The Economic Divide Between the Northern and Southern World

Introduction

If people look at a line drawn in the middle of the globe, countries such as the United States and Europe are concentrated in the north, and countries such as Africa and South America are concentrated in the south. We call this middle line the “equator,” and the equator divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. (Alux.com, 2022). These days, most countries in the Northern Hemisphere are richer and more economically successful than those in the Southern Hemisphere. Also, the rich countries get richer, and the poor countries get poorer (History and Nonfiction | 0, 2021).

Why are countries in the north richer than the south?

One of the biggest reasons why the countries in the north are richer than the south is that many countries in the southern hemisphere have a history of being European colonies. In the 19th and 20th centuries, many European countries colonized Africa under the influence of imperialism. Colonized countries were deprived of a lot of physical and human resources, which was a major obstacle to the growth of the economy. While the colonizing countries were getting rich with a lot of resources, the people living in the colonies had to do an independence movement and a lot of labor, and they couldn’t get a fair price for their work (Emory.edu, 2016).

The difference between the north and the south

The first difference is the climate. Northern countries have more comparatively colder weather than Southern countries. The cold weather created opportunities for people to develop faster to survive. In general, the fact that the northern countries have various seasons was also a good reason for development. To prepare for a time when it is difficult to prepare food, such as winter, people made food plans a large amount in summer and fall. Also, there are many countries in the northern hemisphere that have temperate climates. Temperate weather has no extreme weather throughout the year, which has a good effect on people living and growing crops (Explained, 2022).

The second difference is geography. Many northern hemisphere countries have good natural geography for development. Rich countries had good locations where farmland and river terrain were suitable for creating society and were not hit hard by natural disasters.

Conclusion

If so, is there a way to solve this problem? There are now 7.8 billion people living in the world (Worldometer, 2023), some of whom live in the northern hemisphere. Is there a way for every country to live safely and live without anyone starving to death? It’s hard for every country to live perfectly fair. However, people living in rich countries continue to support people in poor countries through activities such as education support, supplies support, and medical service. And these efforts will help close the gap between the rich and the poor (Acanela Expeditions, 2021).

References

Acanela Expeditions. (2021). How You Can Help Other Countries in Need. [online] Available at: https://www.acanela.com/blog/how-you-can-help-other-countries-in-need [Accessed 10 May 2023].

Alux.com (2022). Why The Northern Hemisphere is Considerably Richer Than The South. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://youtu.be/ODAlwGrnI5w [Accessed 11 May 2023].

Braff, L. and Nelson, K. (2021). Chapter 15: The Global North: Introducing the Region. milnepublishing.geneseo.edu. [online] Available at: https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/genderedlives/chapter/chapter-15-the-global-north-introducing-the-region/ [Accessed 10 May 2023].

Emory.edu. (2016). The Philosophy of Colonialism: Civilization, Christianity, and Commerce | Violence in Twentieth Century Africa. [online] Available at: https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/violenceinafrica/sample-page/the-philosophy-of-colonialism-civilization-christianity-and-commerce/ [Accessed 10 May 2023].

Global Affairs Explained (2022). 7 Reasons Why Northern Countries Are More Developed. [online] Global Affairs Explained. Available at: https://globalaffairsexplained.com/why-northern-countries-developed/ [Accessed 10 May 2023].

Mal Warwick on Books. History and Nonfiction | 0 (2021). Why is the Global North so much richer than the South? [online] Mal Warwick On Books. Available at: https://malwarwickonbooks.com/global-north-and-global-south/ [Accessed 10 May 2023].

By Miroo Kim

She is a Concordia International University student.

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