CLASSIFYING CLASSIFYING COUNTRIESCOUNTRIES

USARussiaSpainArgentinaMexicoBrazilChinaSouth AfricaGreeceDem. Rep. Congo

FinlandGermanyJamaicaCubaEthiopiaJapanUkraineIraqIndiaSouth Sudan

PUT THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES INTO 3 GROUPS (ANY 3 GROUPS)

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

(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

METHODS OF GROUPINGMETHODS OF GROUPING

(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 ModelFirst 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

Things have actually never been better!!!!!!!Hans Roslinghttp://www.gapminder.org/videos/200-years-that-changed-

the-world-bbc/The River of Myth

BUT… THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD IS CHANGING FAST