The key goal of the study is the formation of scientific and methodological approaches to the analysis of modern models of economic development of countries. The features of the models of economic development of countries, their types and specifics are considered, the transformation of indicators of economic development of the countries of the world in the context of global imbalances and volatility is argued. It is proved that the key factor in the sustainable development of the country is economic growth, which ensures the overall well-being of both a separate industry and the country's economy as a whole. The specificity of the transformation of key indicators of the economic development of countries is considered; this served as the basis for substantiating the scientific and methodological aspects of the multidimensional cluster analysis of the target indicators of the economic development of the countries of the world. The scientific and methodological aspects of the multidimensional analysis of the transformation of the target indicators of the economic development of countries were formed, which ensured the structuring of countries into groups of economic development, taking into account the specifics of their functioning and development strategies. The application of the developed approaches based on the economic and statistical multidimensional cluster analysis and indicators of economic development of the countries of the world can be applied in practice. The developed scientific and methodological recommendations will ensure the effectiveness of the formation of economic policies and strategies for the economic development of countries.