Download Classifying Countries

Classifying Countries
How many ways can you group countries?
Exactly how many countries are there?
Ways to Classify Countries
Economic development e.g. per capita GDP, per
capita electrical power capacity
Social development e.g. level of education, life
expectancy, infant mortality
Political maturity e.g. level of corruption, established
electoral system
Developed/Undeveloped Countries
 An older method that divided the countries into rich
developed countries and poor undeveloped countries
 But this method did not allow for any flexibility
Developed/Developing Countries
 Similar to the Developed/Undeveloped Model, but this
one allows that countries can change over time
 For example, in 60 years South Korea went from
Developing to Developed
 Grouped by economic development.
 System ignores culture. Countries such as Brazil, China
and India have a very rich and highly developed
culture.
Developed Countries
 Highest level of economic and social development
 Even the poorest in these countries live well compared
to those in developing countries
 Economies are based on the service sector – e.g.
education, health care, banking, transportation and info
technology
 Manufacturing less important
 Primary industries (agriculture, fishing, forestry) least
important
 20% of the world’s population
 Use most of the world’s resources
Developing Countries
 Lowest level of economic and social growth
 Economies dominated by primary industries, especially
agriculture
 Few pay taxes so little money for government services
 Rely on foreign aid
One significant difference between developed and developing
countries lies in the way they manage their garbage. Several
developed countries have strict rules and procedures in place
regarding garbage disposal and violators are fined heavily. Proper
management of garbage is a strong indicator of a developed
society.
First World/Third World
 First World nations are industrialized, developed,
capitalist countries such as Canada, the United
Kingdom, USA and Japan. These countries are most
often within the sphere of American influence. They
share common political and economic interests.
 Second World nations are (former) communist-socialist
countries with strong industrial and social development.
Countries include Russia, Poland and Hungary.
 Third World countries are the underdeveloped nations of
the world, especially those with widespread poverty.
Sometimes they can be very rich (e.g., Saudi Arabia),
but are usually very poor (e.g., Mali). Most often the
countries are African, Asian or Latin American.
Which countries are still communist?
Cuba
China
Laos
Vietnam
North Korea
First/Second/Third/Fourth/Fifth Worlds
 First World nations have the highest level of economic and social
development (e.g., Canada, Japan, France)
 Second World nations have high social development but lesser economic
development. Most of these countries are former communist states such as
Russia and Poland. Since these countries are no longer communist, it can be
assumed they will eventually take on the characteristics of one of the other
categories.
 Third World nations include Brazil and Mexico. These countries are in a stage
of transition with increased levels of social and economic development.
 Fourth World nations are in the early stages of development. Their social and
economic development is in its earliest stage. The group includes India and
Ecuador.
 Fifth World nations have little evidence of development. The countries
include Ethiopia, Haiti and Bangladesh.
Key Definitions
 GDP: Gross Domestic Product, the market value of all
goods and services produced within a country in a year,
basically it is a measure of how rich a country is
 HDI: Human Development Index, a composite statistic of
life expectancy, education, and per capita income
indicators, which are used to rank countries
Human Development Index
Human Development Index
UN indicator that measures quality of life:
Life Expectancy
under-five mortality rates
maternal mortality rates
Education:
mean of years of schooling for adults aged 25 years
expected years of schooling for children of school entering age
 number of students enrolled in particularly important fields of study, such
as the mathematics and sciences
Income
per capita income
unemployment
Fragile States (formerly Failed States)
 a state whose
political or
economic
system has
become so
weak that the
government is
no longer in
control.
1)Somalia
2) South Sudan
3) Central African
Republic
4) Sudan
5) Yemen
6) Syria
Newly Industrializing Countries
 Transitioning to Developed Country characteristics
 Emerging economies
 Have been achieving economic growth rates that are
greater than that of the developed countries
Examples: Taiwan, South Korea, China, Brazil, Chile
Global Development over the past 200 years
Hans Rosling tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200
years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1AaW3c7dBM
The Gapminder World Map was produced by Gapminder in May 2010, with the latest available
data (2008). The chart compares all countries and territories by income and health.