Global north/south

The Global North/South distinction is commonly invoked to capture a major cleavage in development or standard of living in the world between rich and poor countries. The North–South terminology follows earlier demarcations such as First and Third World, as well as the still-used “developed” and “developing” worlds. For the majority of the 19th and 20th Centuries, considerable divergence in economic development and standards of living occurred between Global North and South and the terminology has been associated with highlighting of, and advocating measures to address, this gap. Whereas power inequality characterizes many North–South interactions, “South–South” channels of interaction have recently received considerable attention as a counterpoint, and potentially more beneficial direction of exchange. Recently, various observers have also referred to a blurring of boundaries between North and South in the 21st Century. A contemporary debate thus revolves around the continued utility, or not, of the North–South framing of international development and its ability to accurately reflect current patterns of global inequality. Some have suggested moving from a territorial usage of the terms to a more socially relational one where North and South refer to privilege and marginalization, respectively, anywhere in the world. Despite some changes in the global pattern of inequality, major North–South cleavages remain within an overall context of very high levels of income and asset ownership inequality globally.