The category of Least Developed Countries (LDC) was established by the General Assembly to promote special international support for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the United Nations family.
The current list of LDC includes 47 countries of which 33 are in Africa, 13 in Asia and the Pacific and one in Latin America. Over one billion people live in these countries – about 13 per cent of world population – but their economies account for less than 2 per cent of the world’s GDP and less than 1 per cent of global trade.
The mission of the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (OHRLLS) is to raise awareness about the economic, social and environmental potential that exist in these countries. They aim to ensure that the pressing needs of the 1.1 billion people who live in those countries remain high on the international agenda.
The 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) will be held in Doha, Qatar in March 2023 putting the needs of the most vulnerable people back into focus. Investment in these young vibrant countries can help drive sustainable growth for generations.
The stamp sheets are consecutively numbered 1 through 16,000, so each one is unique. The sheet was designed by the OHRLLS. The photographs are as follows, from top to bottom, left to right: Mali (sunset in water) © UN Photo/Marco Dormino, Afghanistan (group of girls) © UNOCHA/Charlotte Cans, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Woman with arms out) © UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti, and Timor-Leste (hands with coffee beans) © UN Photo/Martine Perret.
