The North/South Gap
The North/South Gap
The North/South gap is a divide that separates the poor (less developed countries) from the rich (more developed countries). The idea of categorizing countries by their economic and developmental status began during the Cold War with the classifications of East and West. The Soviet Union and China represented the developing East, and the United States and their allies represented the West. The term ‘Third World’ (less developed countries) came from the United States hoping to navigate between the North and the South poles of the Cold War. When Second Word countries joined the First World, and other countries joined the Third World, a newer, simpler classification was needed. The First World became the North and the Third World became the South.
The North, which makes up for one quarter of the world population, controls four fifths of the world’s income. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned and located in the North. The South, which makes up the other three quarters of the population, only has access to one fifth of the world income. The ‘North’ does not necessarily mean countries in the Northern hemisphere; it was coined because most of the Northern hemisphere is wealthier than the South. The same for the ‘South’, parts of Asia are considered in the Southern part of the divide because they are simply not as developed as other parts of Asia which are a part of the North.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a compile of many different statistics, including life expectancy, education, and income that implies weather a country is developed, still developing or underdeveloped. There is controversy over the fact that it isn’t an adequate way to measure human development. HDI is a better measurement than simply GNI (Gross National Income) but is not all together fair. It does not include gender inequality, child welfare or the economy of the countries. The HDI is basically a way of seeing which countries are part of the
The North/South gap is a divide that separates the poor (less developed countries) from the rich (more developed countries). The idea of categorizing countries by their economic and developmental status began during the Cold War with the classifications of East and West. The Soviet Union and China represented the developing East, and the United States and their allies represented the West. The term ‘Third World’ (less developed countries) came from the United States hoping to navigate between the North and the South poles of the Cold War. When Second Word countries joined the First World, and other countries joined the Third World, a newer, simpler classification was needed. The First World became the North and the Third World became the South.
The North, which makes up for one quarter of the world population, controls four fifths of the world’s income. 90% of the manufacturing industries are owned and located in the North. The South, which makes up the other three quarters of the population, only has access to one fifth of the world income. The ‘North’ does not necessarily mean countries in the Northern hemisphere; it was coined because most of the Northern hemisphere is wealthier than the South. The same for the ‘South’, parts of Asia are considered in the Southern part of the divide because they are simply not as developed as other parts of Asia which are a part of the North.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a compile of many different statistics, including life expectancy, education, and income that implies weather a country is developed, still developing or underdeveloped. There is controversy over the fact that it isn’t an adequate way to measure human development. HDI is a better measurement than simply GNI (Gross National Income) but is not all together fair. It does not include gender inequality, child welfare or the economy of the countries. The HDI is basically a way of seeing which countries are part of the
Bibliography: “The North South Gap” 2012.Wikipedia. 14 October 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North%E2%80%93South_divide “Human Development Index.” 2013. Wikipedia. 15 October , 2013. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index#Criticism “HDI-Human Development Index” 2010. About.ca. October 15, 2013 http://geography.about.com/od/countryinformation/a/unhdi.htm