Eduqas GCSE Geography · Development and Resource Issues
Mini-Lesson
Development & Resource Issues
This mini-lesson covers the economic and resource side of Eduqas Theme 1 (Development) and Theme 3 (Resources): how development is measured (GNI per capita, HDI and social indicators), why a development gap exists between and within countries, and the growing pressure on water, food and energy resources — plus how water can be managed sustainably.
Work through each screen, answer the questions as you go (multiple-choice, short-answer and games) and collect ⭐ stars. Press Start when you're ready.
1.3 Measuring development
What does "development" mean?
Development means the progress a country makes in improving the wealth and quality of life of its people. It has more than one side, so geographers measure it in more than one way:
Economic development — how wealthy a country is (its income and industry).
Social/human development — how healthy, educated and well-off its people are (health, education, living standards).
Eduqas categories: Eduqas Geography A classifies countries by income, e.g. LICs (Low Income Countries) and NICs (Newly Industrialised Countries — countries rapidly industrialising, such as India or Brazil). Use these terms, not the older "MEDC/LEDC".
Economic measure
GNI per capita: the wealth measure
The main economic measure of development is GNI per capita — the total income of a country (Gross National Income) divided by its population, so it gives the average income per person. Higher GNI per capita usually means a wealthier, more developed country.
GNI per capita is far higher in high-income countries than in LICs — but on its own it only tells you about average wealth, not how people actually live.
Watch the wording: "per capita" means per person. GNI is measured in US dollars so different countries can be compared fairly.
Quick check
Reading a wealth measure
?What does a country's GNI per capita tell you?
A fairer measure
HDI: combining wealth + human data
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a better all-round measure because it combines an economic indicator with two human/social ones into a single score between 0 and 1 (nearer 1 = more developed):
HDI blends income, life expectancy (health) and education into one figure — a more rounded picture than money alone.
Other social indicators: Eduqas also expects you to know literacy rate (% of adults who can read/write) and infant mortality (deaths of babies under 1 per 1,000 births) — high infant mortality signals poorer health care.
Limitations
Why one measure isn't enough
Using a single economic measure like GNI per capita can be misleading, so geographers combine economic and human/social data:
Averages hide inequality — GNI per capita is an average, so it can look healthy even when a small elite is rich and most people are poor.
Money isn't everything — it says nothing about people's health, education or freedom, which social indicators capture.
Data can be unreliable — some countries have out-of-date or incomplete figures, and a large informal economy (unrecorded work) is missed.
Best practice: combine an economic measure (GNI per capita) with human/social ones (life expectancy, literacy, infant mortality) — which is exactly what HDI does.
The development gap
Uneven development
Development is very uneven across the world. The gap in wealth and quality of life between the richest and poorest countries is called the development gap — and it exists between countries and within them too.
The gap is seen between countries (e.g. high-income vs LICs) and within a single country (e.g. a booming capital city vs a poorer rural region).Match it
Match the indicator to what it measures
Tap a development indicator on the left, then tap what it measures on the right.
Quick check
Causes of the gap
?Which of these is a historical cause of the development gap?
Why the gap exists
Four types of cause
Eduqas groups the causes of uneven development into four types. A country can be held back by several of these at once:
Physical, economic, historical and political causes combine to keep development uneven between countries.Explain it
Your turn — explaining the gap
✎Explain two reasons why some countries are less developed than others. Try to use different types of cause (e.g. physical, economic, historical or political).
Model answer
Physical: a country may suffer frequent drought or natural hazards that damage farming and infrastructure, or be landlocked so trade is harder and costlier.
Historical/political: a history of colonialism removed wealth and raw materials, while ongoing conflict or corruption today discourages investment and diverts money away from schools and hospitals.
Economic: relying on exporting cheap raw materials, or being burdened by debt, keeps incomes low and slows development.
3.3 Water resources
Water security & water insecurity
Development also depends on resources — and one of the most important is water. Eduqas asks about the balance between supply and demand:
Water security = a reliable supply of safe, affordable water meets demand. Water insecurity (scarcity) = demand outstrips available clean supply.
Water footprint: the total volume of fresh water used to produce the goods and services a person or country consumes — hidden water in food and products, not just what comes out of the tap.
Sort it
Economic or social indicator?
Tap whether each measure of development is mainly an economic (wealth) indicator or a social/human one.
Supply & demand
Why water pressure varies
Water supply and demand are not evenly spread — they vary over space (place to place) and time (season to season):
Physical supply: some regions have plenty of rainfall and rivers; arid regions have little, and long dry seasons or droughts reduce supply further.
Rising demand: a growing population, wealthier lifestyles, industry and irrigated farming all push demand up.
Over-abstraction: when water is taken from rivers or from underground stores (aquifers) faster than it is naturally replaced, water tables fall and rivers can dry up — an unsustainable use of the resource.
Explain it
Your turn — water transfer schemes
✎A water transfer scheme moves water from an area of surplus to an area of shortage. Explain one advantage and one disadvantage of such a scheme.
Model answer
Advantage: it moves water from a wet, thinly-populated area to a dry, water-stressed one, improving water security. In the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, dams and tunnels send water from Lesotho's mountains to South Africa's dry industrial region around Gauteng, and Lesotho earns money selling the water.
Disadvantage: such schemes are very expensive, and building dams and reservoirs can flood land, force people to move (displacement) and damage river ecosystems downstream.
Case study
Lesotho Highlands Water Project
A well-known water transfer scheme is the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. Water is moved from the wet, mountainous kingdom of Lesotho to the dry, industrial heartland of South Africa:
Dams in Lesotho's highlands store water, which is piped through tunnels to South Africa's water-short industrial region. Lesotho gains income; South Africa gains water security.
Balance the case study: benefits include a reliable supply for industry and hydro-electric power, plus royalty income for Lesotho — but reservoirs flood valleys, displace communities and alter river flows downstream.
Quick check
Water vocabulary
?A region pumps water out of its underground aquifer faster than rainfall can refill it, so the water table falls year after year. What is this called?
Sort it
Improves or worsens water security?
Tap a factor, then tap the box it belongs in.
💧 Improves security
🏜️ Worsens security
Food, energy & sustainability
Other resources & managing water sustainably
Water isn't the only resource under pressure. As population and economies grow, demand rises for food and energy too — resources humans obtain from ecosystems and the environment:
Food: more people and wealthier diets push up demand; sustainable responses include efficient irrigation and reducing food waste.
Energy: rising demand can be met more sustainably by shifting from fossil fuels towards renewables (e.g. solar, wind, hydro-electric).
Sustainable water management: instead of always increasing supply, we can manage demand — fixing leaks, metering, recycling ("grey") water, efficient irrigation and rainwater harvesting — so water lasts for future generations.
Quick check
Managing water sustainably
?A water-stressed city wants to manage water more sustainably by reducing demand rather than building costly new supplies. Which action fits best?
Quick check
Judging a single measure
?Why do geographers prefer HDI to using GNI per capita on its own?
Recap
The key ideas to know
Measuring development: GNI per capita (average income per person) is an economic measure; HDI combines income + life expectancy + education.
Social indicators: life expectancy, literacy rate, infant mortality.
Limitations: a single economic measure hides inequality and ignores health/education — so combine economic + social data.
Categories: LICs (Low Income Countries) and NICs (Newly Industrialised Countries).
Development gap: uneven development between and within countries; physical, economic, historical and political causes.
Water: water security vs insecurity/scarcity; water footprint; supply & demand vary over space and time; over-abstraction of aquifers.
Water transfer: Lesotho Highlands Water Project — Lesotho's highlands supply South Africa's dry industrial region (benefits & costs).
Food & energy: demand rises with population & wealth; shift to renewables and efficiency for sustainability.