1. Global Stratification: http://www. worldbank
Global Stratification: Patterns of social inequality in the world as a whole

2. Changing Terminology Old terminology Problems with old terminology
First world –industrialized rich countries
Second world –less industrial socialist countries
Third world –non-industrialized poor countries
Problems with old terminology
After cold war, “second world” no longer existed
Third world too economically diverse to be meaningful

3. Changing Terminology New terminology
High-income – richest forty nations with the highest standard of living
Middle-income – somewhat poorer eighty nations with economic development typical for the world as a whole
Low-income – remaining sixty with lowest productivity and extensive poverty
The extent of global inequality is much greater than these comparisons suggest. Well-off people in rich countries live ‘worlds apart’ from the poorest people in low-income countries

4. High-Income Countries Per Capita Income over $10,000
Examples
United States, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Israel, Saudi Arabia
Characteristics:
First to develop during industrial revolution two centuries ago
High-income countries :
Forty Nations fall into this category
Economy:
Enjoy over half the world’s income
More income means control of world’s financial markets
Control of financial markets means control of other countries
Highly productive economy provides people, on average, with material plenty.

5. Middle-Income Countries Per Capita Income Ranging From $2,500 to $10,000
Examples
Russia, Eastern European countries, Latin America, and some African countries
Characteristics:
Limited industrialization
Middle-income countries –
Eighty countries fall into this category
Economy:
Life is difficult:
A general lack of education, medical care, and safe water
One-third of the people are rural and engage in agricultural activities
are less economically productive, with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole but far below that of the U.S. These nations also have a significant share of poor people who are barely able to feed and house themselves.

6. Low-Income Countries Per Capita Income less than $2,500
Examples
Most African nations, and parts of Asia
Characteristics:
About one-half the world’s people
Low-income countries:
Sixty nations fall into this category
Economy:
Mostly poor, rural economies
Life expectancy is very short
poverty is severe and widespread.
Although small numbers of elites live very well in the poorest nations, most people struggle to survive on a small fraction of the income common in the U.S.

7. Source: Based on data from United Nations Development Programme (2005)
Source: Based on data from United Nations Development Programme (2005). Map projection from Peters Atlas of the World (1990).

8. The Severity of Poverty
Relative poverty
People lack resources that others take for granted
This sort of poverty exists in every society, rich or poor
Absolute poverty
A lack of resources that is life threatening
While some may exist in U.S. One-third or more of the people in low-income countries experience poverty at this level

9. Why haven’t “low-income” nations improved their status over time?
Modernization simply hasn’t happened in many nations
Rich nations benefit from the status quo of poor nations
International relations can negatively affect these nations
Ethnocentric views hold up that the richest nations as the standard to judge other societies
Global poverty is blamed on the poor societies themselves
Exploitation and colonization have left these countries dependent on richer nations