There are over two hundred countries in the world today. All of them differ from each other in size, number of inhabitants, level of socio-economic development, and so on. Why are country classifications needed? The answer is extremely simple: for convenience. To cut the map of the world according to some signs is convenient for geographers, economists, and ordinary people.

In this article you will find various classifications of countries - by population, area, form of government, GDP. Find out what is more in the world - monarchies or republics, and what the term "third world" means.

Country classifications: criteria and approaches

How many countries in the world? Geographers do not have an unequivocal answer to this question. Some say - 210, others - 230, others confidently declare: at least 250! And each of these countries is unique, original. However, individual states can be grouped according to certain criteria. This is necessary for the implementation of scientific analysis and forecasting the development of regional economies.

There are two main approaches to the typology of states - regional and socio-economic. Accordingly, different classification systems of countries are distinguished. The regional approach implies a grouping of states and territories along geographical lines. The socio-economic approach takes into account, first of all, economic and social criteria: the volume of GDP, the level of development of democracy, the degree of openness of national economies, etc.

In this article, we will look at various classifications of countries according to a number of criteria. Among them:

• Geographical position.
• The area of ​​the land.
• Population.
• Form of government.
• The level of economic development.
• The volume of GDP.

What are the countries? Typology by geographical principle

So, there are many different classifications of countries - by area, population, form of government, specifics state structure. But we will start with a geographical typology of states.

Based on the characteristics of the geographical location, countries are distinguished:

• Inland, that is, without access to the seas or oceans (Mongolia, Austria, Moldova, Nepal).
• Maritime (Mexico, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey).
• Island (Japan, Cuba, Fiji, Indonesia).
• Peninsular (Italy, Spain, Norway, Somalia).
• Mountain (Nepal, Switzerland, Georgia, Andorra).

Separately, it is worth mentioning the group of so-called enclave countries. Translated from Latin, the word "enclave" means "closed, limited." These are countries that are surrounded on all sides by the territory of other states. Classic examples of enclaves in the modern world are the Vatican, San Marino and Lesotho.

The historical and geographical classification of countries divides the whole world into 15 regions. Let's list them:

1. North America.
2. Central America and the Caribbean.
3. Latin America.
4. Western Europe.
5. Northern Europe.
6. Southern Europe.
7. Eastern Europe.
8. Central Asia.
9. Southwest Asia.
10. South Asia.
11. Southeast Asia.
12. East Asia.
13. Australia and Oceania.
14. North Africa.
15. South Africa.
16. West Africa.
17. East Africa.

Giant countries and dwarf countries

Modern states vary greatly in size. This thesis is confirmed by one eloquent fact: only 10 countries of the world occupy half of the entire land area of ​​the earth! The largest state on the planet is Russia, and the smallest is the Vatican. For comparison: the Vatican would occupy only half of the territory of Moscow's Gorky Park.

The generally accepted classification of countries by area divides all states into:

• Giant countries (over 3 million sq. km) - Russia, Canada, USA, China.
• Large (from 1 to 3 million sq. km) - Argentina, Algeria, Indonesia, Chad.
• Significant (from 0.5 to 1 million sq. km) - Egypt, Turkey, France, Ukraine.
• Medium (from 0.1 to 0.5 million sq. km) - Belarus, Italy, Poland, Uruguay.
• Small (from 10 to 100 thousand sq. km) - Austria, the Netherlands, Israel, Estonia.
• Small (from 1 to 10 thousand sq. km) - Cyprus, Brunei, Luxembourg, Mauritius.
• Dwarf countries (up to 1000 sq. km.) - Andorra, Monaco, Dominica, Singapore.

It is important to note that the large size of the territory is listed both in the list of advantages and in the list of disadvantages of the state. On the one hand, a significant area is the abundance and diversity of natural and mineral resources. On the other hand, the vast territory of the central government is much more difficult to protect, develop and control.

Densely populated and sparsely populated countries

And here again there are striking contrasts! The population density in different states of the planet is very different. So, for example, in Malta it is 700 (!) times higher than in Mongolia. The processes of resettlement of the terrestrial population, first of all, were influenced and influenced by natural factors: climate, terrain, remoteness from the sea and large rivers.

The classification of countries by population divides all states into:

• Large (over 100 million people) - China, India, USA, Russia.
• Significant (from 50 to 100 million people) - Germany, Iran, Great Britain, South Africa.
• Medium (from 10 to 50 million people) - Ukraine, Argentina, Canada, Romania.
• Small (from 1 to 10 million people) - Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, Denmark, Costa Rica.
• Small (less than 1 million people) - Montenegro, Malta, Palau, Vatican.

The absolute leaders in the number of inhabitants in the world are China and India. These two countries account for almost 37% of the world's population.

Countries with kings and countries with presidents

The form of government of the state means the specifics of the organization of the supreme power and the procedure for the formation of its key bodies. More in simple words, the form of government answers the question of who (and to what extent) has power in the country. As a rule, it significantly affects the mentality and cultural traditions of the population, but does not absolutely determine the level of socio-economic development of the state.

The classification of countries according to the form of government provides for the division of all states into republics and monarchies. In the first case, all power belongs to the president and (or) parliament, in the second - to the monarch (or jointly to the monarch and parliament). Today there are many more republics in the world than monarchies. Approximate ratio: seven to one.

There are three types of republics:

• Presidential (USA, Mexico, Argentina).
• Parliamentary (Austria, Italy, Germany).
• Mixed (Ukraine, France, Russia).

Monarchies, in turn, are:

• Absolute (UAE, Oman, Qatar).
• Limited or constitutional (UK, Spain, Morocco).
• Theocratic (Saudi Arabia, Vatican).

There is another specific form of government - the directory. It provides for the existence of a certain collegial governing body. That is, the executive power belongs to a group of persons. Today, Switzerland can be considered an example of such a country. In it, the highest authority is the Federal Council, consisting of seven equal members.

countries rich and poor

Now let's look at the main economic classifications of the countries of the world. All of them were developed by the largest and most influential international organizations such as the UN, the IMF or the World Bank. Moreover, the approaches to the typology of states in these organizations differ markedly. Thus, the UN classification of countries is based on social and demographic aspects. But the IMF puts the level of economic development in the foreground.

Let us first consider the classification of countries by GDP (proposed by the World Bank). Recall that the gross domestic product (GDP) is the total market value of all goods and services produced in a year in the territory of a particular state. So, according to this criterion, countries are distinguished:

• With a high GDP (over $10,725 per capita) - Luxembourg, Norway, USA, Japan, etc.
• With an average GDP (875 - 10725 dollars per capita) - Georgia, Ukraine. Philippines, Cameroon etc.
• With a low GDP (up to $875 per capita) - there are only four such states as of 2016 - these are the Congo, Liberia, Burundi and the Central African Republic.

This classification makes it possible to group states according to the degree of economic power and to single out, first of all, the level of well-being of their citizens. However, GDP per capita is not a capacious enough criterion. After all, it does not fully take into account either the nature of income distribution or the quality of life of the population. Therefore, the classification of countries according to the level of economic development is more accurate and more complex.

Countries developed and developing

The most popular is the classification proposed by the UN. According to it, there are three groups of states in the world:

• Economically developed countries (Advanced economies).
• Countries with economies in transition (Emerging market).
• Developing countries (Developing countries).

Economically developed countries occupy a leading position in the modern world market. They own over 50% of the world's GDP and industrial production. Almost all of these states are politically stable and have a solid level of income per capita. As a rule, the industry of these countries works on imported raw materials and produces high-quality, export-oriented products. The economically developed states include the so-called G7 group (USA, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Italy, Canada), as well as the countries of Western and Northern Europe(Denmark, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands and others). Often they also include Australia and New Zealand, sometimes - South Africa.

Countries with economies in transition are the former states of the socialist camp. Today they are rebuilding their national economies on the rails of a market economy model. And some of them are already at the final stage of these processes. This group includes all the former republics of the USSR, the countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula (Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, etc.), as well as some states of East Asia (in particular, Mongolia and Vietnam).

Developing countries are the largest of these three groups. And the most heterogeneous. All developing countries are very different from each other in terms of area, pace of development, economic potential, and level of corruption. But they also have one thing in common - almost all of them are former colonies. The key states of this group are India, China, Mexico and Brazil. In addition, this includes about a hundred underdeveloped countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Oil producing countries and landlord countries

In addition to the above, in economic geography it is customary to distinguish the following groups of states:

• Newly industrialized countries (NIS).
• Countries of resettlement capitalism.
• oil producing states.
• Landlord countries.

The NIS group consists of more than a dozen predominantly Asian states in which over the past three to four decades there has been a qualitative leap in all socio-economic indicators. The brightest representatives of this group are the so-called "Asian tigers" ( South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong). In the second half of the twentieth century, these countries, relying on their own cheap labor, relied on the production of mass household appliances, computer games, shoes and clothes. And it has borne fruit. Today, "Asian tigers" are distinguished by a high quality of life and widespread introduction into production. the latest technologies. Tourism, services and the financial sector are actively developing here.

The countries of resettlement capitalism are Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Israel. They have one thing in common - at a certain stage of history they all formed as resettlement colonies of immigrants from other states (in the first three cases - from Great Britain). Accordingly, all these countries have still retained the main economic, political features and cultural traditions of their "stepmother" - the British Empire. Israel occupies a separate place in this group, since it was formed as a result of the mass migration of Jews from all over the world after the Second World War.

Oil-producing countries are included in a separate group. These are about ten states, in whose export the share of oil and oil products exceeds 50%. These most often include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria and Venezuela. In all these countries, in the midst of lifeless sands, you can see luxurious palaces, ideal roads, modern skyscrapers and luxury hotels. All this, of course, was built with the proceeds from the sale of “black gold” on the global market.

Finally, the so-called lessor countries are a number of island or coastal states located at the intersection of important transport routes. Therefore, they are happy to host the ships of the fleets of the leading powers of the planet. The countries of this group include: Panama, Cyprus, Malta, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas. Many of them, taking advantage of their favorable geographical position, are actively developing the tourism business in their territories.

Ranking of countries on the human development index

Back in 1990, UN experts developed the so-called Human Development Index (HDI for short). This is a generalized indicator characterizing the level of socio-economic development different countries. It includes the following criteria:

• life expectancy;
• poverty assessment;
• the level of literacy of the population;
• quality of education, etc.

The HDI index values ​​range from zero to one. Accordingly, this classification of countries provides for the division into four levels: very high, high, medium and low. Below is a map of the world according to the HDI index (the darker the color, the higher the index).

As of 2016, the countries with the highest HDI are Norway, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany. The outsiders of the rating include the Central African Republic, Chad and Niger. The value of this index for Russia is 0.804 (49th place), for Belarus - 0.796 (52nd place), for Ukraine - 0.743 (84th place).

List of third world countries. Essence of the term

What do we imagine when we hear the expression "third world country"? Banditry, poverty, dirty streets and the lack of normal medicine - as a rule, our imagination draws something like this associative array. In fact, the original essence of the term "third world" is quite different.

This term was first used in 1952 by the French scientist Alfred Sauvy. Initially, it belonged to those countries that, during the so-called Cold War, did not join either the Western world (under the auspices of the United States) or the socialist camp of states (under the auspices of the USSR). Full list countries of the "third world" includes more than a hundred states. All of them are marked on the map below in green.

At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, when the need to divide the world into “communists” and “capitalists” disappeared, for some reason the underdeveloped countries of the planet began to be called the “third world”. First of all, at the suggestion of journalists. And this is rather strange, because Finland, Sweden, Ireland and several other economically quite prosperous states were originally ranked among them.

It is curious that in 1974 the famous Chinese politician Mao Zedong also proposed his own system of dividing the planet into three worlds. So, to the "first world" he ranked Soviet Union and the United States, to the "second world" - their allies, to the "third world" - all the rest, neutral states.

Before the collapse of the USSR, the world community was divided into two opposite parts: socialist and capitalist countries. (among the latter, the so-called third countries stood out, which included a group of developing (mostly underdeveloped) states. Such a division was confrontational, it was due to the idealistic notion that the whole world was going through a transition to socialism, which seemed to be a higher stage of economic development and social justice. It was believed that socialism could be achieved by bypassing the long, painful years of feudal and capitalist development, and this division aimed at this.

Currently, there is no single division of the countries of the world.

Most often, countries are divided according to the level of socio-economic development. For this, a complex of factors is used, including, for example, the income of the population, the availability of industrial goods, food, the level of education, and life expectancy. In this case, the main factor is usually the value of the gross domestic (national) product per inhabitant of the country (sometimes they say: per capita or per capita income).

According to the level of socio-economic development, the countries of the world are divided into three main groups.

First- countries with the highest GDP (GNP) per capita (over 9 thousand dollars): the USA, Canada, Japan, most of the countries of Western Europe. These countries are called highly developed.

Among the highly developed countries, the "big seven" stands out - ("USA, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy. The "Seven" are the leaders of the world economy, who have achieved the highest labor productivity and are at the forefront of scientific and technological progress. These countries account for more than 80% of the industrial production of all highly developed countries, about the entire world industrial production.<>0% of the world's electricity supply 50% of all exported goods in the world to the world market.

New members are striving to enter the group of highly developed countries: for example, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, South Korea, Kuwait.
The second group includes countries with an average level of socio-economic development. The value of GDP (GNP) per capita ranges from 8.5 thousand to 750 dollars. These are, for example, Greece, South Africa, Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, Oman, Libya. A large group of former socialist countries adjoins: for example, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Russia. Russia also belongs to this group.

Thirdthe largest group. It includes countries with a low level of socio-economic development, in which GDP per capita does not exceed $ 750. These countries are called underdeveloped. There are over 60 of them: for example, India, China, Vietnam, Pakistan, Lebanon, Jordan, Ecuador. This group includes the least developed countries. As a rule, they have a narrow and even monocultural structure of the economy, a high degree of dependence.| debts from external sources of financing.

In international practice, three criteria are used to classify countries as least developed: the value of GDP per capita does not exceed $350; the proportion of the adult population who can read is no more than 20%; the cost of manufacturing products does not exceed 10% of GDP. In total, there are about 50 least developed countries: for example, Chad, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Somalia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh.
Most economists believe that the level of socio-economic development of the world community should be divided into only two groups: developed and developing countries.

Developed countries are characterized by two main differences. The first is the predominance of market forms of management: private ownership of used economic resources, commodity but-money exchange between producers and consumers. Another is the high standard of living of the population of these countries: the income per inhabitant exceeds 6 thousand dollars a year.

The developed countries— countries with a predominance of a market form of management and a gross domestic product per capita of more than 6,000 dollars a year.

To emphasize the heterogeneity of developed countries, they are usually divided into two main subgroups.
The first one is formed by the "Big Seven" - the undisputed leaders of the world economy. The second - the rest: for example, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden.

Sometimes a third subgroup is added to developed countries, which is formed by "newcomers": for example, South Korea, Hong Kong (Hong Kong), Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, Argentina, Chile. They are only at the end of the 20th century. formed an economy typical of developed countries. Now they are distinguished by a relatively high GDP per capita, the spread of market forms of management, and cheap labor. The "newcomers" were called "new industrialized countries" (NIS). However, their assignment to developed countries is an unresolved issue. Most economists believe that these countries cannot yet be called developed.

Almost all newly industrialized countries are former colonies. More recently, they had an economy typical of developing countries: the predominance Agriculture and the extractive industry, a meager per capita income, an undeveloped domestic market. (, In the last decades of the 20th century, the situation changed dramatically. v
In 1988, the average annual GDP growth rate in South Korea was 12.2%, Singapore and Thailand - 11%, Malaysia - 8.1% (for comparison: in Japan - 5.1%, the USA - 3.9%).

In terms of per capita income ($9,000), Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong (Hong Kong) are among the richest countries in the world. NIS foreign trade is developing rapidly. More than 80% of exports come from manufacturing products. Hong Kong has become one of the first places in the world in the export of clothes, watches, phones, toys; Taiwan - shoes, monitors, movie cameras, sewing machines; South Korea - ships, containers, televisions, video recorders, electric wave kitchen appliances; Singapore - offshore drilling platforms, magnetic disk drives, video recorders; Malaysia — electronic components, air conditioners.

The competitiveness of industrial products is achieved through high performance labor and low wage costs. Shoe, textile, electronic, automotive industry products are much cheaper than Western analogues.
South Korean companies - Samsung, Hyundai, Tevu, Lucky Goldstar - are acquiring the same world fame as the Japanese companies Sony, Mitsubishi, Toyota.

The improvement of scientific and technical potential contributes to the acceleration of economic development. Results are achieved by concentrating resources in the most important areas; microelectronics, biotechnology, genetic engineering.
In South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, programs are being actively implemented to create technopolises - cities of advanced technologies, scientific research, and design development.

Developing countriesare the most numerous in the world community. They are united by the colonial past, the “x”ness associated with this, the predominance of non-market forms of management (primitive communal and feudal), as well as economic dependence on developed countries. Examples are India, China, Mexico, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Indonesia, Congo, Angola , Ethiopia.

Developing countries- countries with a predominance of non-market forms of management and a gross domestic product per inhabitant of less than 6 thousand dollars a year.

Many economists refer to developing countries as "newly industrialized countries", as well as former socialist countries (for example, Russia, Russia, Ukraine).

In international practice, another division is often used: according to the degree of approximation to a market economy. Countries with developed market economy(eg USA, UK, Germany), emerging market economies (eg Greece, Portugal, South Korea), transition economies (eg Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Russia).

According to the UN classification, countries with developed market economies include:
- USA, Canada (in North America);
- Denmark, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxburg, Great Britain, Iceland, the Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Norway, Switzerland (in Europe);
- Israel, Japan (in Asia);
- South Africa (in Africa);
- Australia, New Zealand (in Oceania).

Sometimes there is a typology in which the countries are divided > s industrial (industrial) and agrarian (agricultural). The highly developed countries are industrial, the underdeveloped countries are agrarian.

The division of the countries of the world is in constant motion: one group is dying off, others are being formed. For example, among the different countries, the group that united the dietary countries ceased to exist. A new group of countries with social economies (sometimes called socially oriented market countries) is emerging. Among developing countries in last years a special group stands out - highly profitable oil-exporting countries (for example, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates).

Discipline "Fundamentals of Regional Studies" Lecture 3

Typology of countries

Typology of countries- allocation of groups of countries with a similar type and level of socio-economic development. The type of a country is formed objectively, it is a relatively stable set of development features inherent in it, characterizing its role and place in the world community at a given stage in world history. To determine the type of state means to attribute it to one or another socio-economic category.

To distinguish types of countries, the indicator is gross domestic product(GDP) - the value of all final products of material production and non-productive sphere, released in the territory of a given country in one year, per capita. The criteria for selecting types of countries are the level of economic development, the country's share in world production, the structure of the economy, and the degree of participation in the MGRT.

The UN currently has two classifications of countries. In the first, all countries of the world are divided into three types - 1) economically advanced countries; 2) developing countries; 3) (from planned to market). At the same time, the third type actually includes the former socialist countries that are carrying out economic transformations to build a market economy. According to the second UN classification, two large groups of countries are distinguished: 1) economic developed countries and 2) developing. With such a division, extremely different states are combined into one group of countries. Therefore, within each type of country, smaller groups are distinguished - subtypes.

Economically developed countries

TO economically developed countries The UN includes about 60 states: all of Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel. These countries, as a rule, are characterized by a high level of economic development, the predominance of manufacturing and service industries in GDP, and a high standard of living of the population. But the same group includes Russia, Belarus, the Czech Republic, etc. Due to the heterogeneity, economically developed countries are divided into several subtypes:

Economically developed countries:

1. main countries– USA, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Canada. They provide more than 50% of the production of all industrial and more than 25% of the world's agricultural products. The major countries and Canada (with the exception of China) are often referred to as the "G7 countries". (In 1997, Russia was admitted to the G7, which became the G8.)
2. economically developed countries of Europe– Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, etc. These countries are characterized by political stability, high living standards, high GDP and the highest per capita export and import rates. Unlike the main countries, they have a much narrower specialization in the international division of labor. Their economy is more dependent on income received from banking, tourism, intermediary trade, etc.;
3. countries of "settlement capitalism"- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa - former colonies of Great Britain - and the State of Israel, formed in 1948 by decision of the UN General Assembly. A characteristic feature of these countries (except Israel) is the preservation of international specialization in the export of raw materials and agricultural products. Unlike developing countries, this agricultural specialization based on high labor productivity is combined with a developed domestic economy.

Countries with an average level of development:

1. middle developed countries of Europe: Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland. In terms of the level of development of productive forces, they are somewhat behind modern technical progress. Spain and Portugal in the past were the largest colonial empires, played a big role in world history. But the loss of the colonies led to the loss of political influence and the weakening of the economy, which until then rested on the wealth of the colonies;
2. countries with economies in transition- CIS countries, countries of Eastern Europe. They carry out transformations aimed at developing market relations in the economy instead of central planning. This subgroup of countries emerged in the 1990s in connection with the collapse of the world socialist system. The subgroup includes countries that differ significantly from each other (see note).

Developing countries

TO developing countries The UN classification includes all other countries in the world. Almost all of them are located in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They are home to more than ¾ of the world's population, they occupy more than ½ of the land area, but they account for less than 20% of the manufacturing industry and only 30% of the agricultural products of the foreign world (1995 data). Developing countries are characterized by an export-oriented economy, which makes the national economy of countries dependent on the world market; multistructural economy; special territorial structure of the economy, scientific and technological dependence on developed countries, sharp social contrasts. Developing countries are very diverse. There are several approaches to subtype within this group of countries.

The place of any country in the typology is not constant and may change over time.

Problems of distinguishing between developed and developing countries

The UN experts usually define the border between developed and developing countries by the criterion of $6,000 per capita per year in the country. However, this indicator does not always allow for an objective classification of countries. Some states classified as developing countries according to the UN classification, in terms of a number of indicators (GDP per capita, the level of development of advanced high-tech industries) have come close to economically developed countries or have already surpassed them. Thus, in 1997, Singapore, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea were officially transferred from the group of developing countries to the group of developed ones. But at the same time, other indicators of the socio-economic and political development of countries - the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy, dependence on foreign capital - still remain more characteristic of developing countries. Russia, with this classification, having a per capita GDP of about 2500 dollars. per year, formally falls into the group of developing countries.

Given such difficulties with the classification of countries in the world by GDP, now they are trying to identify other, more objective criteria for determining the level of socio-economic development of countries. For example, on the basis of average life expectancy, level of education, the real value of the average income of the population, the human development index (HDI) is determined. Using this criterion, UN experts divide the countries of the world into three groups - with high, medium and low HDI. Then the top ten most developed countries of the world turn out to be different than when taking into account GDP per capita per year, and Russia and the CIS countries fall into the second group, while Russia is in 67th place between Suriname and Brazil.

Note

Inclusion in the binomial typology of the former socialist countries is rather difficult. The level of their socio-economic development is different: most countries, such as Eastern Europe, the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine, are economically developed, but other countries occupy an intermediate position between developed and developing. China can also be classified as both developed and developing countries according to various criteria.

This problem is solved by geographical typologies that take into account all countries of the world. Geographic typologies take into account both quantitative indicators and the level of development, as well as similar features of the territorial structure of the economy, economic and political history:

• the scale of the country (area, population);
• economic potential of the country (GDP, GNI, GNI structure);
• level of economic development and quality of life;
• urbanization of the country;
• features of historical development;
• features of the country's participation in the international division of labor;
• feature of the territorial structure of the economy and society;
• ethnic composition of the population;
• the nature of the political organization of society.

These countries are characterized by high per capita GNI, energy consumption, high average life expectancy, the predominance of the service sector "\u003e services in the economic structure of the economy, a low share of agriculture. All of them are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Major capitalist countries- this is USA "> USA, Japan, Germany, France"> France, Italy and Great Britain. They occupy leading positions in the world in terms of GDP. They and Canada are called countries " big seven". They account for more than half of the world's industrial output, the bulk of foreign investment. They form the three main economic "poles" modern world: Western European with a "core" in Germany, American (USA) and Asian (Japan).

Over the past decades, the role of these states in the global economy has changed significantly. The role and influence of Japan in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world as a whole is growing, over the past decades, Japan's share in world GDP has almost doubled, Japanese high-tech products are conquering markets in other regions.

Economically highly developed small countries of Western Europe(Belgium, Netherlands"> Netherlands, Luxembourg"> Luxembourg, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland"> Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra) are characterized high level per capita income, high quality of life, political stability.

Many of them are neutral states with the lowest defense spending in the world. The high-tech industry of these countries works mainly on imported raw materials, and most of manufactured products are exported. In GDP, a large share of income received from the service sector - banking and tourism.

Countries of resettlement capitalism- these are mainly the former Colony "\u003e British colonies, some of them still recognize the Queen of England, Australia, Canada, South Africa as the head of their state. The population of these countries was formed with the decisive role of migration from the metropolises. The indigenous population was placed on reservations and has significantly Lower incomes and quality of life These economies are dominated by companies from the former metropolitan area or neighboring economic giants and, compared with other developed countries, the mining industry is of great importance in their economies.

Countries with an average level of economic development had vast colonial empires in the past and lived off the exploitation of overseas colonies and unequal exchanges with them. The loss of the colonies led to the weakening of their economic power and the loss of political influence in Europe. During the twentieth century. almost all of these countries were ruled by military and fascist dictatorships, which also affected their lagging behind other economically developed countries. Accession to the European Union, the signing of the Schengen Agreements and the entry into the euro area contributed to higher economic growth and rising living standards in these countries. This group includes Greece and Ireland, for a long time dependent on the UK, Spain and Portugal.

Developing countries

Outskirts of Mumbai (India)

This type includes states with a market economy and a low level of socio-economic development. The differences between industrialized countries and developing countries lie not so much in the field of economics as in the features of the territorial structure of the economy.

Some states, which, according to the classification adopted today, are classified as developing, in a number of indicators (GDP per capita, development of pioneer industries), not only approach developed countries, but sometimes even surpass them. Nevertheless, the main characteristics of the socio-economic development of developing countries - dependence on foreign capital, the amount of external debt, the territorial structure of the economy - allow us to attribute them to the type of developing countries.

Within the boundaries of the territory of developing countries, as a rule, areas with different socio-economic structures coexist - from a primitive appropriating economy, subsistence economy to modern industrial ones. Moreover, natural and semi-natural ways occupy significant territories, but are practically excluded from the general economic life. Commodity structures are mainly associated with the external market. Many of the developing countries have not yet defined their "face" in the international economy and politics.

Key countries(countries of great potential). This group includes China, India, Brazil, Mexico, occupying respectively the second, fourth, ninth and fourteenth places in the world in terms of GDP. They have the largest human potential in the developing world, cheap labor, a variety of world-class mineral resources; a number of manufacturing industries produce high-tech and high-quality products. India and China are world leaders in terms of population; these countries are characterized by low GNI per capita, low urban population, low scores quality of life.

Brazil and Mexico have been politically independent states since the first quarter of the 19th century. They have achieved a high level of development through the use of foreign investment. Investments "> investments. On the territory of these countries there are sharp contrasts between poor and rich areas, between poor and rich groups of the population.

Highly urbanized resettlement countries with rich agricultural resources and a high standard of living - Argentina and Uruguay stand out in a separate group of countries. The lack of significant mineral resources hampered the development of those industries that usually started industrialization, and the European Union's bans on the import of cheap agricultural products to support farmers, introduced in the 1970s, began to constrain the development of their agricultural sector.

Countries of enclave development. The main distinguishing feature of the economy of many countries of this type is the existence of export-oriented mining enclaves that are controlled by foreign capital and have little connection with the national economy. Venezuela, Chile, Iran, Iraq receive their main income from the development of deposits and the export of minerals (oil in Venezuela, Iran and Iraq; copper and saltpeter - in Chile).

Phosphate mining in the desert regions of Tunisia

Countries of outward-oriented development. This type includes countries with average population and resource potential - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay (in Latin America), Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia "> Tunisia (in Africa), Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Malaysia, Philippines , Thailand">Thailand (in Asia).

The economies of these countries are focused on the export of minerals, light industry products, and agricultural products. For some countries - Colombia and Bolivia - production and illegal drug dealings, illegal political movements and labor immigration to richer countries are important.

In this group of countries stand out, the economy of which in recent decades has been developing and newly industrialized countries (NIEs) at an exceptionally high rate due to foreign investment, imported technology and the availability of cheap and relatively skilled labor. The development of knowledge-intensive industries (electronics, electrical engineering) has made these countries among the world leaders in the export of consumer goods (clothes, consumer electronics) to developed countries. NIS of the first wave- The Republic of Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong (SAR of China) and the island of Taiwan were able to close their gap with economically developed countries. The classification of the International Monetary Fund since 1997 classifies them as economically developed countries.

Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines are also among the newly industrialized countries ( NIS of the second wave). The newly industrialized countries are playing an ever-increasing role in the export of knowledge-intensive manufactured goods to developed countries.

Oil exporting countries they owe their modern development to the influx of Petrodollars "> petrodollars. The export of oil, fountains of which gushed in desert regions previously known only to nomads, radically transformed the economies of these countries, made it possible to create modern cities, develop education and healthcare. Interestingly, economic growth has little changed traditional public institutions of the states of oil exporters: in the majority, the Monarchy "\u003e monarchist system, norms Everyday life and even laws are based on the precepts of Islam. This type includes oil-producing monarchies Persian Gulf(Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain), which over the past decades have turned from a backward nomadic periphery of the Arab world into the largest oil exporters. Some of these countries have begun to use petrodollars to form “Future Generation Funds”, which are spent on the creation of manufacturing industries and irrigated agriculture.

Plantation countries(“banana republics”) do not have large human and resource potential. This type includes Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba"> Cuba (in Latin America), Sri Lanka (in Asia), Côte d'Ivoire and Kenya (in Africa).

The ethnic composition of the population of Latin American countries was formed under the influence of the slave trade. Political life of all countries, with the exception of Costa Rica, where the Creole population predominates, is characterized by political instability, frequent military coups and guerrilla movements.

The low standard of living of the population, the domination of foreign capital, dependent national politics contribute to the growth of social contrasts, which in turn give rise to frequent military coups and revolutions.

Countries of concession development. These are Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Gabon, Botswana, Papua New Guinea. These countries have recently gained political independence and possess world-class mineral resources. The extraction and export of minerals, on the one hand, provides the bulk of foreign exchange earnings, on the other hand, makes the economies of these countries dependent on price fluctuations in world markets.

Landlord countries- small in size island and coastal independent states and colonial possessions, located at the crossroads of the most important international transport routes. Advantageous geographical position, preferential tax policy have turned their territory into the location of the headquarters of the largest transnational corporations and banks. Some countries, thanks to extremely favorable conditions for chartering and ship insurance, have become "ports of registry" of huge fleets that have collected merchant ships from all over the world (Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Panama, Bahamas, Liberia).

Malta, Cyprus, Barbados have become world centers of tourism business.

Large low-income countries. This group includes Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam. These countries occupy the leading countries in terms of population"\u003e leading places in the world in terms of population (with the exception of Vietnam). Rural residents predominate in the structure of the economically active population.

The world economy is a complex system of various national economies that are interconnected. These national economies participate in the global division of labor. The world economy is distinguished by such characteristics as: integrity - experts emphasize that only a holistic structure of economic relationships (if it is stable) can ensure constant development, dynamics and, importantly, regulation of the system.

In other words, if the world's leading countries in macroeconomic issues come to a consensus and join their efforts, the economic system around the world will develop independently.

The next aspect inherent in the world economic system is hierarchy. She is between various states, is formed taking into account political trends and social, economic and human development. Highly developed countries have a more significant influence on the structure of the world economy and therefore occupy dominant positions in the global market system.

Self-regulation is the last aspect that needs to be emphasized in the properties of the world economy. The fact is that the adaptation of the economic system to variable values ​​occurs with the help of market mechanisms (involving supply and demand), as well as with the participation of state and international regulation. The main trend that leads to an adaptive form of operation of the economic system is the globalization of global national economic relations.

The components of the world economy are national economic models, and in order to study the features of the socio-economic development of countries, it will be necessary to delve into the models of economic development of the countries of Europe, Asia and the whole world.

Each country, each economic system has its own model of economic and economic organization. This is primarily due to the fact that countries differ in various ways:

• geographical location (island mentality does not allow residents of island states to build the same economic models as citizens of continental countries);
• historical and cultural development - the stages of historical development have left special imprints not only on development models, but also on ways of thinking, as well as on the production capacities and economic potential of different states;
• national features.

The modern market structure considers various models - Western European, American, Japanese. However, there are others.

The American model of economic development is based on a large-scale encouragement of the activity of small and medium-sized businesses, which makes it possible to enrich the majority of the adult able-bodied population. There are low-income people, but at the same time they have access to an adequate standard of living thanks to various benefits, benefits, and tax breaks.

There was an economic model of Germany - the so-called market social economy. This model was highly effective, but became politically obsolete by the end of the twentieth century.

The Swedish model of social and economic development is based on a strong social policy. Adherents of this model are guided by the gradual reduction of various property disputes and inequalities due to the relative redistribution of national income in favor of those social strata that are less well off and protected. Remarkably, this model does not exert significant state pressure - the state owns less than 5% of the main fund, but at the same time, statistics from 2000 show that government spending is more than half of GDP.

Thus, most of the finance covers social needs. This is realized through high tax fees and deductions - in particular, for individuals. The current government has distributed responsibilities as follows - the main production of almost all areas has been handed over to private enterprises that operate on the basis of traditional market competition, while the state takes the actual provision social functions societies—insurance, medicine, education, housing, employment, and more.

Japan's economic development model is characterized by a slow pace of matching between productivity and living standards. Thus, productivity and efficiency are growing, while the standard of living has remained at the same level for several decades. This model is realized only when there is a high level of national awareness, when society is able to put the interests of the nation, and not the interests of individual citizens, at the forefront. Another characteristic feature of the Japanese economic model is the modernization of the economy.

Classification of the countries of the world by socio-economic development

The countries of the world can be divided into three groups:

• Countries with a high level of development and market economies - these include almost all the states of Western Europe and the United States of America, as well as Israel, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Japan. These states have a high level of development both in the social environment and in the economic one.
• Transition economy inherent Russian Federation and countries of Eastern Europe, as well as some states of Asia - for example, China, Vietnam, Mongolia and former countries included in the USSR.
• Developing countries differ from developed countries in that their total GDP does not reach a quarter of the GDP that is customary for developed countries. These are Asia, Africa, Latin America, the countries of the former Yugoslavia, as well as the states of Oceania.
• Developed countries occupy the post-industrial stage of production, which means that the dominant environment in them is the service sector. If we evaluate the GDP per person, then according to the PPP, the size of the GDP is not less than 12,000 US dollars.

High-tech areas are developing rapidly, science and research organizations are supported by the state and private business structures, and the soft industry is also flourishing - a service area that is close to high-tech. It can be consulting, service and development software. Such an economic model allows us to speak about new contours of the economy for developed countries.

Classification group	Countries/Republics
Republics with economies in transition	Bulgarian
	Hungarian
	Polish
	Romanian
	Croatian
	Latvian
	Estonian
	Azerbaijani
	Belarusian
	Georgian
	Moldavian
Republics with the most developed economies in the world	USA
	PRC
	Japan
	Germany
	France
	Brazil
	United Kingdom
	Italy
	the Russian Federation
	India
developing republics	There are more than 150 developing countries in the world, that is, states that gradually achieve socio-economic development and increase their GDP. These countries include Pakistan, Mongolia, Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Albania, Iran, Kuwait, Bahrain, Guiana and others.

The share of developed countries in the world gross domestic product:

• Germany - 3.45%.
• RF – 3.29%.
• Federative Republic of Brazil - 3.01%.
• Indonesia - 2.47%.
• French Republic - 2.38%.
• United Kingdom - 2.36%.
• United Mexican States - 1.98%.
• Italian Republic - 1.96%.
• South Korea - 1.64%.
• Saudi Arabia - 1.48%.
• Canada - 1.47%.
• Other states – 30.75%.

The most influential highly developed countries are included in the Big Seven - Canada, Japan, USA, France, Germany, England and Italy.

Countries that develop according to the transition economy model are gradually moving from administrative-command work to market relations. This process began more than 30 years ago, during the destruction of the socialist system.

Developing countries (also often called third world countries) have a low social and economic level of development. These countries are the most, their population is 4/5 of the entire population of the globe, and they account for less than 1/3 of the world's gross domestic product. However, developing countries can also be distinguished on other grounds.

Most often in the past of such a state there are any problems with colonization. The economy is directed towards the raw material and agricultural direction, which allows us to speak of seasonality and the absence of profit regulation. The structure of society is heterogeneous, there are catastrophic gaps between social strata - for example, someone can acquire multi-million dollar villas, and someone can die of thirst, as in the days of apartheid. The quality of work is frankly low, there is not enough moral and material motivation for the workers. Basically, this situation is in Africa, Asia and LA.