The changing economic world · GCSE Geography

Measuring development

Development is an improvement in people's standard of living and quality of life.
Economic measures include gross national income (GNI) per head. Social measures include the birth rate, death rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy rate, access to safe water and the number of doctors per 1,000 people.
The Human Development Index (HDI) combines life expectancy, education and income into a score from 0 to 1.
A single measure can be misleading: an average hides inequality within a country, and the data may be out of date or unreliable.
Countries are often grouped as high-income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs, such as Brazil, India, China and Nigeria) and low-income countries (LICs).

Stage 1: high birth and death rates, so the population grows slowly. Stage 2: the death rate falls (better healthcare and clean water), so the population grows quickly. Stage 3: the birth rate falls (contraception, and more women working), so growth slows.
Stage 4: low birth and death rates, so the population is stable. Stage 5: the birth rate falls below the death rate, so the population slowly shrinks.
Many LICs are at stage 2, many NEEs at stage 3, and HICs such as the UK at stage 4.

Physical causes: being landlocked, extreme climates, natural hazards, few resources and disease. Economic causes: poor trade links, relying on low-value raw materials, and debt. Historical causes: colonialism and conflict.
Consequences: differences in wealth and health, and international migration as people move to richer countries for work.
Reducing the gap: investment (such as by TNCs), industrial development and tourism, aid, intermediate technology (simple technology that local people can afford and maintain), fair trade, debt relief and microfinance (small loans to start businesses).
Tourism in Jamaica brings a large share of the country's income and many jobs, but some of the money leaks out to foreign companies, and many jobs are seasonal and low-paid.

Nigeria, in West Africa, has the largest population in Africa (over 200 million) and one of Africa's biggest economies. It is rich in oil.
Its economy has shifted from farming towards manufacturing and services, such as telecoms, banking and Nollywood, one of the world's biggest film industries.
Transnational corporations (TNCs) such as Shell bring jobs, taxes and investment, but profits go abroad, and oil spills in the Niger Delta have polluted land and water.
Aid, such as anti-malaria bed nets, has improved health, although corruption can stop aid reaching the people who need it.
Quality of life has improved for many people, such as longer life expectancy and better access to water, but poverty and inequality remain, especially in the north.

Deindustrialisation: coal mining, steel and shipbuilding declined because of cheaper goods and labour abroad, mechanisation and globalisation.
The UK now has a post-industrial economy based on services, finance, information technology, research and the creative industries. Science and business parks, such as Cambridge Science Park, group high-tech firms together.
Other changes include cleaner industry, commuter villages growing while some remote villages lose services, new transport links such as London's Elizabeth line, and a north–south divide in wealth, health and jobs.

GNI per head: The total income of a country divided by its population.
HDI: The Human Development Index, which combines life expectancy, education and income.
Infant mortality: The number of babies who die before their first birthday, per 1,000 live births.
Life expectancy: The average number of years a person is expected to live.
Demographic Transition Model: A model showing how birth and death rates change as a country develops.
NEE: A newly emerging economy, whose industry is growing quickly.
Fair trade: Trade that guarantees producers a fair price for their goods.
Microfinance: Small loans to help people start their own businesses.
Deindustrialisation: The decline of manufacturing industry.
Transnational corporation: A company that operates in more than one country.