Identification of Eligible Countries
- The CDP reviews the list of LDCs and makes recommendations for inclusion in and graduation from the category every three years
- These recommendations are not exclusively based on the criteria scores, complementary country-specific information (DESA impact assessment, UNCTAD vulnerability profile) and the views of the government are also taken into account
- The graduation thresholds, as determined by the CDP, must be met for any two of the three criteria in two consecutive triennial reviews
- On an exceptional basis, if the GNI per capita of the country is at least twice the graduation threshold in two consecutive triennial reviews; starting at the 2024 triennial review the GNI per capita has to be at least three times the graduation threshold
Graduation Thresholds: 2024 Triennial Review
|
|
|
|
GNI per capita: $1,306 or above Income-only: $3,918 or above |
66 or above | 32 or below |
Time frame of the eligibility procedure
|
Year 0 (first triennial review) |
CDP Finds country eligible for the first time (eligibility needs to be reconfirmed at the next triennial review) |
||||
| DESA Notifies the country of the first finding |
|||||
|
Between years 0 and 3 (between first and second triennial review) |
UNCTAD Prepares a vulnerability profile and provides a draft to the country |
||||
| DESA Prepares an ex ante impact assessment and provides a draft to the country |
|||||
| CDP Secretariat Consolidates United Nations inputs into graduation assessment (piloted upon CDP request since 2019) |
|||||
| Country ● Initiates preparation for possible graduation (early start of preparations recommended by CDP since 2018) • Establishes or uses existing consultative mechanism with development and trading partners • Initiates work on smooth transition strategy ● Provides comments on the draft documents and preliminary data prepared by UN entities |
|||||
|
Year 3 (second triennial review) |
CDP ● Confirms eligibility (second finding) ● Recommends country, taking into account LDC criteria and additional information (supplementary graduation indicators, graduation assessment and related documents, country statements) ● Recommendation includes statement on length of preparatory period (standard – 3 years, extended – up to 5 years) as well suggestions for priorities and type of support needed to ensure a smooth transition |
||||
| ECOSOC Endorses the CDP recommendation |
|||||
| General Assembly Takes note of the CDP recommendation |
|||||
| Between years 3 and 6* | Graduating Country ● Finalizes smooth transition strategy ● Reports to the CDP on the preparation of the strategy |
||||
| UNRCO Facilitates consultative mechanism; provides support on transition strategy upon request |
|||||
| UN System Provides targeted assistance and capacity-building upon request, coordinated by Inter-Agency Task Force |
|||||
| Development and trading partners Participate in consultative mechanism and provide support as agreed |
|||||
| CDP Monitors development progress of the country during the period; reports findings annually to ECOSOC |
|||||
| Year 6* | Graduation becomes effective, country is no longer in the LDC category | ||||
|
After year 6* (after graduation) |
Graduated country ● Implements and monitors the transition strategy ● Submits to the CDP progress reports on its implementation annually for the first three years after graduation, and triennially at two triennial reviews |
||||
| Development and trading partners ● Support the implementation of the transition strategy ● Avoid abrupt reduction of LDC-specific support |
|||||
| CDP Monitors development progress of graduated country; reports its findings to ECOSOC annually for the first three years after the country’s graduation, and triennially at two triennial reviews afterwards |
|||||
* Year indicates standard length of preparatory period applied, exact date will be determined by the General Assembly
Impact Assessment
- Focuses on expected implications of loss of LDC status and LDC specific support measures
- Counts on inputs from the country and its development and trading partners
Vulnerability Profile
- Provides a background of the country’s economic and development situation
- Compares values of indicators used in the triennial review with relevant national statistics
- Assesses vulnerabilities faced by the country not covered by the EVI
- Identifies other structural features of relevance for the graduation decision
Timeline of country’s graduation from the LDC category
| 2027 | Solomon Islands * |
| 2026 | Bangladesh *, Lao People’s Democratic Republic *, Nepal * |
| 2024 | São Tomé and Príncipe * |
| 2023 | Bhutan |
| 2020 | Vanuatu |
| 2017 | Equatorial Guinea |
| 2014 | Samoa |
| 2012 | South Sudan |
| 2011 | Maldives |
| 2007 | Cabo Verde |
| 2003 | Timor-Leste |
| 2000 | Senegal |
| 1994 | Botswana Angola, Eritrea |
| 1991 | Cambodia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Solomon Islands, Zambia |
| 1990 | Liberia |
| 1988 | Mozambique |
| 1987 | Myanmar |
| 1986 | Kiribati, Mauritania, Tuvalu |
| 1985 | Vanuatu |
| 1982 | Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Togo |
| 1981 | Guinea-Bissau |
| 1977 | Cabo Verde, Comoros |
| 1975 | Bangladesh, Central African Republic, Gambia |
| 1971 | Afghanistan, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Samoa, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen |
* Scheduled for graduation
Follow Us