section b

• Development


  The idea of what 21st Century life should consist of - essentials (such as access to clean water and electricity), access to services and opportunities
• Indicator


  A measure used to determine the level of development in a country
• Types of indicators


  • Economic indicators
  • Social indicators
  • Environmental indicators
• GNI per capita


  The total amount of money earned by people and businesses within a country, divided by the population to find an average earning per person
• Poverty line


  The number of people earning less than $1.90 per day
• Life expectancy


  An estimate of how long a person will live, made when they're born, based on predicted advances, current services and the risk of diseases
• Literacy rate


  A measure of the quality of education, which correlates to economic output
• Infant mortality rate


  A measure of the quality of healthcare and attitudes towards children
• Other social indicators


  • Access to safe water
  • Birth rates
  • Death rates
  • Ratio of people per doctor
• Pollution levels


  A measure of the volume of pollution in the air and water, showing how wasteful a country is and the development of its technology
• Area of woodland/green space

  A measure of the proportion of open land in a country, reflecting the government's attitude to the environment
• Developments through technology have changed the way we measure development
• Development can be interpreted differently for different societies; some countries value particular factors more than other countries do
• Human Development Index (HDI)

  A measure that takes into account income & inequality, levels of education, and life expectancy, ranking each country between 0 to 1 where 1 is the most developed

  
• Top 5 countries on HDI

  • Norway (0.953)
  • Switzerland (0.944)
  • Australia (0.939)
  • Ireland (0.938)
  • Germany (0.936)
• Bottom 5 countries on HDI

  • Niger (0.354)
  • Central African Republic (0.367)
  • South Sudan (0.388)
  • Chad (0.404)
  • Burundi (0.417)
• Reasons for trends in top 5 HDI countries

  • Large economies and advancing technology (quaternary) industries, resulting in high GDP per capita
  • Well-structured cities and towns with strong infrastructure and transport links, excellent supplies of clean water, electricity and food
  • Free education systems with opportunities to progress onto further education or employment
• Demographic Transition Model


  1. Stage 1 - Small population

  2. Stage 2 - Hospitals

  3. Stage 3 - Baby rate

  4. Stage 4 - Large population
• There are exceptions to the Demographic Transition Model, such as new countries like the UAE or countries devastated by conflict or natural disaster
• Neighbouring countries can have very different levels of development, but the world on a whole can be split into half: developed and developing countries
• Brandt Line


  A line that divides developing and developed countries into their groups, with the northern hemisphere generally more developed than the southern hemisphere
• Social causes of inequality

  • Education - Poor education systems can impact services and facilities, leading to shortages of skilled workers
  • Health - Limited healthcare access and vulnerability to diseases can lead to poorer health outcomes for low-income families
• Without qualifications, people might not be able to get a well-paid, dependable job. This means a person is more likely to do unskilled, low paid work which means they will be stuck in a cycle of poverty.
• A poor education system can impact services and facilities. For example, if children can't get a good education, they may not be able to progress onto university and get their degree. This means jobs that require degrees - for example doctors, teachers - might suffer from shortages of workers. This will impact the availability of healthcare or the quality of teaching for future generations.
• A limited number of doctors or unsubsidised healthcare (treatments aren't paid for by the government) might lead to low-income families having poorer health.
• Some countries are more vulnerable to diseases and poor health than other countries.
• Mosquitoes


  • Prefer hot, humid climates such as in South America and Africa. Mosquitoes transfer diseases such as Malaria.
• Countries that rely heavily on mines or have intensive industries

  • Populations with poor health. Miners develop respiratory conditions whereas factory workers can develop cancers from the chemicals they use.
• Countries that have been ruled in the past by another country can be disadvantaged. For example, countries that were part of the British Empire have smaller economies than the UK's economy. This is because, during the British rule, the British government would take more than it gave to its ruling empire.
• If the farmers earn a low wage


  The government earns less tax and so local schools and healthcare won't be invested into
• Farmers with little savings

  More vulnerable to crop failures, which can result in families losing their jobs and going hungry, increasing the poverty for a country
• Many countries that Britain took advantage of during the British Empire (17th - 20th century) including many Caribbean countries as well as some African nations. This allowed Britain (as well as other European countries that had empires at the time) to develop ahead of its colonies, which has remained the case till the present day.
• The climate of a country (the annual characteristics in weather patterns) can affect whether a country has many resources to trade.
• Climate can impact whether farmers can grow crops, because the weather and seasons are closely linked with agriculture.
• Some crops are suited to wetter or hotter climates (for example, olives are grown best in meditterraenean climates).
• Countries with a large amount of resources to sell will have stronger economies, so they tend to be more developed as the community improves and the government can invest.
• If it regularly rains, the population can collect fresh rainfall to drink. Countries with regular rainfall tend to suffer less from water-borne diseases, which is good for the people's health.
• Having a large amount of rainfall can be good for a country. If more rain falls than the population needs, a country could store and sell the excess water to a neighbouring country.
• Countries with temperate climates (moderate levels of rain) tend to grow crops very well. So food can be exported and sold.
• Plants grow better in warmer climates, so countries with warm climates tend to have successful farms. This means they are less likely to be short of food or have a starving population.