Variety of countries in the modern world and their types

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The modern political map of the world is represented by almost 230 countries and territories, and about 190 of them are sovereign. There are huge ones among them, such as Russia, the USA, and there are small ones - the Vatican, Liechtenstein. Some countries are rich in nationalities and peoples, others are rich in natural resources. A huge amount of statistical work is being done to highlight country classifications.

It's hard to imagine what our world would be like if it were one big country. He would have the uniqueness that all countries of the world carry, their customs, traditions, culture. After all, the uniqueness of history, the formation of the economy, politics and social life of citizens are of great interest to everyone. The development of capitalism also played a role in many ways. Some countries have tried to skip some of the evolutionarily established stages, and therefore ended up exactly where they are now. Countries are very different and can be divided according to different typological characteristics. The diversity of the countries of the modern world shows the historical path of human development, thanks to which we have the opportunity to trace the main stages of the development of society and allits elements. The experience gained from such research is critical to building a successful global economy and providing sufficient income for all people.

Economic classification

Many people remember: school, topic "Diversity of countries in the modern world", geography, grade 10. And a teacher who talks about the fact that countries are developed, with economies in transition and developing. And the basis of this classification is the development of a market economy. It is she who is one of the key factors for the successful functioning of the country.

To determine which category a country belongs to, researchers take into account indicators such as the standard of living of the population, gross domestic product, the structure of the economy by industry, and the degree of development of information technology.

Developed countries

Let's go back to school. All the same geography lesson "Diversity of countries of the modern world." The teacher asks Ivanov, what are economically developed countries? And he can’t answer anything, except that “developed means developed”. Indeed, it is necessary to understand who is behind the concept of "development of the country".

G7 countries: USA, UK, Canada, France, Japan, Germany, Italy are typical examples of developed countries. After analyzing their position, we can say that the signscountry development are:

• good standard of living for people;
• manufacturing and services dominate the gross domestic product;
• The society is highly informatized and in general information technologies are at a high stage of their development.

Due to the different speed of economic development and the characteristics of countries, there are subtypes of economically developed countries:

• main;
• economically developed countries of Europe;
• countries of "settlement capitalism".

Main countries

As noted above, the main countries include the G7 countries. In world production, they occupy the lion's share: more than 50% of industry and 25% of the entire service sector. Given the fact that the number of major countries is many times less than the number of remaining ones, the scale of their activities can be considered huge, and the economy powerful. They contribute their share to the diversity of the countries of the modern world. The 10th grade, already mentioned, asked an interesting question: where does Russia belong? Researchers cannot yet give an exact answer and are arguing which group it belongs to. But most opinions at the moment - Russia belongs to economically developed countries.

Economically developed countries in Europe

The variety of countries in the modern world in this category is represented by Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, etc. When we pronounce these names, an image immediately comes to mind: political stability, the population lives well, high gross domestic product,imports and exports are almost in perfect proportion.

How do they differ from the main countries? This is where the international division of labor comes into play. The economically developed countries of Europe are more narrowly specialized, therefore they are more dependent on the income that they receive from banking, tourism, trade in the form of intermediary, etc.

Countries of "settlement capitalism"

This category includes the former colonies of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. These countries are characterized by the preservation of their international specialization - they export raw materials and agricultural products. What distinguishes them from developing countries is the fact that specialization in the agricultural and raw materials sectors is based on high labor productivity, and a developed domestic economy also contributes to this.

Countries with economies in transition

It's the teacher's turn to answer Solovyov. But he is not afraid of anything, because geography is his favorite lesson. The diversity of the countries of the modern world does not frighten him either. Solovyov clearly answers (and correctly) that countries with economies in transition are characterized by the fact that they are currently undergoing various processes to transform economic activity towards the introduction of market mechanisms.

These countries include the countries of Eastern and Central Europe (former socialist), the B altic States, and the CIS. In these world subjects, the institution of private property is strengthening in the economy, the centralized economy is being replaced by the "invisible hand of the market", the consumer market is being saturated with a variety of goods. Some countries were able to make this transition smooth with the help of "velvet" revolutions, that is, they carried out gradual reforms without major shocks to society. The economic ties that had developed over decades were "destroyed" in a civilized manner.

Developing countries

The lesson "The variety of countries in the modern world" continues. Grade 10 finds it difficult to answer the question which countries are developing. And how do they differ from countries with economies in transition. Developing countries - this is the vast majority of countries around the world, there are about 132 of them. Asia, Africa and Latin America are the places of their concentration. Among them you can see many former dependent and colonial countries. 80% of the total population lives here.

Developing countries are characterized by the fact that they have already made the transition to a market economy, but they are highly dependent on exports, especially exports of fuels and raw materials. Economic processes in such countries are built on the relationship with the economies of developed countries. Developing countries are characterized by low and middle income levels.

Physical-geographic countries

We consider the diversity of countries in the modern world and move on to another criterion of their typology. Countries are also divided by physicalgeographic location.

This criterion is not given much attention in school, as the economic classification is considered the most important, taking into account the processes of globalization and integration taking place in society. But in order to see the full picture of our world, teachers should include this typology in the lesson. The diversity of the countries of the modern world in this case looks like this: the unity of the geostructure and movement of the earth's crust and the homogeneity of the relief determine such countries-zones as the Arctic, Northern, Eastern and Central Europe, the Mediterranean, Central, Eastern, North, Southeast Asia, etc.

Historical and cultural classification

History and culture also contribute to the diversity of the countries of the modern world. Their main types according to these criteria are, for example, Western and Central European, Eastern European, Caucasian, Central Asian-Kazakhstan, Siberian, Central African, etc. The historical and cultural classification is very extensive and, like no other, reflects the real diversity of the countries of the modern world.

In this typology, countries are distinguished by their common historical destiny, the development of the social and economic spheres, the development of cultural traditions, customs and way of life. Material and spiritual culture (folklore, traditional arts, national rituals) is the main manifestation of historical and cultural countries. Historical and cultural classification is the support and basis forresearch work in ethnography - the science of the characteristics of a people.

The variety of countries in the modern world is huge. Each country is unique - its historical traditions and mentality, economy and politics, social sphere and culture. The typology of countries helps researchers to see global trends and patterns in the development of our society. And knowledge of certain laws can help prevent global crises and resolve universal global problems. After all, international integration, like any phenomenon in our life, has two sides - pluses and minuses. And it remains in the power of people to prevent the great influence of minuses on world well-being, a calm environment and a decent standard of living for every person.