1. You have been asked to divide the world’s countries up according to how developed they are. You need to come up with some different categories to put the countries of the world into. What are they?

2. What are the Traditional Ways of Dividing up the World?
Learning Objectives:
Students should know how the world has been divided up traditionally
Students should know the problems with this division and how it is consequently divided up today

3. First, second, third and fourth worlds…
Complete the first paragraph of your fill in the gaps sheet using the words from the word box
Word Box
first
Australia
fourth
declining
Communist
second
Western European
poorer
unsatisfactory
third

4. First, second, third and fourth worlds…
This early method of dividing up the world was from a ________ _________ perspective. Europeans saw themselves as the ______ world. The wealthier regions they colonised, such as North America and _______, were referred to as the ________ world. Poorer countries were then grouped together as the ______ world. It then became clear that this was an insufficient number of divisions, as the variety between _______countries was increasing. The poorest countries – those that were standing still or even _______ in economic growth – were labelled the ______ world. This system had no clear place for _________ countries such as the former Soviet Union, which were quite well developed, and had never been colonies or part of Western Europe. They were added into the second world group, but this was always _________.

5. First, second, third and fourth worlds…
This early method of dividing up the world was from a Western European perspective. Europeans saw themselves as the first world. The wealthier regions they colonised, such as North America and Australia, were referred to as the second world. Poorer countries were then grouped together as the third world. It then became clear that this was an insufficient number of divisions, as the variety between poorer countries was increasing. The poorest countries – those that were standing still or even declining in economic growth – were labelled the fourth world. This system had no clear place for Communist countries such as the former Soviet Union, which were quite well developed, and had never been colonies or part of Western Europe. They were added into the second world group, but this was always unsatisfactory.

6. Dividing up the World in Two
You have been given a sheet with two maps on it.
Tasks:
On the side entitled ‘The North/South Divide’ shade the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand one colour
Shade the rest of the world a second colour
Try to draw a line on your map which separates the different coloured countries
What do you think you have created?

7. North/South Divide
In 1981, a report was published about global development. It was called the Brandt Report and it showed a divided world.
A wealthy ‘North’ controlled 80% of the world’s wealth, and a poorer ‘South’ only 20%.
The map you have drawn shows this division
This system has decreased in popularity. Why do you think this is the case?

8. MEDCs and LEDCs
Complete the second paragraph of your fill in the gaps sheet using the words from the word box
Word Box
cultural
LDC
MEDC
social
differences
LEDC
useful
developed
more developed country

9. MEDCs and LEDCs
Another simple twofold division involved the use of ‘less developed country’ (____) and ‘____ ________ _______’ (MDC). This was not widely accepted because development is not only economic but also _____ and _______. LDC therefore became less economically developed country (______) and MDC became more economically developed country (MEDC).
However, within any country there are increasing __________ between people and regions. The middle class is growing in many poor countries. Their capital cities, along with their surrounding regions, are often well _________ and almost indistinguishable from any _____ city. The LEDC/MEDC division is therefore becoming much less ______.
Therefore a new dividing system needed to be devised…

10. MEDCs and LEDCs
Another simple twofold division involved the use of ‘less developed country’ (LDC) and ‘more developed country’ (MDC). This was not widely accepted because development is not only economic but also social and cultural. LDC therefore became less economically developed country (LEDC) and MDC became more economically developed country (MEDC).
Within any country there are increasing differences between people and regions. The middle class is growing in many poor countries. Their capital cities, along with their surrounding regions, are often well developed and almost indistinguishable from any MEDC city. The LEDC/MEDC division is therefore becoming much less useful.
Therefore a new dividing system needed to be devised…

11. The Five-Fold Division Based on Wealth
The modern method of dividing the world up is a five-fold division based on wealth.
Look at your second map. Colour the countries listed in the table below using 5 different colours
USA
CANADA
AUSTRALIA
NEW ZEALAND
WESTERN EUROPE
JAPAN
RUSSIA
LIBYA
SAUDI ARABIA
VENEZUELA
NIGERIA
ALGERIA
IRAQ
IRAN
INDONESIA
QATAR
KUWAIT
KAZAKSTAN
MONGOLIA
TURKMENISTAN
CZECH REPUBLIC
BULGARIA
POLAND
CHINA
INDIA
BRAZIL
MEXICO
SOUTH AFRICA
TAIWAN
TURKEY
BOLIVIA
HONDURAS
NICARAGUA
PANAMA
BANGLADESH
MADAGASCAR
CENTRAL AFRICA

12. Rich industrial countries – these are the most developed in the world
How have you coloured your map? In the boxes around your second map describe what each of your colours show. Use the information in these boxes to help
Former communist countries - these countries aren’t really poor, but aren’t really rich either (they’re kind of in the middle). They’re developing quickly, but not as quickly as NICs are.
Rich industrial countries – these are the most developed in the world
Heavily indebted poor countries – these are the poorest, least developed countries in the world
Newly Industrialising Countries (NICs) – these are rapidly getting richer as their economy is moving from being based on primary industry (e.g. agriculture) to secondary industry (manufacturing).
Oil Exporting Countries – these are quite rich (they have a high GNI) but the wealth often belongs to a few people and the rest are quite poor.
Tasks
Make sure you complete your key. You could also shade your information boxes the correct colours. Draw an arrow from each box to one of the countries as an example

13. Your finished map should look something like this
Tasks
Make sure you complete your key. You could also shade your information boxes the correct colours. Draw an arrow from each box to one of the countries as an example

14. No division fits all
With any classification system you are always going to be making large sweeping statements about completely different countries.
Additionally, there is always going to be significantly different levels of development within a single country.
Therefore no division will fit all countries neatly. We need to continue to improve the method of division to make it as useful as possible.