The U.N.'s Committee for Development Policy (CDP), which sits in judgment over which countries should be given "least developed country" (LDC) status, has identified Ghana as meeting the criteria for addition to the list. This status is conferred upon the poorest countries in the world and provides some preferential trade and aid treatment.

The thresholds for inclusion are: population of less than 75 million; per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of less than 1,000 dollars; Augmented Physical Quality of Life Index (combining health, nutrition and education) of less than 59 (out of a possible total of 100); and an economic vulnerability index (EVI) of less than 36. A country has to meet all these criteria to be designated an LDC.

As an LDC, Ghana will be eligible for several economic benefits, including increased aid, concessionary loans and lower tariffs for its exports.

However, the rising number of LDCs is interpreted by a number of diplomats and officials as a major setback to developing nations whose economies have taken a severe beating from growing debt problems, declining commodity prices, increased tariff barriers, and the debilitating aspects of economic globalization.

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, the U.N. under-secretary-general for LDCs, said the U.N. system and the international community have focused on LDCs for decades, assembling conferences and adopting programs of action to improve these nations' economic and social prospects.

Despite these good intentions, the situation has not improved, Chowdhury added. A yardstick for success, he argued, would be a decline in the number of LDCs by the time a fourth international summit on their situation and prospects is held, possibly in the next decade.

The number of LDCs has increased from 24 in 1971 to 49 last year. Of the existing LDCs, 34 are in Africa. The remaining 15 include nine in Asia, five in the Pacific, and one in the Caribbean.

So far, the only country that has graduated from the ranks of LDCs is Botswana.