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GLOBAL DIVIDES

The Brandt Report (1983) was published by


a commission chaired by the former German
Chancellor Willy Brandt. The report identified:
1.THE NORTH – 2. THE SOUTH – is a
are those countries geographical convenience
that are above the based on the fact that
South 30 degree most of the Poor World lies
North. south of latitude 30 degree
North. (Except Australia
and New Zealand).
The Global North (comprises one quarter of the
world population) refers to developed societies of
Europe and North America, which are characterised
by established democracy, wealth, technological
advancement, political stability, aging population,
zero population growth and dominance of world
trade and politics.
The Global South (are the developing countries)
(comprises three quarters of the world population)
represents mainly agrarian economies in Africa,
India, China, Latin America and others that are not
as economically sound and politically stable as their
global North counterparts and tend to be
characterised by turmoil, war, conflict, poverty,
anarchy and tyranny (Odeh, 2010).
North South Korea
America HongKong
Western Macau
Europe Singapore Malaysia
Canada Australia Somalia
Japan New Zealand Haiti
Lebanon
India
Philippines
The terms the North and the South, when
used in a global context, are alternative
designations for “developed” and “developing”
countries.
The North–South divide is broadly considered a
socio-economic and political divide.
The Global North refers to the First World
Countries or Developed Countries.
The Global South refers to the Third World
Countries or the Developing Countries.
Characteristics of the North Characteristics of the South

1/4 of the world's people 3/4 of the world's people

4/5 of world's income 1/5 of world's income

Average life expectancy more than 70 years Average life expectancy of 50 years

Most people have enough to eat 1/5 or more suffer from hunger and malnutrition

Most people are educated 1/2 of the people have little chance of any education

Over 90% of the world's manufacturing industry less than 10% of the world's manufacturing industry

About 96% of the world's spending on research and 4% of the world's research and development
development
The globalized world faces two
contradictory trends. While a
globalized market opens the
prospects of unimagined wealth, it
also creates new vulnerabilities to
political turmoil and the danger of a
new gap.
The impact of these new trends on the
developing world is profound.
In economies driven by a near imperative
for the big to acquire the small,
companies of developing countries are
increasingly being absorbed by American
and European multinationals.
While this solves the problem of
access to capital, it brings about
growing vulnerabilities to domestic
political tensions, especially in times of
crisis. And within the developing
countries, it creates political
temptations for attacks on the entire
system of globalization.
The typical developing country’s economy
bifurcates: one set of enterprises is
integrated into the global economy,
mostly owned by international
corporations.
The rest, cut off from globalization, employs
much of the labor force at the lowest wages
and with the bleakest social prospects. In
 The North-South Divide is criticized for being a
way of segregating people along economic
lines and is seen as a factor of the widening
gap between developed and developing
economies.
However, several measures have been put in
place to contract the North-South Divide
including the lobbying for international free
trade and globalization.
 The United Nations has developed a
program dedicated to narrowing the
divide through its Millennium
Development Goals.
This includes improving education and
health care, promoting gender equality,
and ensuring environmental
sustainability.

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