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Factors Influencing Higher Abilty

The document discusses various factors influencing a country's development, including physical factors like climate, natural hazards, and landlocked status, as well as historical causes such as colonialism and political instability. It highlights how these elements can lead to poverty and hinder economic growth, particularly in less economically developed countries (LEDCs). Additionally, it addresses the impact of economic factors like unfair trade practices and foreign debt on a country's ability to develop.

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Minhtut Win
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12 views2 pages

Factors Influencing Higher Abilty

The document discusses various factors influencing a country's development, including physical factors like climate, natural hazards, and landlocked status, as well as historical causes such as colonialism and political instability. It highlights how these elements can lead to poverty and hinder economic growth, particularly in less economically developed countries (LEDCs). Additionally, it addresses the impact of economic factors like unfair trade practices and foreign debt on a country's ability to develop.

Uploaded by

Minhtut Win
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Factors which influence the rate at which a country may develop can be physical Levels

or human. Understanding the reason why a country may be in poverty is


important, as it helps to understand what may help the country to develop. 8-9
Physical factors
Climate
The Sahel region in Africa suffers from a lack of rainfall. This means that droughts are common.
The result is that crops may suffer. This directly affects individuals as they are no longer able to
provide immediately for themselves or their family but it will also impact the economy. If there are
less crops and they are unreliable then countries will struggle to sell their goods and therefore
there will be a lack of trade with other countries.
There are certain diseases which thrive in tropical climates, such as malaria and yellow fever,
because of the hot and humid conditions. This will impact the ability of the country in terms of the
population; if large numbers of people suffer from infectious diseases then the number of working
people will be reduced. The country also will have to spend lots of money on healthcare treating
people rather than on issues that will help a country prosper.

Natural hazards
Floods, droughts and tectonic activity can limit future growth and destroy buildings and
agricultural areas. This also means a country may divert income to help recover from these
events. Countries such as Nepal suffer from many natural hazards. In 2015 the country was struck
by a magnitude 8 earthquake. Initial impacts destroyed the buildings and killed many however in
terms of the country's development it has set them back. Money will be spent on rebuilding and
recovering from the disaster. Many children will be out of education and people will struggle to
make money from farming.

Landlocked countries
15 countries in Africa are landlocked. This means it is more difficult to trade as goods have to be
driven through other countries to get to the coast for shipping. It is also more difficult for new
technology to reach a landlocked country, as the fibre optic cables are laid under the ocean. These
factors make trade difficult for these countries, investment from richer more developed nations is
limited. They find themselves struggling to compete with countries who are more accessible.

An image of Africa highlighting the 15 landlocked countries

Natural resources
Natural resources such as minerals, gas and oil can help improve a country's level of
development. They are able to sell and make goods to trade. Richer countries will invest money to
seek out and manage these resources. This money will filter down and benefit the people and the
entire economy. However this is closely tied in with the ability to exploit the resource for the
benefit of the country. There are also countries, such as Japan, which are low in natural resources,
but have based their development on human factors such as education and skills.
Levels
Historic causes
8-9
Many richer countries have a long history of industrial and economic development. Whilst
some countries, particularly in Asia and South America (for example China, Malaysia and
Mexico) have recently emerged as industrialised nations, many other countries have yet to
experience significant economic growth.

Colonialism
From around 1400, European explorers set out to control new territories, often seeking
mineral wealth such as gold. From 1650 to 1900 over 10 million people were transported from
Africa to North America to work as slaves on plantations. Almost all the wealth produced in
this period went to European powers.
By the end of the 19th century much of Africa and parts of South America and Asia had been
divided up between the European Superpowers. Countries such as the UK, Germany, Spain
and France have powerful empires and colonies. Since 1950 former European colonies have
gained independence. In many cases this has been a difficult process, resulting in civil wars
and political struggles for power. Money has been spent on armaments and some
governments have been corrupt. This political instability has held back development .

Political factors
Poor governance does not help a country to
develop. Money that could be spent on
development may be used to fund military
weapons or an affluent lifestyle of an elite group of
people. This can be seen in a variety of countries
all around the world. Some of the most resource
rich countries that should have developed have
been hindered by the control of poor governance.
An example of such a country is the Democratic
Republic of Congo has had a civil war since gaining
independence in 1960.

Economic factors
World trade is often not fair. LEDCs tend to sell primary produce. LEDCs have to compete with
each other to win the trade - which lowers the prices farmers get. A poor harvest means less
income. There is more money to be made in processing goods, which MEDCs tend to do.
Foreign investment can help a country to develop. Africa receives less than 5 per cent foreign
direct investment. It has 15 percent of the world's population. Europe receives 45 per cent of
foreign direct investment, and only has 7 percent of the world's population. Who controls world
trade is also important, and it is developed countries that control the most trade.
Many LEDCs are in debt to MEDCs. Some of their income has to pay off these debts. Ethiopia’s
debt stands at a whooping $100 million. This is nearly 6 times their export earnings. It is clear to
see how some countries cannot make enough money to spend on the necessary development
infrastructure.

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