Differences in Levels of Development between Developing Countries

There are many reasons, physical and human, to explain differences in levels of development
between countries. Factors such as climate and government type are important to a country’s
development. One model of development considers all countries on a hill slope, with the richest
developed countries like Japan at the top, and the poorest developing countries like Burkina Faso
at the bottom of the hill.

The most well off developing countries are the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs), like South
Korea. These would be halfway up the hill, below the poorest of the developed countries, such as
Hungary.

Physical Factors
1. Climate

- Any extreme climate will hinder development.

- For example, being too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry. Many African countries are
situated in very hot, arid climates. This makes food production difficult.
- Many of these countries, like Burkina Faso, for example, are prone to drought and
famine. Some of the poorest least developed countries are in the Sahel zone of Africa,
like Mali and Chad.
- These countries have severe climatic problems, like drought, which can hamper
development. This means they are unable to produce enough food to feed their
populations.
- Money has to be borrowed for this, instead of it being invested in development
projects.
- Any extreme in weather will make life difficult. It will be difficult to build houses and
roads, to farm the land, to attract industry and to earn a living generally.

2. Natural Hazards

- Areas likely to be hit by floods, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes or by

drought tend to remain less developed.
- Mozambique has suffered serious flooding in recent years.
- The Philippines has been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.
- Pakistan and Haiti have been affected by massive earthquakes.
- Ethiopia is currently affected by drought.

3. Other Factors

- Areas lacking in mineral resources (e.g. coal, diamonds, oil) and areas with poor soils
or poor drainage will remain less developed. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait
have vast oil reserves to export.
- Factors such as war, however, can prevent a country from developing. Iraq is not
allowed to reap the benefits of its oil reserves due to conflict.
- Areas that are naturally linked to endemic disease will also struggle to develop. Many
countries in Africa have suffered a development setback due to aids and malaria.
Researchers have concluded that the world lost on average 1.3 years of human
development progress due to the aids pandemic between 1982 and 1992.
Human Factors
1. Population
- High population growth will generally limit development, since resources such as food,
space, and water will have to be spread more thinly. There will not be enough jobs,
houses, schools, or health clinics to serve the population.

2. Other Factors

- Political systems can affect development. For instance, some countries are ruled by
dictators, such as Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Africa has more dictators than any
other continent.
- Many African countries, such as Liberia, Sudan and Somalia have been plagued by
civil war and this has impeded development. Many of the civil wars in Africa have been
caused by dictators, such as the conflict in Ethiopia, Sudan and DR Congo. Conflicts
have a direct impact on Africa’s agricultural production.

Differences within Countries

- In any developing world country there are massive differences between urban and
rural areas.
- Rural areas are far less likely to have access to clean water and sanitation, health and
education facilities or to get help from international aid.

Philippines
- The Philippines is an incredibly diverse nation in terms of language, religion, ethnicity
and also geography. Ethnic and religious fault-lines that run through the country
continue to produce a state of constant, low-level civil war between north and south.
- Beautiful and fractious, the Philippines is one of the most interesting countries in Asia.

Government

- The Philippines has an American-style democracy, headed by a president who is both

head of state and head of government. The president is limited to one 6-year term in
office.

Population

- The Philippines has a population of more than 100 million people and with an annual
growth rate of around 2 percent, it is one of the most populous and fastest growing
countries on Earth.

Languages

- The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino (which is based on Tagalog) and
English.
- More than 180 different languages and dialects are spoken in the Philippines.
Commonly used languages include Tagalog (26 million speakers), Cebuano (21
million), Ilocano (7.8 million), Hiligaynon or Ilonggo (7 million), Waray-Waray (3.1
million), Bicolano (2.5 million), Pampango and Pangasinan (2.4 million).
Religion

- Due to early colonization by the Spanish, the Philippines is a majority Roman Catholic
nation, with 81 percent of the population self-defining as Catholic, according to the
Pew Research Center.
- Other religions represented include Protestant (10.7 percent), Muslims (5.5 percent),
and other Christian denominations (4.5 percent). Approximately 1 percent of Filipinos
are Hindu and another 1 percent are Buddhist.

Geography

- The Philippines is made up of 7, 107 islands, totaling about 117,187 square miles. It
borders on the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the
Celebes Sea to the south.

Climate

- The climate in the Philippines is tropical and monsoonal. The country has an average
yearly temperature of 26.5 C (79.7 F); May is the warmest month, while January is the
coolest.
- The monsoon rains, called habagat, hit from May to October, bringing torrential rain
which is abetted by frequent typhoons. An average of 6 or 7 typhoons per year strikes
the Philippines.