Levels of Development | Geography for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Levels of Development

• Development entails enhancing the quality of life and fostering self-sufficiency within a nation.
• Quality of life encompasses subjective aspects such as happiness, alongside various interconnected components like health, environment, and income.
• These components, including physical, social, psychological, and economic factors, are interlinked; for instance, income influences health, which, in turn, affects happiness.
• Development is not a linear progression but rather a multifaceted process with ups and downs.
• Development may occur due to various factors, including investments in agriculture, advancements in power infrastructure, and improvements in education access, particularly for females.
• Conversely, development can be impeded or reversed by factors like conflict, disease outbreaks, disasters, and economic downturns.

Cycle of wealth

• The cycle of wealth serves as a crucial indicator of development.
• Economic development generates wealth, especially when paired with a stable and efficient government.
• With economic growth, more individuals are employed and earn higher incomes.
• Increased taxation revenue and disposable income result, fostering higher business profits.
• The taxes gathered and corporate profits can then be reinvested in various areas like infrastructure, education, and healthcare, further fueling future growth.

Measures of national income

• Traditional methods for assessing wealth include GNP, GDP, and GNI.
• GDP per capita represents the total value of goods and services produced within a country in a year, divided by its population.
• GDP varies significantly depending on a country's size and population, making per capita comparison more meaningful.
• GDP per capita averages may obscure wealth disparities within countries, as seen when comparing countries with similar averages but different wealth distributions.
• GDP growth, such as after an earthquake, doesn't necessarily reflect overall development or improved quality of life.
• GNP per capita, accounting for population differences, allows for country-to-country comparisons.
• However, GNP per capita doesn't consider the cost of living differences between countries, addressed by using Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) metrics.
• While comparisons highlight development levels, they may overlook:
  • Wealth distribution within countries, known as the wealth gap.
  • Government social investments, like Cuba's high literacy rates despite a lower GNP per capita, showcasing how social investment can impact development.
• Development disparities exist at local, national, and international levels, evident in varying factors such as literacy, life expectancy, infant mortality, healthcare accessibility, energy consumption, internet access, and car ownership.

Human Development Index (HDI)

• The HDI, established by the UN in 1990, gauges developmental gaps among nations.
• It incorporates four key development indicators:
  • Life expectancy at birth
  • Mean years of schooling for adults (aged 25 years)
  • Expected years of schooling for children upon entering school age
  • Gross National Income (GNI) per capita (PPP$)
• Countries are categorized into four groups based on their HDI:
  • Very High Human Development (VHHD)
  • High Human Development (HHD)
  • Medium Human Development (MHD)
  • Low Human Development (LHD)
• HDI scores range from 0 to 1, with higher scores indicating greater development and quality of life.
• Norway boasts the highest HDI at 0.957, while Niger holds the lowest at 0.394.

Gini coefficient index

• GNP and HDI do not effectively highlight differences in wealth among countries.
• Disparities in wealth vary significantly between nations.
• The Gini coefficient offers insight into wealth distribution disparities:
  • It is rated on a scale from 0 to 1.0 or as a percentage.
  • A lower Gini coefficient signifies a more equal wealth distribution, with 0 indicating perfect equality.
  • Conversely, a higher Gini coefficient indicates greater wealth inequality, with 1 representing maximum inequality.
  • Typically, Gini coefficients range between 0.24 and 0.63 (24%-63%).
• The countries with the most pronounced wealth inequality include South Africa, Central Africa, Namibia, Zambia, and Suriname.
• In contrast, the Czech Republic and Croatia exhibit the lowest levels of wealth inequality.

Indices of political corruption