The World Bank has not classified Australia as a "third world country" -- an outdated term used to describe low-income nations -- contrary to a claim shared by social media users critical of the ruling Labor Party. A spokesperson for the bank told AFP "no such classification exists" within its analytical framework, and it in fact considers Australia to be a high-income country.
"Australia is now classified by the world bank as a third world country," says part of the caption of an X video shared on July 16, 2026.
"Labor and Albanese have destroyed Australia and must be held accountable," it adds, referring to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The nearly one-minute-long video shows a man wearing a cap that reads "Unemployable", speaking on a podcast.
He says: "Australia is officially now classified by the World Bank as a third world country because when your growth management strategy goes past 2.5 percent, you are then considered a third world country, which means your infrastructure can no longer keep up with your growth."
The clip, which was posted elsewhere in similar X posts and on Instagram, was also shared by a right-wing political party on TikTok.
"Not surprised," says one commenter, while another blamed people who voted Labor as "the actual root cause of the problem".
The original video was posted on Instagram in June by the Unemployable podcast that, according to its official YouTube page, puts out content for people "who don't fit standard career paths" ( archived...
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