The first two variables I chose are GDP per Capita (in US dollars) which measures the gross domestic product per person in the country and literacy rate (percent of people 15 years and older) which measure what percent of the population can read and write. The second two variables I chose are improved water source (overall access percentage) which measures the percentage of the population that has access to an improved water source and infant mortality rate (rate per 1,000 live births) which measures how many deaths per live births before the age of one.
GDP per capita is a good indicator of development because it measures how much money people are generally making. The higher the GDP per capita, the more money people have. Literacy rate is also a good indicator of development because if people can afford to have their children to stay in school, it shows that they have that access money to afford to send them to school instead of using the money for everyday needs. The more education a society has, the more people they will have working in the secondary and tertiary sectors of economy. Access to improved sanitation indicates that a society is developed because the government has put in the funds to create access to water attainable. When people have access to sanitary water, they won’t get sick and will have to time and resources to work and provide for their families. A low infant mortality rate is a good indicator of economic development because it shows that people have access to medical care before and after giving birth.
The countries in Europe, East Asia and the Middle East are high on the GDP per capita and literacy graph while countries in Africa are low on the graph. But what is surprising is that several countries in Africa are relatively high on the graph as well, such as South Africa, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. European countries and a few East Asian countries are low on the infant mortality rate scale and high on the improved access to water sanitation scale while countries in Africa are very high on the infant mortality rate scale and low on the improved access to water sanitation. The few outliers however are Papua New Guinea, Yemen and Afghanistan, which are high on the infant mortality rate scale and low on the improved access to water sanitation.
The reason that European, Eastern Asian and Middle Eastern countries are far more developed than African countries is because of their infrastructure, luck in being where they are as to the ability to grow crops and location in the global economy. European countries developed faster because of the Industrial Revolution and the machines invented to make work more efficient.
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