IGCSE

DEVELOPMENT
• Countries exhibit different levels of development. The factors which affect
development may be economic, social, cultural or technical.
• Measuring development
• Studying development is about measuring how developed one country is
compared to other countries, or to the same country in the past. Development
measures how economically, socially, culturally or technologically advanced a
country is. The two most important ways of measuring development
are economic development and human development.
• Economic development is a measure of a country's wealth and how it is
generated (for example agriculture is considered less economically advanced
than banking).
• Human development measures the access the population has to wealth, jobs,
education, nutrition, health, leisure and safety - as well as political and cultural
freedom. Material elements, such as wealth and nutrition, are described as
the standard of living. Health and leisure are often referred to as quality of life.
For each of the images below, identify whether it is an economic or human
development indicator.
An operating theatre

Regions with high levels of development can be recognized by a high availability of

medicines, health technology and educated workers.
Manila

The city of Manila in the Philippines has attained high levels of development by focusing
resources on educating people to work in its high-tech industries.
Computers in a school

The education system in a country is a good measure of its development. The

population of a developed nation will have a high level of literacy, numeracy and
computer skills.
• Development indicators
• There is no single way to calculate the level of development because
of the variety of economies, cultures and peoples. Geographers use a
series of development indicators to compare the development of one
region against another. For example:
• Health. Do the population have access to medical care? What level of
healthcare is available - basic or advanced? Is it free?
• Industry. What type of industry dominates? LEDCs focus on primary
industries, such as farming, fishing and mining. MEDCs focus on
secondary industries, such as manufacturing. The most advanced
countries tend to focus more on tertiary or service industries, such as
banking and information technology.
• Education. Do the population have access to education? Is it free?
What level of education is available (i.e. primary, secondary or
further/higher education)?
The North South Divide
MEDCs are countries which have a high standard of living and a large GDP. LEDCs are
countries with a low standard of living and a much lower GDP.
The map shows the locations of LEDCs and MEDCs. Most of the southern hemisphere is less
developed, while countries in the northern hemisphere are more developed.
Economic development indicators

Cairo - an example of a LEDC New York - an example of a MEDC

To assess the economic development of a country, geographers use economic
indicators including:
•Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of goods and services produced by a
country in a year.
•Gross National Product (GNP) measures the total economic output of a country, including
earnings from foreign investments.
•GNP per capita is a country's GNP divided by its population. (Per capita means per person.)
•Economic growth measures the annual increase in GDP, GNP, GDP per capita, or GNP per
capita.
• Inequality of wealth is the gap in income between a country's richest and
poorest people. It can be measured in many ways, (e.g. the proportion of a
country's wealth owned by the richest 10 per cent of the population, compared
with the proportion owned by the remaining 90 per cent).
• Inflation measures how much the prices of goods, services and wages increase
each year. High inflation (above a few percent) can be a bad thing, and suggests a
government lacks control over the economy.
• Unemployment is the number of people who cannot find work.
• Economic structure shows the division of a country's economy between
primary, secondary and tertiary industries.
• Demographics study population growth and structure. It compares birth rates to
death rates, life expectancy and urban and rural ratios. Many LEDCs have a
younger, faster-growing population than MEDCs, with more people living in the
countryside than in towns. The birth rate in the UK is 11 per 1,000, whereas in
Kenya it is 40.
Human development indicators
Development often takes place in an uneven way. A country may have a very high GDP - derived, for
example, from the exploitation of rich oil reserves - while segments of the population live in poverty
and lack access to basic education, health and decent housing.
Hence the importance of human development indicators, measuring the non-economic aspects
of a country's development.

A school in Guinea A classroom in the UK

Human development indicators include:
•Life expectancy - the average age to which a person lives, e.g. this is 79 in the UK and 48 in
Kenya.
•Infant mortality rate - counts the number of babies, per 1000 live births, who die under the age
of one. This is 5 in the UK and 61 in Kenya.
•Poverty - indices count the percentage of people living below the poverty level, or on very small
incomes (e.g. under £1 per day).
•Access to basic services - the availability of services necessary for a healthy life, such as clean
water and sanitation.
•Access to healthcare - takes into account statistics such as how many doctors there are for
every patient.
•Risk of disease - calculates the percentage of people with diseases such as AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis.
•Access to education - measures how many people attend primary school, secondary school and
higher education.
•Literacy rate - is the percentage of adults who can read and write. This is 99 per cent in the UK,
85 per cent in Kenya and 60 per cent in India.
•Access to technology - includes statistics such as the percentage of people with access to
phones, mobile phones, television and the internet.
•Male/female equality - compares statistics such as the literacy rates and employment between
the sexes.
•Government spending priorities - compares health and education expenditure with military
expenditure and paying off debts.
Statistics and correlations
Geographers compare the statistics for different countries to see if there is a relationship or
correlation between the data for different countries. A correlation helps to show what factors
contribute to development.
The example below compares GDP per capita to adult literacy rate in a scatter graph. The plotting
for each country does not show much on its own, but together they show a pattern.
Development indices
A development index measures a country's performance according to specific development
indicators. Some countries may appear to be developed according to some indices, but not
according to others.

Country Development indicators

Development indicators
Vietnam and Pakistan Both countries have a similar per capita GDP.
However, life expectancy and literacy are considerably
higher in Vietnam than they are in Pakistan.

Saudi Arabia and Croatia Saudi Arabia has a per capita GDP comparable to that
of Croatia. However, in Saudi Arabia there is greater
inequality between men and women when considering
access to education and political power. So, although
they are equal on an economic development index -
Saudi Arabia is less developed on a human
development index.
Problems with indices
Development indices can be misleading and need to be used with care. For example:
•Many indices are averages for the whole population of a country. This means that indices do not
always reveal substantial inequalities between different segments of society. For example, a portion
of the population of a highly developed country could be living below the poverty line.
•In some countries, the data used in indices could be out of date or hard to collect. Some countries do
not wish to have certain index data collected - for example, many countries do not publish statistics
about the number of immigrants and migrants.

View of Karachi, Pakistan View of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

To balance inaccuracies, indices tend to be an amalgamation of
many different indicators. The United Nations Human
Development Index (HDI) is a weighted mix of indices that show
life expectancy, knowledge (adult literacy and education) and
standard of living (GDP per capita). As Vietnam has a higher
literacy rate and life expectancy than Pakistan, it has much
higher HDI value even though it has a similar per capita GDP.
HDI is measured between 0 and 1. The USA has an HDI of 0.994
whereas Kenya has an HDI of 0.474.
Exam tips
In an exam you may be given some development indicators for
different countries. Read the information for each country carefully.
Always look at all the data presented. Don't jump to conclusions
about a country on the basis of one or two indicators.
Trade
• Trade is the exchange of goods and services between one country
and another.
• Goods bought into a country are called imports, and those sold to
another country are called exports.
The pattern of world trade
• A trade surplus means that the value of exports is greater than
imports. A trade deficit is when there are more imports than
exports.
• Usually, MEDCs export valuable manufactured goods such as
electronics and cars and import cheaper primary products such as tea
and coffee. In LEDCs the opposite is true. This means that LEDCs have
little purchasing power, making it difficult for them to pay off their debts
or escape from poverty.
• The price of primary products fluctuates on the world market which
means that workers and producers in LEDCs lose out when the price
drops. The price of manufactured goods is steadier which means that
MEDCs always benefit.
• Increasing trade and reducing their balance of trade deficit is essential
for the development of LEDCs. However, sometimes MEDCs
impose tariffs and quotas on imports. Tariffs are taxes imposed on
imports, which makes foreign goods more expensive to the consumer.
Quotas are limits on the amount of goods imported and usually work in
the MEDC's favor.
• Interdependence
• Interdependence between countries means that they
are dependent on one another in some way. For
example, many LEDCs are dependent on MEDCs for
manufactured goods or aid. MEDCs are dependent on
LEDCs for primary products such as steel and iron.
LEDCs are also dependent on MEDCs for income from
tourism, whilst MEDCs require LEDCs to provide the
climate and hospitality for some holiday destinations.
Fair Trade
• The result of the pattern of world trade is that the workers in primary industries in
LEDCs often lose out. They receive low wages and often have poor standards of
living. They cannot afford education for their children and many children are
required to work to help their families earn a living.
• Fair trade means that the producer receives a guaranteed and fair price for their
product regardless of the price on the world market. This means their quality of
life should improve, as well as the long-term prospects for their children.
• Fair trade products sometimes cost more in supermarkets in MEDCs, but many
consumers consider this a small price to pay for the benefits they bring.
• Fair trade sets minimum standards for the pay and conditions of workers. The Fair
Trade Organization promotes Global Citizenship by guaranteeing a fair, minimum
price for products. In this way, they support producers in improving their living
conditions. About 5 million people benefit from Fair Trade in 58 countries.
• Fair trade products are becoming more widespread and include tea, coffee, sugar,
chocolate and cotton.
 Aid

• More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs) have high levels of

economic development compared with Less Economically Developed
Countries (LEDCs). Many MEDCs make allowance in their domestic
budgets to provide aid to LEDCs. Many charities also exist to provide aid
to LEDCs.
• Types of aid
• Emergency or short-term aid - needed after sudden disasters such as the
2000 Mozambique floods or the 2004 Asian tsunami.
• Conditional or tied aid - when one country donates money or resources to
another (bilateral aid) but with conditions attached. These conditions will
often be in the MEDC's favor, e.g. the controversial Pergau Dam project in
Malaysia, where Britain used aid to secure trade deals with Malaysia.
• Charitable aid - funded by donations from the public through
organizations such as OXFAM.
• Long-term or development aid - involves providing
local communities with education and skills
for sustainable development, usually through
organizations such as Practical Action.
• Multilateral aid - given through international
organizations such as the World Bank rather than by
one specific country.
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Aid
• Sometimes, aid can bring long-term problems as well as advantages
to the recipient country. The table gives some of the arguments for
and against the provision of aid to LEDCs.
Arguments for and against giving aid

For Against

Emergency aid in times of disaster saves lives. Aid can increase the dependency of LEDCs on donor
countries. Sometimes aid is not a gift, but a loan, and
poor countries may struggle to repay.

Aid helps rebuild livelihoods and housing after a Aid may not reach the people who need it
disaster. most. Corruption may lead to local politicians using aid
for their own means or for political gain.

Provision of medical training, medicines and Aid can be used to put political or economic
equipment can improve health and standards of living. pressure on the receiving country. The country may
end up owing a donor country or organization a favor.

Aid for agriculture can help increase food production Sometimes projects do not benefit smaller
and so improve the quality and quantity of food farmers and projects are often large scale.
available.
For Against

Encouraging aid industrial development can create Infrastructure projects may end up benefiting
jobs and improve transport infrastructure. employers more than employees.

Aid can support countries in developing their natural It may be a condition of the investment that the
resources and power supplies. projects are run by foreign companies or that a
proportion of the resources or profits will be sent
abroad.

Projects that develop clean water and sanitation can Some development projects may lead to food and
lead to improved health and living standards. water costing more.
Food aid in Ethiopia
Case study: Practical Action shelter project
One fifth of the world's population are either homeless or live in poor housing,
mainly in LEDCs.
• Homeless people in LEDCs often build makeshift shelters in shanty towns.
These are often built on land not fit for development such as steep slopes or
marshland which is vulnerable to floods and landslides.
• Practical Action is a charity which helps communities to learn the skills they
need to build better quality housing using their own labor, local resources
and traditional techniques.
• Practical Action has succeeded in changing government policy on housing in
Kenya. Now, local authorities recognize houses that have been made from
inexpensive materials as proper dwellings.
• Practical Action also aim to improve basic services and infrastructure. As local
people have been consulted from the outset, they can apply their skills in
continuing to improve their surroundings. Their involvement has also given
them a sense of ownership and responsibility.
• Practical Action also has shelter programmes in other countries including
Zimbabwe and Peru.
• Their work is an example of sustainable development - a development
which minimizes damage to the environment or local resources.