Identify and give an example of 5 factors that would explain the developmental disparity between the countries North of the Brandt line and the countries South of the Brandt line.

Explanation:

The gap between the ‘North’ and ‘South’

Despite very significant development gains globally which have raised many millions of people out of absolute poverty,

there is substantial evidence that inequality between the world’s richest and poorest countries is widening. In 1820

western Europe's per capita income was three times bigger than Africa’s but by 2000 it was thirteen times as big. In

addition, in 2013, Oxfam reported that the richest 85 people in the world owned the same amount of wealth as the

poorest half of the world’s population.

Today the world is much more complex than the Brandt Line depicts as many poorer countries have experienced

significant economic and social development. However, inequality within countries has also been growing and some

commentators now talk of a ‘Global North’ and a ‘Global South’ referring respectively to richer or poorer communities

which are found both within and between countries. For example, whilst India is still home to the largest concentration

of poor people in a single nation it also has a very sizable middle class and a very rich elite.

There are many causes for these inequalities including the availability of natural resources; different levels of health and

education; the nature of a country’s economy and its industrial sectors; international trading policies and access to

markets; how countries are governed and international relationships between countries; conflict within and between

countries; and a country’s vulnerability to natural hazards and climate chang