In The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are
Failing and What Can Be
Done about It, economist
Paul Collier investigates global stratification, particularly as it applies to the poorest people on the planet. THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Global Stratification
• Global stratification is the categorization of countries based on objective criteria such as wealth, power, and prestige, which highlight social patters of inequality throughout the world
– Nearly half of the world’s population live on less than two dollars a day

THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Population and
Geographic Area
• When comparing nations and regions, size matters
– Factors such as population and geographic size can determine a country’s use and access to natural resources and talented people – Large populations and large land area do not always go together, for example, Russia and
Bangladesh
THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Gross National Income Per
Capita in 2008

Source: The World Bank, “GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$),” http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Income
• Income
– Per capita income is determined by dividing the total gross income of the country by the number of people in that country
– This assumes that money is evenly distributed, which it is of course not
– However, it provides rough comparisons of different countries

THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Income
• Comparative Income
– In general the top countries are in Europe plus the U.S., and the poorest countries are in Africa
– The wealthiest citizens of the U.S. enjoy a greater share of income of the country than do their affluent counterparts in other rich countries
– Taxation is lowest in the U.S., however, it provide less of a welfare state

THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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MAKE CONNECTIONS

Source: Data from World Factbook.
THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Measures of Stratification in
Underdeveloped Nations
• Underdeveloped nations are countries that are poor and may or may not be in the process of being industrialized
– The UN rates these countries on 3 criteria: low gross national income, low health and education, also factors like population and remoteness are considered

• Poverty and hunger still affect these countries THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Poverty and Hunger
• Sub-Saharan Africa
– According to international stratification measures this is the most disadvantaged region of the world
– It has the highest rates of childhood death, hunger, and people living on less than one dollar a day
 One of every 16 women in these poor countries dies during childbirth, compared to 1 2,800 in rich countries THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

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Measures of Stratification in
Developed Nations
• Developed Nations
– Developed nations, like the U.S., have a welleducated population, regular elections, industry and free enterprise
– Countries such as Germany, Japan, Great
Britain, Canada, Denmark, France,
Switzerland and other developed countries share these characteristics

THINK Sociology, Second Edition
John D. Carl

Copyright ©2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.

Poverty in Developed Nations
• To compare poverty in various countries, half of the median income of the country is used as the definition of