Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC)

LMIC (low- and middle-income countries) is not a CASRAI- or research-sector-specific term; it is borrowed directly from the World Bank’s country income classification system, and its precise meaning is set by that system rather than by common usage. Understanding the underlying classification matters because a large share of research-administration decisions — grant eligibility, ethics-review risk tiers, and open-access fee waivers among them — hinge on whether a specific country currently carries this designation.

How the classification works

The World Bank sorts every economy in the world into one of four income groups once per year, effective 1 July, based on Gross National Income (GNI) per capita for the prior calendar year, expressed in US dollars using the Atlas method (a conversion technique that smooths exchange-rate volatility). For the classification effective 1 July 2026 (fiscal year 2027, based on 2025 GNI data), the thresholds are:

• Low-income: GNI per capita of $1,175 or less
• Lower-middle-income: $1,176 to $4,635
• Upper-middle-income: $4,636 to $14,375
• High-income: above $14,375

‘LMIC’ is shorthand for the three non-high-income groups combined — low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income together. Because the thresholds are inflation-adjusted and re-set annually, and because GNI per capita itself moves, individual countries do shift between groups from year to year (a country can graduate out of LMIC status, or occasionally move back into it). This is why any dataset, publication, or eligibility list that references ‘LMIC’ should state which fiscal year’s classification it is using; a country’s status as of FY2024 is not guaranteed to still hold in FY2027.

Where research administrators actually encounter it

LMIC status is a load-bearing eligibility criterion, not just descriptive language, across several parts of the research lifecycle:

Funder eligibility

Many international funders scope entire schemes, or preferential terms within a scheme, to LMIC-based applicants or partnerships. The NIH Fogarty International Center runs a portfolio of research-training and capacity-building grant mechanisms (for example D43 and K43 award types) specifically aimed at building research capacity in LMICs. Wellcome Trust similarly builds LMIC eligibility into several of its major schemes — for instance, its Career Development Awards require the host organisation to be a not-for-profit institution in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or an eligible LMIC (with specific country exclusions and, from late 2026, a narrower geographic scope limited to LMICs in Africa, South Asia, and South-East Asia for several schemes). Because eligibility lists like these are scheme-specific and change over time, always confirm current eligibility directly against the funder’s own published criteria rather than relying on a country’s general LMIC status alone.

Research ethics and vulnerability considerations

The CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines for Health-related Research Involving Humans (developed jointly with the World Health Organization) explicitly address research conducted in resource-limited or low-income settings, including requirements around responsiveness to local health needs, community engagement, fair benefit-sharing, and capacity-building obligations for research sponsored from outside the host country. Research ethics committees reviewing LMIC-based or LMIC-partnered studies frequently apply heightened scrutiny to informed consent processes, participant vulnerability, and post-trial access to interventions, reflecting these guidelines.

Publishing and open-access equity

Journal and publisher waiver programmes for article processing charges (APCs) commonly key eligibility to World Bank income classification, typically offering full or partial waivers to corresponding authors affiliated with institutions in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (see institutional waiver programme). Research4Life, the public-private partnership that provides discounted or free access to scholarly content, also uses World Bank income groups as its core eligibility mechanism.

Worked examples

• Grant eligibility check: A funding call restricted to “LMIC-based lead applicants” requires the applicant’s host institution to be located in a country the World Bank currently classifies as low-income, lower-middle-income, or upper-middle-income for the applicable fiscal year — not merely a country that is colloquially described as “developing.”
• Data-sharing agreement: A multi-country consortium agreement grants different intellectual-property or data-access terms depending on whether a partner institution’s country is currently LMIC-classified, requiring the consortium to track classification changes across the life of the award.

Common misuse

LMIC is frequently used loosely as a synonym for “developing country” or “Global South,” but these are not interchangeable. “Developing country” has no single authoritative definition and is used differently by the UN, WTO, and IMF; “Global South” is a geopolitical framing, not an income-based one, and includes some upper-middle- and even high-income economies. A country can be LMIC-classified without being commonly described as “Global South” (and vice versa). For any use where actual eligibility or compliance turns on the term — a grant application, an ethics submission, a waiver request — cite the World Bank’s current classification list directly rather than a secondary description.

Frequently asked questions

Is LMIC the same as “developing country”?

No. “LMIC” is a specific World Bank income-classification term with defined GNI-per-capita thresholds, updated annually. “Developing country” has no single agreed definition across international bodies and is used inconsistently; some organisations have moved away from the term altogether in favour of income-group classifications like LMIC precisely because of that ambiguity.

How often does the World Bank update the LMIC list?

Once a year, effective every 1 July, based on GNI per capita data for the prior calendar year. Because thresholds are inflation-adjusted and individual countries’ GNI per capita fluctuates, some countries move between income groups each cycle.

Does LMIC include upper-middle-income countries?

Yes, as commonly used in research funding and global-health contexts, LMIC refers to all three non-high-income World Bank groups combined: low-income, lower-middle-income, and upper-middle-income. Some funders narrow this further (for example, restricting a scheme to low-income and lower-middle-income countries only), so always check the specific scheme’s definition rather than assuming the broadest reading applies.

Where do I find the current official LMIC list?

Directly from the World Bank’s own published country and lending groups classification (updated each 1 July) rather than from a secondary source, since individual country status changes year to year.