As an expert in international relations and global development, I can provide a comprehensive analysis of the question at hand. It is important to note that the term "Third World" is a historical concept that originated during the Cold War to categorize countries based on their political alliances and level of economic development. The First World referred to the capitalist, developed countries, primarily the United States and its allies. The Second World was composed of the communist, socialist states, led by the Soviet Union. The Third World was a group of countries that were not aligned with either of the two superpowers and were often characterized by their underdevelopment and poverty. **read more >>

By formal definition from the Cold War era, all these countries except former Yugoslavian republics were parts of Eastern Bloc (i.e. --second world--), and today all of them except Albania, Kosovo, Moldova and Ukraine are way closer to the --first world-- and --golden billion-- (rather --two golden billions-- in terms of ...read more >>