Where in the World

To find out how economically developed a country is you can use a number of different statistics called development indicators. These indicators vary to show the countries progression in different areas.

Calories/person/day is one example for a development indicator. This is based on the average calorie consumption of the country’s people per day. It is fairly good at indicating whether a country is an LEDC or an MEDC. An MEDC usually has a higher calorie intake than an LEDC. For example, in 1983 Ghana had only 1, 573 calories/person/day, only 68% of their daily requirement. This compared to Ireland which had an astonishing 4, 054 calories/person/day, 162% of their daily requirement.

The figures however are only averages, some of the people in Ghana would have enough to eat, and some people in Ireland would not have enough. This shows that under nourishment and over consumption is much worse than the figures suggest.

Another development indicator is life expectancy. This shows how developed a country’s health care is and shows its general way of living. An LEDC has a very low life expectancy; this could be due to lack of medical advancements, poor diet, poor living conditions or epidemic of incurable diseases. Many LEDC’s are suffering from AIDS, this is because of poor contraception, due to lack of funds. On the other hand, MEDC’s have a high life expectancy. This is because they have the financial backing for research into new diseases and have a good health service. Living conditions are generally better and contraception is more widely available.

A different type of development indicator would be literacy. This shows the ability of people over 15 to read and write. A high literacy rate indicates a good education system in that country. If they have that then it is usually because the country is wealthy enough to provide a service which the people can afford.

A good, widely available education is essential to the progression of the country. It can improve most other means of development by creating Doctors, scientists teachers etc.

The literacy percentage is extremely varied, where only 27% of the people in Mali ...

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A good, widely available education is essential to the progression of the country. It can improve most other means of development by creating Doctors, scientists teachers etc.

The literacy percentage is extremely varied, where only 27% of the people in Mali are educated and 99% in Britain.

The Brandt Line

The Brandt or North/South line is a hypothetical division between the rich MEDC country’s and the poor LEDC countries. The line is simply to show the geographical location of the rich and poor countries. MEDC’s are shown in blue and are to the North of the line. LEDC’s are shown in red and are to the South of the line.

The USA data shows us that they are using contraceptives. They have a good health service and low risk of disease. The people have enough money to afford a good education and a good lifestyle. There is a low patient/doctor ratio so treatment is readily available. Overall the life expectancy is high. Meaning The USA is an MEDC, therefore above the line.

The Mali data shows us that the conditions are extremely bad. Every development indicator firmly places Mali on the South of the Brandt line. There is a very high infant mortality rate and people have more children to compensate for the losses. There is doubtable any contraception so sexually transmitted diseases would be excessive.

The country as a whole is very poor, at only 300 $ per person. It is rare that parents would be able to afford enough food or an education for any of their children. Due to the lack of education the doctors are in short supply and waiting lists are long. Patients don’t often get the treatment they need. These factors explain why the death rate is so low, and therefore it is below the line.

The unknown country at number 5 is an LEDC. They have a high number of infant mortalities. To make up for this they have more children. It is a very poor country, only 270 $ per person. Despite this their literacy rate is higher than most LEDC’s at 75%. But there is still a high patient/doctor ratio, reducing the life expectancy. This country is below the line.

Population Pyramids

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a very high birth rate and death rate. It is a developing country so the life expectancy is low. The pyramid for Ethiopia (above) resembles a regular pyramid. There are many deaths at every age division, especially between 0-4 and 10-14.

Ethiopia at the moment has only just left stage 1 and is now at stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model (DTM). The birth and death rates are both still high but the death rate is half that of the birth rate. There is a population change of 2.16%.

Sweden

Sweden is a highly developed country, an MEDC. It has low birth and death rates, as you can see on the population pyramid above. The pyramid itself is an irregular shape as there has previously been a large decrease in the birth rate.

Sweden is at stage 4 of the DTM and population increase is only 0.02% a year. The country is approaching stage 5, where death rates actually exceed the birth rates.

Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the world; its main income is from agriculture and accounts for more than half of the GDP. 90% of the agriculture business depends on exports and this is badly affected by the frequent droughts, poor cultivation practices and decline of internal security conditions. The GDP per capita is $100.

The infant mortality ratio is very high at 124.57deaths/1,000 births. The life expectancy for males is 39.22 years and for female its 41.73 years.

Ethiopia may be facing a serious over-population in the near future. The supplies in the country aren’t even substantial for the current population. If it continues to increase then they may be facing an even larger crisis. This problem could be made worse because of global warming. The droughts will increase and crops will not grow.

The Western nation of Sweden is a highly developed and industrialized country. It has big name makes such as Volvo and Astra. Sweden is respected because of its previous inventions and relies partially on exportation.

The GDP per capita is $13,990 and the country as a whole is worth $159 billion. A large chunk of its wealth is from exportation.

The birth rate is relatively low at 14.1 per 1000 as well as infant mortality at 5 per 1000. The life expectancy is 78.2 years.

Sweden could face an under-population problem in the near future. This is because the birth rates are falling to equal the death rates. This could result in a shortage of police men/women, doctors etc.

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