Indicators of development (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Geography): Revision Note

What is development?

• Development refers to a country's positive progress in improving the standard of living and quality of life for its population

• The quality of life includes subjective factors like happiness

• We measure a country's level of development using the following indicators:

  • Economic indicators (for example, Gross Domestic Product (GDP))

  • Social indicators (for example, life expectancy)

  • Political indicators (for example, the Corruption Perception Index)

• Individual indicators are misleading when used alone, as some features develop before others

  • This may indicate that a country is more developed than it really is

• By using multiple indicators as a measure of development, a clearer picture of that country's development is produced

• The country's GDP (gross domestic product), GNI (gross national income), and GNP (gross national product) are the traditional measures used to measure wealth

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is the total value of goods and services produced within a country in a year divided by the population of the country

  • There can be huge differences in GDP depending on the size and population of a country

  • Dividing it by the population means that more meaningful comparisons can be made between countries

• GDP per capita is an average this means that the variation in wealth is hidden

  • It is possible that two countries can have the same average GDP per capita but that one has a few very wealthy people and lots of people living in poverty, whereas the other has a more equal distribution of wealth

• There is no way of knowing what the GDP is spent on

  • GDP increases after an earthquake due to the cost of rebuilding

  • This does not mean that the country is more developed or that everyone's quality of life has improved

Gross National Product (GNP)

• GNP per capita is a measure of a country's economic output per person

• It is calculated by dividing the total value of a country's final output of goods and services by its population

• It reflects the average income of a country's citizens and allows a better comparison since different countries have varying populations

  • For instance, the GNP of the UK is lower than that of India, but the GDP per capita of the UK is higher than that of India (India has a higher population compared to the UK)

  • However, GNP per capita does not take into account the cost-of-living in the country—$1 will go further in Bangladesh than in the USA

• To even this discrepancy, the GNP per capita at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is calculated

• Comparison between countries' levels of development is easy to see, but it fails to identify

  • How wealth is distributed around a country—the wealth gap

  • Government investment in the country

    • Despite Cuba's low GNP per capita, the government has historically placed a strong priority on social investment, and the country enjoys higher literacy rates, a lower infant mortality rate, and a comparable life expectancy to America

Gross National Income (GNI)

• Gross national income (GNI) is the total income earned by a country's people and businesses, even if it was earned outside the country

• It is a measure of national wealth that can be used as an alternative to GDP

• To calculate GNI, add income from foreign sources to a country's GDP

• For many countries, there isn't much difference between GNI and GDP

• However, if a country receives significant foreign investment or foreign aid, GNI may be much higher than GDP

• GNI is now more commonly used than GDP by groups like the World Bank

• The European Union also uses it to determine each member country's contribution

Other development indicators

Life expectancy

• Life expectancy is the average age a person can be expected to live

  • Various factors impact life expectancy

    • Physical and human environmental factors

    • Personal lifestyle

    • Incidence of disease

    • Access to healthcare

Infant mortality

• Infant mortality rates refer to the number of children per 1000 who die below the age of 1

• Over 18 countries have an infant mortality rate of over 50 per 1000

  • These are all developing countries

  • Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa

Calorie intake

• Calorie intake, in kilocalories, is the energy obtained from food consumed per person each day

• It can be used as a measure of development because it reflects a country's overall economic and food security status

• Generally, developed countries tend to have higher average daily calorie intake compared to less developed countries

• This difference is often linked to factors like

  • wealth

  • access to resources

  • food production capabilities

Literacy

• Literacy is a measure of how many adults can read and write

  • In developed countries literacy rates average 96%

  • Less-developed countries have average literacy rates of 65%

• This can be hard to measure in LICs due to a lack of monitoring

• Conflict zones and squatter settlements are areas where it is difficult to measure literacy rates

People per doctor

• People per doctor is a the number of people each doctor is responsible for treating in a country or region

• A lower number (more doctors per person) usually means that a country is more developed because it means that the healthcare system is stronger

• However, it is a limited measure because

  • People may access healthcare advice through mobile phones or other methods that aren't reflected in the official doctor count

  • Access to healthcare may be limited for certain populations due to insurance or socioeconomic factors

  • The ratio can vary significantly between urban and rural areas within a country