Earth’s nearly 200 countries can be classified according to their level of development. The development process is continuous, involving never-ending actions to constantly improve the health and prosperity of people.
Key Issue 1: Why Does Development Vary Among Countries?
Countries can be categorized according to their level of development, which is the process of improving the conditions of people through diffusion of knowledge and technology. The development process is continuous, involving never-ending actions to perpetually improve the health and prosperity of the people.
Development & Geography Countries may be divided into two groups according to their level of development:
A developed country, also known as a more developed country (MDC) and referred to by the U.N. as a very high developed country, has progressed further along the development continuum.
A developing country, also frequently called a less developed country (LDC), has made some progress toward development, though less than the developed countries.
The U.N. further classifies developing countries into high, medium, and low developing categories.
Human Development Index The United Nations compares levels of development on an index called the Human Development Index (HDI). The U.N. has computed HDIs for countries annually since 1980. The highest HDI possible is 1.0, or 100 percent. The HDI considers development to be a function of three factors: a decent standard of living, a long and healthy life, and access to knowledge. Each country is scored on these three factors, which are then combined into an overall HDI.
Development Regions The world is divided by geographers into two developed regions and seven developing regions. Each region has an overall HDI score. The two developed regions include North America and Europe. The two regions with the lowest HDI scores are sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. In addition, three other distinctive areas are identified—Japan and South Korea are classified separately rather than included with the rest of East Asia, as their level of development is much higher than that of their neighbors. In the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand are developed, while the area’s other countries are developing. Because Russia’s development is on the boundary between high developed and very high developed, its classification may change from year to year.
A Decent Standard of Living Accumulating enough wealth for a decent standard of living is essential to development. Geographers have identified ways in which people generate and spend their wealth differently in developed countries and developing countries.
Income The U.N. measures the standard of living in countries through an index called annual gross national income per capita at purchasing power parity. The gross national income (GNI) is the value of the output of goods and services produced in a country in a year, including money that leaves and enters the country. The purchasing power parity (PPP) is an adjustment made to the GNI to account for differences among countries in the cost of goods. By dividing the GNI by the total population, it is possible to measure the contribution made by the average individual towards generating a country’s wealth in a year. Per capita GNI measures the average (mean) wealth, not the distribution of wealth. Other indicators include gross domestic product (GDP), which is also the value of the output of goods and services produced within a country in a year. The GDP does not account for money that leaves or enters the country. Per capita GNI (or any other single indicator) cannot measure perfectly the level of a country’s development. In general, the higher the per capita GNI, the greater the possibility that all citizens can have a comfortable life.
Economic Structure Jobs fall into three categories. Primary sector jobs include activities extracting materials from the Earth through agriculture, mining, fishing, and forestry. Secondary sector jobs process, transform, and assemble raw materials into manufactured products. Tertiary sector jobs involve the provision of goods and services to people in exchange for payment. The share of GNI accounted for by the primary and secondary sector has decreased dramatically in the last century in most developed countries. The tertiary sector accounts for the greatest share of the GNI in developed countries.
Productivity Workers in developed countries are more productive than those in developing countries. The term productivity means the value of a product compared to the amount of labor needed to make it. The value added in manufacturing is the gross value of the product minus the raw materials and energy. Productivity can be measured by the value added per capita. Workers in developed countries produce more with less effort because they have access to more machines, tools, and equipment to perform much of the work. Workers in developing countries rely more on human and animal power to produce goods.
Access to Knowledge The U.N. considers years of schooling to be the most critical measure of the ability of an individual to gain access to knowledge needed for development. The assumption is that no matter how poor the school, the longer the pupils attend, the more likely they are to learn something.
HDI Education Measures The U.N. uses two measures of years of schooling to compute the access to knowledge portion of the HDI. Years of schooling for today’s adults measures the number of years the average person aged 25 or older has spent in school. The average person aged 25 or older in a developed country has attended school an average of 12.2 years, compared to 7.3 years in developing countries. Expected years of schooling for today’s youth measures the number of years the U.N. forecasts an average 5-year-old will spend in school. In developed countries, the U.N. expects that the average 5-year-old will spend an average of 16.4 years in school. The expected average years of schooling is 10.1 years in sub-Saharan Africa.
Other Education Indicators Other indicators measure regional variations in access to knowledge. The pupil/teacher ratio is the number of enrolled students divided by the number of teachers. The fewer pupils a teacher has, the more likely that each student will receive effective instruction. The literacy rate is the percentage of a country’s people who can read and write. Students in developing countries face an additional challenge because most of the textbooks are not published in their native language. Improved education is a major goal of many developing countries, but funds are scarce.
Health & Welfare Good health is as important a measure of development as wealth and knowledge, according to the U.N. A goal of development is to provide the nutrition and medical services needed for people to lead long and healthy lives.
A Long & Healthy Life The health indicator contributing to the HDI is life expectancy. The life expectancy is 80 years in developed countries, while life expectancy is 61 years in sub-Saharan Africa. People are healthier in developed countries than developing ones. When a person in a developed country gets sick, the country possesses the resources to care for him or her. Longer life spans have led to a higher percentage of older people who have retired and receive public support and a lower percentage of children under age 15 who are too young to work and must also be supported by employed adults. Better health and welfare also allow babies to survive infancy in developed countries.
Consumer Goods Part of the wealth generated in developed countries is used to purchase goods and services. Especially important are goods related to transportation and communication, including motor vehicles, telephones, and computers. These products are accessible to virtually all residents in developed countries and are vital to the economy’s functioning and growth. In contrast, in developing countries, these products do not play a central role in daily life for many people. Most people in developing countries are familiar with vehicles and computers but cannot afford them. Cell phone ownership is expanding in developing countries, as these devices do not require the large expenditures associated with connecting wires to each individual building.
10.1
Tertiary sector
The portion of the economy concerned with transportation, communications, and utilities, sometimes extended to the provision of all goods and services to people in exchange for payment.
Bid-rent theory
A geographic theory that states the price and demand for real estate change as the distance from the central business district (CBD) increases
Commodity dependence
When a country's economy is reliant on a single product
Comparative advantage
The ability of a group to carry out an economic activity more efficiently than another economic activity
Complementarity
when two regions, through trade, can specifically satisfy each other's demands In World's Systems Analysis, the core are the powerful, wealthy countries that have great influence on the world economy
Core-based statistical area (CBSA)
In the United States, the collection of all metropolitan statistical areas and micropolitan statistical areas.
Developed country
A country that has progressed relatively far along a continuum of development.
Developing country
A country that is at a relatively early stage in the process of development.
Development
The changes that occur as a country transitions from an agricultural economy to industry-based economy with rising living standards
Formal economy
Economic activities that take place inside the official, legal framework, pay taxes and are monitored by the government
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
A monetary measurement of all the goods and services produced in a year inside of a country
Gross National Income (GNI)
A monetary measurement of all the goods and services produced by citizens (including citizens overseas) in a year in a country but NOT con-citizen residents
Gross National Product (GNP)
A monetary measurement of all the goods and services produced by residents of a country (NOT citizens in other countries)
Human Development Index (HDI)
A statistic created by the United Nations to try to measure how economically developed a country is seen as more complete picture than just GDP PPP per capita
Informal economy
Economic activities that are neither taxed, nor monitored by any form of government including illegal activities
Literacy Rate
The percentage of people in an area that can read and write
Multiplier Effects
An increase in spending produces an increase in national income and consumption greater than the initial amount spent
Neoliberal policies
When countries institute economic rules that promote sustained economic growth as the means to achieve human progress and confidence in free markets
Periphery
In World's Systems Analysis, the periphery are the least economically developed countries that have little influence over the world's economy
Primary sector
The portion of the economy concerned with the direct extraction of materials from Earth, generally through agriculture.
Productivity
The value of a particular product compared to the amount of labor needed to make it.
Pupil/teacher ratio
The number of enrolled students divided by the number of teachers.
Purchasing power parity (PPP)
The amount of money needed in one country to purchase the same goods and services in another country.
Secondary sector
The portion of the economy concerned with manufacturing useful products through processing, transforming, and assembling raw materials.
Sectors of the economy
Separating jobs into segments of the economy based on the purpose of their job (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary, quinary)
Semi periphery
In World's Systems Analysis, the semi-periphery is the more-wealthy LDCs that have some influence on world economies
Special economic zone
An area that has different laws governing trade and business than the rest of the country and aim to attract FDI
Standard of living
Level of wealth available to a person or community