Various organizations, including the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and global index providers such as MSCI and FTSE Russell, use their own methodologies to classify economies as "developed" or "advanced". These may incorporate additional measures such as market accessibility, institutional quality, and
financial market maturity. Consequently, advanced economies are generally distinguished from
emerging and
developing economies not only by income levels, but also by the complexity, diversification, and stability of their economic systems. The IMF maintains this classification primarily for analytical purposes, and some
high-income economies particularly those heavily dependent on a single sector such as
oil exports may still be categorized as emerging due to limited diversification. As of April 2026, 43 economies are classified as advanced. These include major global economies such as the
United States,
Japan, and
Germany, as well as smaller or highly specialized economies such as
Singapore, the
Republic of Ireland, and
New Zealand. ==List==