Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A semi-colony is, in Marxist theory, a country which is officially an independent and sovereign nation, but which is in reality very much dependent and dominated by another (imperialist) country.The relationship between the semi-colony is said to benefit the position of semi-colonial elite or ruling class (which serves both its own interest and the interests of foreign investors and creditors) and also to benefit the imperialist country, which obtains profits and cheap resources from its investments in the semi-colony. The semi-colonial situation however disadvantages the working majority of the population, insofar as balanced economic development is impossible - only those industries are developed which benefit foreign investors or the export trade (usually extractive and agricultural industries).