>>1209560Another source from Thomas Foster, B.A. in Politics from Monash University, excerpt: "Third World Countries:
Switzerland (yes, that's right), Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Brazil and much of the Americas and Africa was referred to as the 'Third World'. They didn't align with either the USSR or the US, and had no organised alliance amongst themselves.
As many of these countries in Africa and South America are now poorer countries, the term 'Third World' has been used to describe poorer countries. It's pretty obvious to see that this isn't a good term to use, as Switzerland and other neutral countries were also part of the 'Third World'.
So to answer your question, it's a byproduct of Cold War geography and international relations. It has no use today, and strictly speaking neither do the terms 'First' and 'Third' world."
