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Defining Development » What Makes a Country Develop?

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Edexcel spec: 9.1 (b)

The five groups of factors that help a country to develop
How economic, social, technological and cultural factors change people's lives
What food security and water security mean
How the factors link together and can hold a country back

Remember, this is part of the optional Development and Human Welfare topic. In Paper 2 Section C you answer only one of the three global issues.

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Why do some countries develop faster?

In the last lesson you saw that development can be defined in different ways. Now we ask a new question: what helps a country to develop? The specification names five groups of factors that contribute to the development and human welfare of a country: economic, social, technological, cultural, and food and water security.

Key terms:

Factor: something that helps to cause an outcome. Here, something that helps or holds back development.
Infrastructure: the basic systems a country needs, such as roads, railways, power supplies and water pipes.
Food security: when all people, at all times, have enough safe and healthy food to live an active life.
Water security: when people have a reliable supply of enough safe, clean water for drinking, washing, farming and industry.
Culture: the beliefs, customs, traditions and ways of life shared by a group of people.

Economic factors

A strong economy gives a country money to spend on its people. Economic factors include:

Jobs and industries. When businesses grow, more people earn wages and pay taxes.
Trade. Selling goods to other countries brings money in.
Investment. Money put into factories, farms and services can create jobs.
Natural resources. Resources such as oil, minerals or fertile farmland can be sold or used.
Government spending. Tax money can pay for hospitals, schools and infrastructure.

Economic factors do not guarantee development. A country that depends on selling just one raw material can suffer if its price falls.

Social factors

Social factors are about the people themselves. A healthy, educated population can do more work, start businesses and look after its families.

🏫 Education

Children who go to school learn skills for work. Educated adults can earn more and make informed choices. Schools need teachers, buildings and money.

🏥 Health

Healthy people can work and children can learn. Clinics, vaccinations and trained nurses and doctors all help. Poor health keeps people out of work and school.

Fairness is a social factor too. If girls and women have the same chances as boys and men to learn and work, more people can help the country grow.

Technological factors

Technology means the machines, tools and methods people use. It can speed up development in many ways:

Farming: better tools, irrigation and seeds can mean bigger harvests.
Communication: mobile phones and the internet help people share information and do business.
Power: reliable electricity lets factories, schools and hospitals run.
Transport: roads and railways move goods and people.

Some countries do not have the money to buy modern technology or to train people to use it. This can slow their development.

Cultural factors

Culture affects how people live, work and make choices. Cultural factors can help or hold back development:

Attitudes to education. If a community values schooling for every child, more children learn.
Roles of women and men. In some places, traditions limit the jobs girls and women can do or whether they go to school. Where these limits are lifted, more people can contribute to the economy.
Attitudes to change. Some groups welcome new ideas and technology. Others may prefer to keep traditional ways.
Family size traditions. Beliefs about how many children a family should have affect how fast a population grows.

Be careful here. No culture is "better" than another. The point is that beliefs and customs can change what choices people have.

Food and water security

🌾 Food security

People with enough food are healthier, children learn better and adults can work. Without food security, people may go hungry, become ill and spend most of their money and time just finding food. Poor harvests, conflict and high food prices can all threaten it.

💧 Water security

Clean water prevents many diseases. It also grows crops and supports industry. Where there is no reliable supply, people, often girls and women, may spend hours collecting water, which leaves less time for school and work. Drought can threaten it.

Food and water security matter because they are basic needs. Without them it is very hard for a country to improve health, education or the economy.

The factors are linked

The five groups do not work alone. They can support each other in a good cycle:

Better food and clean water improve health.
Healthier children attend school and learn.
Educated adults get better jobs and earn more.
A stronger economy pays for roads, power, schools and technology.

The links can also work in reverse. A country with poor health, little education and low incomes cannot easily afford the things that would help it to develop. This can hold it back.

Worked example

Question: Explain how technology can help a farming community to develop.
Answer: Irrigation can bring water to dry fields, so farmers can grow more food (1). More food means families have food security and can sell extra crops for money (1). That money can pay for school fees and health care, which improves human welfare (1).

Common mistakes

Writing only about money. The spec lists five groups, so include social, technological, cultural and food and water security as well.
Naming a factor without explaining it. Say how it helps people, for example "clean water means fewer diseases, so people can work."
Saying one culture is backward. Describe how customs can change choices, without judging.
Mixing up food security with just having food today. It means a reliable supply of enough safe food at all times.

Exam-style question

(a) State two factors that contribute to the development of a country. [2 marks]

(b) Explain how water security can contribute to the human welfare of a country. [4 marks]

Model answer

(a) Any two from: economic, social, technological, cultural, food security, water security. (1) (1)

(b) Clean water means people are less likely to catch water-borne diseases (1), so they are healthier and can go to work and school (1). A reliable supply lets farmers water crops, which helps food security and income (1). If people do not have to spend hours collecting water, especially girls and women, they have more time to learn and earn (1).

Exam tip

In a 4-mark "Explain how" question, build a chain: water, then health, then work or school, then welfare. Each link in the chain can earn a mark.

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