Fifty countries are currently designated by the United Nations as“least developed countries”(LDCs):Afghanistan,Angola,Bangladesh,Benin,Bhutan,Burkina Faso,Burundi,Cambodia,Cape Verde(until December 2007),Central African Republic,Chad,Comoros,Democratic Republic of the Congo,Djibouti,Equatorial Guinea,Eritrea,Ethiopia,Gambia,Guinea,Guinea-Bissau,Haiti,Kiribati,Lao People’s Democratic Republic,Lesotho,Liberia,Madagascar,Malawi,Maldives,Mali,Mauritania,Mozambique,Myanmar,Nepal,Niger,Rwanda,Samoa,Sao
Tome and Principe,Senegal,Sierra Leone,Solomon Islands,Somalia,Sudan,Timor–Leste,Togo,Tuvalu,Uganda,United Republic of Tanzania,Vanuatu,Yemen and Zambia.The list of LDCs is reviewed every three years by the Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC)in the light of recommendations by the Committee for Development Policy(CDP).