South Africa is a culturally and historically rich nation located at the tip of the African continent, bordering the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans. Home to 56.5 million people, the country represents a unique case of national development with several new advances, some even more relevant than one might expect. South Africa has seen undeniable […]
After the fall of its communist government in 1991, significant political, social and economic challenges confronted Albania. Albania is a country that lies on the Mediterranean Sea and borders Greece. The fall of the Communist Party left the country with high levels of extreme poverty that it needed to address quickly. As the government has […]
Since establishing independence in 1961, Sierra Leone, a country located in West Africa, has suffered from various conflicts and injustices including a civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. As a result, Sierra Leone lacks significant development as a country, ranking 181 out of 189 on the 2019 Human Development Index. The nation remains […]
The common notion is that Papua New Guinea includes mostly rural tribes and coconut trees but this is not true. In fact, the large island boasts an abundance of natural resources that include gold, copper, silver, gas and oil. Papua New Guinea’s resources have attracted many foreign companies to want to work in the region […]
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, is an island country in Southeast Asia. Portugal colonized the territory in the 16th century under the name of Portuguese Timor, retaining control until the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared independence on November 28, 1975. Nine days later, however, the Indonesian military invaded and occupied East […]
The Marshall Islands is an island country in the Pacific Ocean near the equator. The nation is part of the island group Micronesia. Meanwhile, Wake Island lies to the north with Kiribati and Nauru to the south and the Federated States of Micronesia to the west. The Marshall Islands’ fragile ecosystem and densely populated areas […]
When Americans think of the United Arab Emirates, they may often think of cities like Dubai consisting of staggering skyscrapers, extravagant lifestyles and unimaginable wealth. Americans may not always see the underlying struggles that many Emirates deal with on a day-to-day basis. Aspects of poverty include a dominating wealth gap, which exists at the expense […]
The Republic of Benin, a former French colony, is a coastal West African country with a 2024 population of over 14 million, equally distributed between urban and rural areas. Just under two-thirds of the population is under the age of 25. Benin’s most recent poverty rate measured by the international poverty line ($3.65) is only […]
Sudan is one of the poorest developing countries in the world with over 40% of its citizens living below the poverty line. Poverty in Sudan results from a combination of factors ranging from the country’s location in the Sahara desert to rampant government corruption. The History of Poverty in Sudan Around 80% of the country’s […]
Venezuela was once a rich and stable country. Over the last few decades, Venezuela has fallen into financial and governmental trouble. In 1989, when rioting and looting polluted the streets due to increased petroleum prices, Venezuela began a spiral into debt. When Hugo Chávez became president in 1998, citizens became optimistic as he funded money […]
