You forgot Poland. It never had colonies. It was destroyed completely in WW2. Then exploited by the communists until there was no almost no economy left in 1989.
By today's standard Poland of 1989 can definitely be described as an underdeveloped country (annual gdp per capita $1700 usd - but the majority of population lived on a lot less). Infrastructure in shambles. Major roads and rail links designed not along North-South as the country's economy needs, but East-West to facilitate transfer of Soviet army if needed. Fast forward 30 years and things look pretty much developed. A big chunk of it was thanks to EUs money(since 2004), but one could argue access to local market for Western companies repaid them the expense many times over...
Sure there are issues with the quality of the democracy (specially inability to modernise juidiciary in last 30 years), amount of emotional arguments in public discourse etc, but overall IMO it is a good example of a democratic country that managed to make the standard of living a lot better for its citizens.
I grew up in Ostrava, close to the Polish border. Poland in the late 1980s and early 1990s was a fairly poor country. There were massive shortages of stuff in shops, a serious inflation (I remember looking at a 500,000 zloty banknote in a mixture of awe and dread) and a black market that was doing its best and worst to keep people supplied somehow.
Polish economic miracle is incredible. Warsaw looks like a Manhattan built on a steppe, and living standards of ordinary Polish citizens have gone through the roof in a single generation.
By today's standard Poland of 1989 can definitely be described as an underdeveloped country (annual gdp per capita $1700 usd - but the majority of population lived on a lot less). Infrastructure in shambles. Major roads and rail links designed not along North-South as the country's economy needs, but East-West to facilitate transfer of Soviet army if needed. Fast forward 30 years and things look pretty much developed. A big chunk of it was thanks to EUs money(since 2004), but one could argue access to local market for Western companies repaid them the expense many times over...
Sure there are issues with the quality of the democracy (specially inability to modernise juidiciary in last 30 years), amount of emotional arguments in public discourse etc, but overall IMO it is a good example of a democratic country that managed to make the standard of living a lot better for its citizens.