What's covered
Key facts
Global development inequalities are caused by a combination of historical factors — colonialism, geography, trade patterns and conflict — rather than by any single cause such as climate or work ethic.
GDP per person on its own is an imperfect measure because, as an average, it hides inequality within a country.
The development gap is the difference in wealth and quality of life between richer and poorer countries.
GNI per capita is a limited measure because it is an average, so it hides unequal income distribution within a country (a few very rich people can pull the average up).
An emerging country (also called a newly industrialising country, NIC) is one with developing industry and rising incomes — for example India, Brazil or China.
GNI stands for Gross National Income — the total income earned by a country's residents from both domestic and foreign sources.
GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product — the total monetary value of goods and services produced within a country in a given period.
The HDI combines three dimensions: income (GNI per capita), education (mean and expected years of schooling) and life expectancy.
Most of the world's poorer countries are located in the global south (e.g. sub-Saharan Africa, parts of South Asia, Central America), while most richer countries are in the global north — the so-called North–South divide.
The Human Development Index is the named indicator that combines income, education and life expectancy into a single value between 0 and 1.
Sample questions
A taste of the 24 questions in this topic — answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
Why do LICs often have lower life expectancy than HICs?
- •Genetic differences mean people in LICs age more quickly
- ✓Less access to clean water, healthcare and nutritious food
- •LICs have fewer working-age adults to care for the elderly
- •LICs have hotter climates that wear out the body faster
What does HDI stand for?
- •Health and Demographics Indicator
- •High Development Income
- •Human Deprivation Index
- ✓Human Development Index
Which is a feature of a more developed country?
- •High infant mortality
- ✓High life expectancy
- •Low GDP per person
- •Low literacy rates
What does GNI stand for?
- •Global Net Investment
- ✓Gross National Income
- •Gross Natural Index
- •Growth and National Infrastructure
What does GDP stand for?
- •general domestic progress
- •global development percentage
- •gross development potential
- ✓gross domestic product
Why is GNI per capita a limited measure of development?
- •GNI is only measured in US dollars, disadvantaging some countries
- •GNI only measures industrial production and ignores agriculture
- •GNI per capita is recalculated infrequently, making comparisons unreliable
- ✓It hides unequal income distribution within a country
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