GDP and GDP per capita
- economic indicators
- a measure of wealth and mean wealth through income
- a high GDP per capita could represent a high earning population and productive workforce, however this could be skewed by very rich minorities
poverty line
- the number of people earning less than $1.09 a day
- in the UK 0.2% of the population earns less than $1.09 a day
- in Zimbabwe, South Sudan and Madagascar, 70% of the population lives under the poverty line
economic inequality
this is the difference in wealth between the richest 10% and the poorest 10% of the population. The larger the inequality, the less wealth is shared across the population and the fewer people benefit from the economy
life expectancy
- social indicator
- measuring lifestyles and health
- life expectancy is an estimate of how long a person will live, made when they are born based on predicted advances, current services and the risk of diseases
literacy rate
- social indicator
- quality of education which correlates to economic output
- a well educated workforce tends to earn higher wages
infant mortality rate
- social indicator
- shows quality of healthcare and attitudes towards children
- Infant mortality is important since infants are some of the most vulnerable people of society and so are more likely to catch diseases or infections or suffer from malnutrition
pollution levels
- environmental indicator
- the volume of pollution in the air and water will show how wasteful a country is
- it will also show how and if a country has developed its technology to become more efficient and less polluting
areas of woodland/green space
- environmental indicators
- the more open land a country has, the more pleasant it is to live there
- the proportion of woodland lost or gained can reflect the government’s attitude to the environment
human development index (HDI)
- this index measures a range of factors and ranks each country between 0-1, where 1 is the most developed. The index takes into account:
- income and inequality between the highest and lowest earners
- levels of education, e.g how many years a child will spend at school, literacy rate etc
- life expectancy
reasons that nations have high HDI?
- nations have large economies and advancing technology/quarternary industries
- cities and towns are well structured, with strong infrastructure and transport links, excellent supplies of clean water, electricity and food to households
- most of these nations have free education systems, with opportunities to progress onto further education or into employment and apprenticeships
social causes of inequality
education- important to development of the economy, if someone does not have the right qualifications, they might not be able to get a well-paid, dependable job, this can lead to increased unemployment or lots of poverty
how can a poor education system impact services and facilities?
- if children cannot get a good education, they may not be able to progress on to university and get a degree, which means they won’t be able to get jobs requiring degrees like doctors or teachers, so these areas will suffer from shortages of workers, this will impact the availability of healthcare and the quality of teaching for future generations
how will poor education impact countries in terms of health
- poor education means no university and degrees which means people will not be able to get jobs requiring degrees such as doctors.
- a limited number of doctors or unsubsidised healthcare might lead to lower income families having poorer health
unsubsidised healthcare
- treatments are not paid for by the government
why are some countries more vulnerable to disease?
- mosquitoes prefer hot, humid climates such as in south America and Africa, mosquitoes can transfer diseases such as malaria
- countries that continue to mine or have intensive industries will have populations with poor health, miners develop respiratory conditions and factory workers can develop cancers from the chemicals they use
why are countries that were part of the British empire at disadvantage now?
- Historically disadvantaged
- During British rule, the British government took more than it gave to its ruling empire, so today these countries are still trying to recover from that
examples of neocolonialism today?
- china pays for fishing rights off the coast of east African countries, China is able to feed its growing population but may overfish, causing damage to the African coral reefs
- many UK businesses pay foreign manufacturers to build their products, e.g sew their clothes, construct phones and tech etc. In other countries, workers rights might not be as strict and wages could be lower which means the UK businesses might minimise costs and make greater profits
neocolonialism
the controlling and influencing of a less powerful country by a more powerful one
topography
the shape of the land, whether it is mountainous or flat, whether it changes height a lot or remains constant
what does topography effect?
where communities live and where we can build, e.g steep areas are more difficult to build on than flat areas, rocky mountains are harder to dig foundations into
why is having a coastline good?
- ships to trade with other countries
- boats can be used for fishing, increasing food supply
- leisure and tourism
