confusing to use to refer to a country's development. If we're talking about economic development, it's commonly based on GNI (Gross National Income).

Based on GNI, a country can be classified as developed, developing or emerging. As per the World Bank's statistics, T&T is classified as a high-income economy along with the US, in other words, it's developed. But that's just economic development. There's also human development.

Human development is more holistic and takes into account things like mortality rates, education, standard of living, etc. According to the UN's 2018 Human Development reports, T&T actually ranks 63rd in human development, and falls under the high human development category.

In conclusion, the very use of "third world" is outdated, you're probably using it wrong anyways, and Trinidad & Tobago is more or less considered a developed country. (Please feel free to add any corrections)

Sources:
• https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/third-world-countries
• https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519
• http://hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-index-hdi