Classifying Countries
Download
Report
Transcript Classifying Countries
CLASSIFYING
COUNTRIES
PUT THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES INTO 3
GROUPS (ANY 3 GROUPS)
USA
Russia
Spain
Argentina
Mexico
Brazil
China
South Africa
Greece
Dem. Rep. Congo
Finland
Germany
Jamaica
Cuba
Ethiopia
Japan
Ukraine
Iraq
India
South Sudan
Give each group a title and briefly explain your reasoning
for grouping each country as you did
The easiest way to classify countries is to
group them according to their levels of social
and economic development
Social Development – refers to the level of
education, healthcare, jurisprudence (legal
rights), life expectancy, and rate of infant
mortality of a country’s population
Economic Development – refers to the level
of material wealth and trade in a country.
This depends on per capita GDP (Gross
domestic product), ratio of cars to people,
and per capita electric power capacity
METHODS OF GROUPING
(1) Developed/Developing Worlds
this dated model grouped countries according to
its level of economic development
A developed nation would include Canada and a
developing nation may include China
This model does not allow for change in status for
a nation
(2) North – South
- this simple model groups countries into
temperate and tropical
- This model is based on the premise that
developed countries are located in
temperate regions of globe and developing
countries being located in the more
tropical regions
- This model is inaccurate because many
nations like Argentina, Australia and even
South Africa do not fit neatly into its
parameters
(3) First/Second/Third World
- this model was first used in the 1950’s
- First world nations included capitalists
countries like the USA, Canada, Britain
- Second world nations were any communist
country (USSR, Cuba, China)
- Countries from the third world were all
considered “developing” such as those in
Africa, South America and parts of Asia
- This model was entirely economic in
nature and did not account for cultural
development
(4) The Five-World Model
First World – countries include those with
the highest level of social and economic
development, such as Canada, Japan and
France
Second World – countries include those
that were or are still communist such as
China, Cuba and Russia
Third World – countries are those in
transition to economic and social
development and include Brazil and
Mexico
Fourth World – countries that are in early stages of
transition towards development
Eg. Nigeria, Ecuador, Kenya
Fifth World – countries that show little evidence of
starting a transition towards development
Eg. Bangladesh, Somalia, Haiti, Democratic Republic of
Congo
BUT… THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE
WORLD IS CHANGING FAST
Things have actually never been better!!!!!!!
Hans Rosling
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/200 -years-that-changedthe-world-bbc/
The River of Myth