Developing countries

In the course of the 1950s and 1960s, an increasing number of new ISO member bodies came from the developing world.

The International Standards developed by ISO are of high value to developing countries. They offer indeed practical solutions to a variety of issues related to international trade and technology transfer because they represent a reservoir of technological know-how and of product, performance, quality, safety and environmental specifications.

However, to take advantage of International Standards and to participate in their development, developing countries had to face substantial additional problems in comparison with industrialized nations, ranging from the lack of established industrial infrastructures and related technical components (including national standards, metrology and testing institutions and facilities), to the severe limitation of financial and technical resources.

The first landmark in ISO’s attempts to respond to the needs of these members was the establishment in 1961 of the DEVCO Committee on developing country matters (initiated on the basis of a memorandum to ISO Council from Mr. F. Hadass of Israel). Other initiatives followed. In 1967, a developing countries conference was held in Moscow and in1968 a new category of correspondent member was established, so that developing countries could play a role in ISO’s work without incurring the cost of full membership.

A further category of subscriber member was eventually added in 1992, allowing very small economies to maintain a link with ISO for a minimum fee.

Since the 1960s, the membership and role of developing countries within ISO has been continuously increasing. In parallel, the attention of the organization to the needs of developing countries has substantially evolved, along with the undertaking of programmes providing technical assistance and capacity building and a variety of initiatives to facilitate developing countries' participation in international standardization.

• ISO Action Plan for developing countries (PDF, MB)
• ISO Online's Resources for ... Developing countries

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