Three aggregate indices representing agriculture, industry, and basic needs were constructed by combining various subsets of indicators with the help of the Wroclaw taxonomic method. The composite scores were then utilized to rank 126 countries, which are again divided into three groups by using a clustering technique for subsequent analysis. Agricultural progress is more directly related to baste needs fulfilment for the advanced countries than for the least developed countries. While this study lends some support to the view that world agriculture is in disequilibrium, developed countries may nevertheless find that maintaining high standards of living through continuous advances in agricultural productivity is relatively easier than by other means. Producing more primary products than a country needs to satisfy its basic needs adds to its export potential, and that addition helps to prevent protection of agricultural products, which would eventually make satisfying basic needs requirements more difficult. In the past decade, the least developed countries benefited most from industrialization.