In the development work, we usually hear our countries referred to as the third world, the developing world, the global south, the low-and middle-income countries, or the emerging economies…

In each of these labels, we will find certain problems. The “Third World” is just insulting today, the “Global South” is very much tinged with politics, the “Developing Countries” and the “Emerging Economies” are terms that seem to be accepted by many of our countries, because they define the state of the countries’ economies in stead of their subjective rank in the world.

Still, these labels tend to somehow undermine the cultural and social wealth of our countries. Although they are still used today in the development work, there’re a growing feeling within our communities that these terms are not appropriate.

One of the terms that I came across through a development network based in Ghana is “The Majority World “, that I find very interesting. Our countries represent indeed the majority of humankind on earth. “The Majority world” represents our countries when it comes to what they are, rather than what they lack. “The Majority World” can perhaps be the term that challenges the development rhetoric of the West today?

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