Characteristics of Developing Countries
CHARACTERISTICS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Low standard of living • Low Standards of living tend to be experienced by the majority of the population. • The main indicators of these low living standards are high poverty levels (i.e very low incomes), high levels of inequality, very poor housing, low standards of health, high infant mortality rates, high levels of malnutrition and a lack of education.
Low levels of productivity • The main causes are low education standards within the countries, the low level of health among workers, lack of investment in physical capital and lack of access to technology.
High rates of population growth and dependency burdens • Developing countries tend to have crude birth rates that are on average more than double the rates in developed countries. • The crude birth rate is annual number of live births per 1,000 of the population. • The world average in 2005, was 20.15, but in some developing countries, it can be as high as 50 per thousand. • The high crude birth rates in developing countries tend to be transformed into high dependency ratios. • The high crude birth rate means that there are a lot of young people under the age of 15 in developing countries. • Those of working age, usually assumed to be 15 to 64, have to support a much larger proportion of children than does the work force in developing countries.
Dependency ratio • The dependency ratio is the percentage of those who are non-productive, usually those who are under 15 and over 64, expressed as a percentage of those of working age, usually 15 to 64. • The equation would be: Dependency Ratio = (% of population under 15) + (% of population over 64) (% of population 15 to 64)
4. High and rising levels of unemployment and underemployment • Developing countries tend to have relatively high levels of unemployment, typically between 9% and 16% of the labor force. • In addition, to the
Low standard of living • Low Standards of living tend to be experienced by the majority of the population. • The main indicators of these low living standards are high poverty levels (i.e very low incomes), high levels of inequality, very poor housing, low standards of health, high infant mortality rates, high levels of malnutrition and a lack of education.
Low levels of productivity • The main causes are low education standards within the countries, the low level of health among workers, lack of investment in physical capital and lack of access to technology.
High rates of population growth and dependency burdens • Developing countries tend to have crude birth rates that are on average more than double the rates in developed countries. • The crude birth rate is annual number of live births per 1,000 of the population. • The world average in 2005, was 20.15, but in some developing countries, it can be as high as 50 per thousand. • The high crude birth rates in developing countries tend to be transformed into high dependency ratios. • The high crude birth rate means that there are a lot of young people under the age of 15 in developing countries. • Those of working age, usually assumed to be 15 to 64, have to support a much larger proportion of children than does the work force in developing countries.
Dependency ratio • The dependency ratio is the percentage of those who are non-productive, usually those who are under 15 and over 64, expressed as a percentage of those of working age, usually 15 to 64. • The equation would be: Dependency Ratio = (% of population under 15) + (% of population over 64) (% of population 15 to 64)
4. High and rising levels of unemployment and underemployment • Developing countries tend to have relatively high levels of unemployment, typically between 9% and 16% of the labor force. • In addition, to the