This document discusses different ways that countries can be grouped and categorized, including based on their level of economic development. It examines limitations of models that divide countries into rich and poor categories, noting that many emerging economies are changing. It also introduces the Human Development Index as a composite measure of development that considers income, life expectancy, and education. Global wealth disparities are highlighted, with the gap between richest and poorest nations growing.

1. Name that country!

2. Name the country – BLANKTY BLANK
2
3
1
4
5
8
96
7
10

4. Global Economic Groupings

5. How useful?
• How useful is the Brandt line?
• Why do we still look at it and use it?
• What are the problems with it

6. Limitations with the Brandt Line
• Limited MEDC / LEDC view of world.
• Only focuses on the economic. What about all
the subsistence farmers in African nations?
• Many emerging economies ‘in the middle’.
These have been poor in the past and are now
relatively wealthy. E.g. Brazil

8. Limitations with the Core, Semi
Periphery and periphery model
• Better but still quite simplistic.
• Based in economic involvement.
• The development of rich elite in some cities is
still not recognised e.g. Super rich in cities like
Beijing.

9. Is there a better measure of development?
• The Human development index (HDI) is based
on 3 main criteria (a composite);
– GNP per person
– Life expectancy
– Educational
attainment (adult
literacy & average
number leaving
school)
• World rankings here

11. Mix and Match Key Terms
The difference in levels of economic and social
well-being between the richest and poorest
nations.
A measure of the financial value of all the goods
and services produced in a territory (can be per
person as well as well)
A composite of three development factors;
income per capita (person), life expectancy and
adult literacy rate
A lack of wealth.
Poverty
Human
development
Index
Gross
domestic
produce
Development
Gap

12. Global Wealth 2002 Global Wealth 2015
Global Wealth Growth Global Wealth Decline
Worldmapper Maps

13. 1. Economic Groupings (p99)
1. Least Developed Countries
2. Newly Industrialised Countries
3. Ex-Soviet states
4. Organisation of petroleum exporting countries
5. Organisation for economic cooperation and development.

14. 1. Least Developed Countries

15. 2. Newly Industrialised Countries

16. 3. Ex-Soviet States

17. 4. OPEC

18. 5. OECD

19. – In the world’s 50 poorest countries, average income is
around $0.80 per day.
– About 60% of the poorest countries experienced civil
conflict between 1990 and 2001.
– The gap between the richest and the poorest nations
has grown.
– Initiatives such as fair trade are designed to ensure
that people in the least developed countries gain a
better share of global wealth.
– Animation here
Global Wealth

20. 1. Economic Groupings
In the past it was simple…
Economic development was the basis for dividing the
world’s 193 countries GDP (gross domestic
product ) and the Human Development Index
(HDI).
The World Bank uses per capita Gross National
Income (GNI) as the basis of its classification.
Using the World Bank
classification, the world
was broadly divided into
two categories —
‘developed’ and
‘developing’.
However, such an approach
no longer works well.

21. 2. Political Groupings
Countries, usually at
similar development
levels and in the same
part of the world, agree
to form trade blocs by
signing international
agreements.
These allow for tariff-
and quota-free trade.
The World Trade
Organization works to
increase free trade
between blocs.