Explanations
Sources
The data used is derived mainly from the database World Development Indicators provided by the World Bank.
We also refer to Google public data explorer which is an excellent visualisation of the same data based on the work of Gapminder.
In all cases we have downloaded the most recent data accessible.
Links to the millennium Development Goals refers to UN’s official MDG-site.
Optimized view
www.worldstat.com/wb is best viewed in Internet Explorer and on a screen of 1024*768 pixel.
The individual pages can be printed as handouts but the graphs derived from the World Bank do have a colour code and can therefore cause some confusion in a black and white print. Some browser may also change the format of the page being printed.
The material is therefore better used when working online either projected in a classroom or as a digital task for the individual student.
Tables, graphs and maps
The tables found on this site are data elaborated and edited from the World Bank. The data can be imported on to an Excel sheet and further treated or extended by being connected directly to the databases.
The graphs are mainly online figures that are constantly being updated and by clicking on the title the user is connected to the World Bank where more countries can be added to the graph.
The maps are sometimes added to the site but can also be accessed by clicking on the title of the table for connection to the World Bank and then by further choosing the map option.
Questions
The questions often require further research into the databases and these can be accessed by a simple click on the tables.
We have not provided any answers to the questions as this educational site is meant for professional teachers with a background in geography or social science and their students.
The purpose of the questions is to raise awareness of the state of the world and to educate the next generation to fully understand the complexity of various levels of development. The world cannot any longer be divided simply into developed or developing countries. Indeed many countries have within their borders signs of both development and lack of development.
Nevertheless, world poverty is huge and an awareness of the Millennium Development Goals and their level of achievement, less than 5 years before they have to be met, is crucial in forming active world citizens working for a world free of poverty.
Blind maps and graph paper
Some of the questions include the production of students’ own thematic maps and graphical presentations.
Online blind maps and graph paper can be printed by using these sites.http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/
http://www.csun.edu/science/ref/measurement/data/graph_paper.html
Income groups
The data presented are mainly from the World Bank and we are applying the banks classification of countries according to the following income groups using the Gross National Income (GNI) per capitafrom 2009 calculated by World Bank Atlas method.
High Income: US$ 12,196 and above
Middle income: US$ 996 – US$ 12,195
Low income: US$ 995 or less
For pedagogical reasons we have sampled the data from both the upper- and lower middle income groups (lower middle income, US$ 996 – US$ 3,945; upper middle income, US$ 3,946 – US$ 12,195) but by clicking on the income groups the user connects directly to the World Bank data and can get an easy overview of the countries under investigation.
Due to the set up of the database where high income has two groups, OECD and Non OECD, we have decided to link to the OECD countries but have included all high income groups in our tables. By clicking on middle income the user is connected to the upper middle income even though the table includes all middle income countries. If you want to see the other income groups you have to click on the tab By Country and you can choose the Non OECD or the lower middle income on the World Bank site.
Countries selected
We have selected some countries from different parts of the world with different income levels to contextualize the regional trends and to allow the students to make some in-depth case studies.
On purpose we have limited the amount of low income countries to Mozambique and included the large growing economies of the lower middle income like India and China. Brazil is an example of an upper middle income country and finally we have selected large countries representing different regions of high income like the United States and Germany.
The total number of people living in the selected countries is approximately 3, 4 billion which is about 50 % of the world’s population in 2009.
Indicators
Many of our pages link directly to the databases and contain indicators with definitions of what is being measured. The user has to click on the title of the table and will be connected to the World Bank where the indicator is defined.