Human & Physical Factors Affecting Development
- There is uneven development between countries around the world
- The wide differences in levels of development which exist today have not always existed
- Development is not a smooth, continuous process
- Development can occur for several reasons:
- Investment in agriculture (tractors, fertilisers etc.) improves food supplies, which improves the health of people
- Improvements in supplies of power to rural areas
- Improvements in access to education for females and overall literacy rates
- It can be slowed, halted, and even reversed by:
- War/conflict
- Disease
- Disasters
- Economic recession
Cycle of wealth
- One of the key indicators of development is the cycle of wealth
- Economic development creates wealth and if a country has a stable and effective government this leads to the development
- As the economy grows, more people work and are earning more money:
- The government can then collect more taxes and people have more disposable income to spend which increases business profits
- The taxes collected and profits made by companies can then be invested in future growth as well as infrastructure, education, healthcare etc...
Diagram of the cycle of wealth
Factors affecting development
- A range of factors both human and physical have led to the uneven development
Human and Physical Causes of Uneven Development
Human | Physical |
Education Health Colonialism Politics Aid |
Climate Geographic location Natural hazards Natural resources |
Education and health
- These are linked to the wealth of a country
- The more wealth a country has the more it can invest in education and healthcare
- The better-educated a population is the more this can help with the development of secondary and tertiary economic activities which boosts the economy
- A healthier population has a longer life expectancy, can work for longer, and this improves the economy
Colonialism
- In the past many countries across the world have been conquered and ruled by European countries
- This is referred to as colonialism
- As a result of colonialism, the European countries became wealthier by selling, or using, the natural resources of the countries they had conquered
- This slowed development in the colonies because the people in the countries were not ruling themselves and were unable to invest in their own development
- African people were also enslaved and transported to other colonies to work on sugar and cotton plantations. This further increased the wealth of the European countries
Politics
- In areas where there is political unrest or corruption this slows development
- War and conflict slow development as money is spent on weapons and the conflict rather than development
Aid
- The type of aid and whether it can reach the people determines whether it increases development
- Aid can lead to debt which countries struggle to repay, this slows development
Climate
- Those areas without extremes of climate tend to be more developed
Geographic location
- Land-locked countries find it more difficult to trade goods as they do not have access to ports and goods must pass through other countries
- Flat, fertile land is better for growing crops and for building
Natural hazards
- Some countries are affected by many natural hazards. Rebuilding and dealing with the impacts of these hazards is expensive
- This reduces the amount of money that can be invested in development
Natural resources
- Some countries have more valuable or abundant natural resources which increases the country's income