The country scorecards consolidate an individual country's scores for each of the 17 policy indicators MCC uses to determine eligibility for its assistance programs. By using information collected from independent, third-party sources, MCC allows for an objective, comparison of all candidate countries.
Low Income Countries vs.
Lower Middle Income Countries
The distinction between Low Income Countries (LIC) and Lower Middle Income Countries (LMIC) is important because federal law states that only 25 percent of Millennium Challenge Compact assistance in any given year may be invested in compacts for LMIC countries. This funding cap was included in the law that established the MCC to ensure that a majority of the funding would be reserved for the world's poorest countries.
