The use of “tiers” for Third World seems strange - I have never hear anything that made me think that Third World was a fraction as opposed to

Question

an additional category after The West and the Eastern Bloc - and thus I would have thought “troisième”

Alan Graham · Accepted Answer

Hi David,
I'm sure you're right that the "third" in "Third World" refers to an order rather than a fraction.
I think the reason that "tiers" is used is probably historical. Although "Third World" is a relatively recent term it was coined from the much older expression "Third Estate" - "le tiers-état".
I imagine at the time when that term was created the language was rather different and "tiers" could be used to mean 3rd in sequence.

David Chapman · Answer

Thank you - since a Frenchman coined the term, based on Third Estate, (at least per Wikipedia) - I can’t argue.  I’m learning that many things I have to accept don’t have such a clear basis - but I have to accept and learn them!

Cécile Janty-Davies · Answer

Thank you Alan for this excellent answer.
I was discussing this question posed by David with some French people yesterday as I have to admit I had never asked myself since in my mind it only designates a status and I learnt that there is another term 'le quart-monde'.
After a bit of research it appears that 'le quart-monde' was coined in 1969 to designate people under the threshold of poverty. It is wonderful to learn something new. If you are interested, take a peak at:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quart-monde
all in French I am afraid but good practice.