Global North and Global South

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The updated view of the north-south divide. Blue includes G8 nations, developed/ first world nations, and Europe.

The North-South Divide is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as "the North", and the poorer developing countries (least developed countries), or "the South."[1] Although most nations comprising the "North" are in fact located in the Northern Hemisphere, the divide is not primarily defined by geography. The North is home to four out of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and all members of the G8. "The North" mostly covers the West and the First World, with much of the Second World. The expression "North-South divide" is still in common use, but the terms "North" and "South" are already somewhat outdated. As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the "North", regardless of geographical location, while any other nations which do not qualify for "developed" status are in effect deemed to be part of the "South."[2]

Problems with the divide

The fall of the Soviet Bloc countries and the associated poverty further weakened the expression "North-South Divide" since many Soviet Bloc nations now fall into developing status, and the term "Second World" is presently out of use. On the other hand, many nations previously considered "developing," such as East Asian Tigers, are now developed and are part of the modern "First World;" however, in some maps of the North-South Divide, such nations are depicted as part of the "South," which is inconsistent with the above-given definition. The dependencies of the developed nations are also referred as "South," although they are part of the developed world.[3]. Moreover, some development geographers have argued that over concentration on the North-South divide as the main organizing principle for understanding the world economy ignores the role of inter-imperial conflicts between the United States, Japan and Europe. [4]

The north: developed nations

Main article: Developed country

Organisations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), generally agree that the group of developed countries includes the following countries/regions (in alphabetical order):

  Countries described as high-income and advanced economies by the WB and IMF

Americas

Asia

Central, Northern and Western Europe

Oceania

The rest of "the north"

Other G8 Members

Eastern Europe

Balkans

Africa

Brandt Line

The Brandt Line is a visual depiction of the North-South divide, proposed by German Chancellor Willy Brandt in the 1970s. It approximately encircles the world at a latitude of 30° N, passing between North and Central America, north of Africa and India, but dipping south so as to include Australia and New Zealand in the "Rich North".

Digital divide

The global digital divide is often characterised as corresponding to the North-South divide, however it is interesting to note that Internet use, and especially broadband access, is now soaring in Asia compared with other continents. This phenomenon is partially explained by the ability of many countries in Asia to bypass older Internet technology and infrastructure, coupled with booming economies which allow vastly more people to get online.

Development gap

World map indicating Human Development Index (2007)
  0.950 and over
  0.900–0.949
  0.850–0.899
  0.800–0.849
  0.750–0.799
  0.700–0.749
  0.650–0.699
  0.600–0.649
  0.550–0.599
  0.500–0.549
  0.450–0.499
  0.400–0.449
  0.350–0.399
  under 0.350
  not available
(Colour-blind compliant map) For red-green color vision problems.

The North-South divide has more recently been named the development gap. This places greater emphasis on closing the evident gap between rich (more economically developed) countries and poor (less economically developed countries) countries. A good measure of on which side of the gap a country is located is the Human Development Index (HDI). The nearer this is to 1.0, the greater is the country's level of development and the further the country is on its development pathway (closer towards being well developed), exemplified well by Walter Rostow's model of development and the Clark Fisher model.

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ S-Cool! - GCSE Geography Revision - Quicklearn
  2. ^ North–South divide
  3. ^ Therien. J.P, (1999) Beyond the North-South Divide: the two tales of world poverty. Third World Quarterly. Vol 20. No. 4. pp723-742
  4. ^ Corbridge, S., (1986), Capitalist World Development. MacMillian, see esp. sec. 5.3
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