Highlights

The Least Developed Countries, 1996 Report, is the twelfth annual report of UNCTAD focusing the attention of the international community on the key developmental issues confronting the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), which are the poorest and economically weakest of the developing countries with the most formidable structural problems.

The Report reviews recent developments in the LDCs, their short-term outlook and prospects for growth. It analyses selected issues in the context of interdependence, examining the implications for LDCs of the processes of globalization and liberalization, processes that have profound implications for LDCs in terms of their position in the world economy, their development prospects and the nature of their economic policies. It presents a set of national policies and international support measures to enhance the capacity of LDCs to benefit from globalization and liberalization. It also deals with related issues in trade and economic cooperation between LDCs and other developing countries and financial sector reform in LDCs.