As many would know, Haiti is considered as an underdeveloped country, and Japan is one that is considered developed. The first way in which the two can be compared is by their Human Development Index (HDI) which basically ranks countries in order of their development, hence the name. Various factors are associated with the ranking, and these include health, longevity and education, not just economic status, according to the United Nations. The UN describes the HDI as “a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living”. The UN also says that the information collected can be used to target assistance to certain nations, or even parts of them, which are in need of it (United Nations, No Date).The top 10 ranking countries, which include Australia at 2nd place, are listed below.
1.Norway 6.Germany
2.Australia 7.New Zealand
3.Switzerland 8.Canada
4.Netherlands 9.Singapore
5.United States 10. Denmark
Source: United Nations Development Programme (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Download) (Available at:http://hdr.undp.org/en/data)
Not coincidentally, the top 10 ranking countries are all highly developed, and have a generally high standard of living. As for Japan, it ranks 24th, and Haiti ranks 175th, which is already indicative of a rather large separation between the two countries in terms of development.
Another way of looking at the development within two countries is by comparing their levels of poverty. The following cartogram (linked below) shows the distribution of poverty in the world, with the larger countries having higher levels, and vice-versa. A normal land sized map is also present for comparisons to be made (Note: All 3 of the maps used below are provided by woldmapper.com).
Poverty Cartogram (link) Normal Map (link) Normal Map (link) (Caribbean Magnified)
As you can see from the cartograms linked, Haiti appears somewhat larger in proportion to the actual size it possesses on a normal world map, which implies a higher level of poverty. Japan on the other hand, appears smaller than normal, indicating lower levels of poverty. This once again serves as evidence to prove that Japan is developed to a higher level than Haiti.
The third and final way in which the development of these two countries will be compared is through population pyramids (from 2010).
1.Norway 6.Germany
2.Australia 7.New Zealand
3.Switzerland 8.Canada
4.Netherlands 9.Singapore
5.United States 10. Denmark
Source: United Nations Development Programme (Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Download) (Available at:http://hdr.undp.org/en/data)
Not coincidentally, the top 10 ranking countries are all highly developed, and have a generally high standard of living. As for Japan, it ranks 24th, and Haiti ranks 175th, which is already indicative of a rather large separation between the two countries in terms of development.
Another way of looking at the development within two countries is by comparing their levels of poverty. The following cartogram (linked below) shows the distribution of poverty in the world, with the larger countries having higher levels, and vice-versa. A normal land sized map is also present for comparisons to be made (Note: All 3 of the maps used below are provided by woldmapper.com).
Poverty Cartogram (link) Normal Map (link) Normal Map (link) (Caribbean Magnified)
As you can see from the cartograms linked, Haiti appears somewhat larger in proportion to the actual size it possesses on a normal world map, which implies a higher level of poverty. Japan on the other hand, appears smaller than normal, indicating lower levels of poverty. This once again serves as evidence to prove that Japan is developed to a higher level than Haiti.
The third and final way in which the development of these two countries will be compared is through population pyramids (from 2010).
Left: Population Pyramid of Haiti 2010 (Available at: populationpyramid.net/haiti/)
Right: Population Pyramid of Japan 2010 (Available at populationpyramid.net/japan/)
As you can see, Haiti’s population pyramid is one which shows a traditional pyramid shape (hence the name, which indicates a high birth rate in this country. Birth rates are usually affected by education, child mortality, and nutrition intakes. The better the statistics are (that is, better education, low child mortality, and good nutrition), then usually, the more well developed a country is. Unfortunately for Haiti, this expanding population implies that the country is doing poorly in this respect.
As for Japan, the distribution shows a shape which is thinner on the top and bottom and wider in the middle. This indicates an ageing population, and in turn, a diminishing one. Despite Japan being a developed country, it is not to say that it is not faced by issues of its own. One may notice that at one stage, the population was decreasing, but then replenished, however this time, the reduction in young people has remained consistent. Ageing populations are actually a common occurrence in developed nations, where few people are born due to the higher quality of education and nutrition, as well as low child mortality (often as a result).
Now, these comparisons enable one to make a well educated guess based on how well each country is expected to tolerate earthquakes, and recover from them. Now as mentioned before, Haiti had an estimated 200-316 thousand people killed, whereas Japan only lost 20,896. Now despite both figures being high, Haiti’s is undeniably far higher than that of Japan, which implies that Japan is perhaps better suited to dealing with earthquakes.
Many may then question just why Japan is less heavily affected than Haiti, and especially by such a large margin. One answer lies in the preparation in which Japan does, where people of all ages, including children at schools are taught how to react in the event of an earthquake (Foster, 2011). For more detail regarding Japan’s protocols, refer to the ‘Plan of Action’ page using the tabs at the top of the page.
Another contributor to the level of success in which japan experiences with earthquake tolerance is perhaps the frequency of damaging earthquakes, as it was also hit in 1995 on the 17th of January at Kobe. Japan also accounts for one fifth of the world’s most powerful earthquakes (McCurry, 2011).
For those who don’t know, earthquakes are caused when tectonic plates move about and collide or rub together. This causes large amounts of energy to build up, and when released, often in a sudden burst, an earthquake occurs. The spaces between the plates are known as fault lines, and as you can see from the image below, Japan's Eastern Coast lies right above the Philippine and Eurasian fault line. Haiti is also close to where the Caribbean and North American plates connect.
Right: Population Pyramid of Japan 2010 (Available at populationpyramid.net/japan/)
As you can see, Haiti’s population pyramid is one which shows a traditional pyramid shape (hence the name, which indicates a high birth rate in this country. Birth rates are usually affected by education, child mortality, and nutrition intakes. The better the statistics are (that is, better education, low child mortality, and good nutrition), then usually, the more well developed a country is. Unfortunately for Haiti, this expanding population implies that the country is doing poorly in this respect.
As for Japan, the distribution shows a shape which is thinner on the top and bottom and wider in the middle. This indicates an ageing population, and in turn, a diminishing one. Despite Japan being a developed country, it is not to say that it is not faced by issues of its own. One may notice that at one stage, the population was decreasing, but then replenished, however this time, the reduction in young people has remained consistent. Ageing populations are actually a common occurrence in developed nations, where few people are born due to the higher quality of education and nutrition, as well as low child mortality (often as a result).
Now, these comparisons enable one to make a well educated guess based on how well each country is expected to tolerate earthquakes, and recover from them. Now as mentioned before, Haiti had an estimated 200-316 thousand people killed, whereas Japan only lost 20,896. Now despite both figures being high, Haiti’s is undeniably far higher than that of Japan, which implies that Japan is perhaps better suited to dealing with earthquakes.
Many may then question just why Japan is less heavily affected than Haiti, and especially by such a large margin. One answer lies in the preparation in which Japan does, where people of all ages, including children at schools are taught how to react in the event of an earthquake (Foster, 2011). For more detail regarding Japan’s protocols, refer to the ‘Plan of Action’ page using the tabs at the top of the page.
Another contributor to the level of success in which japan experiences with earthquake tolerance is perhaps the frequency of damaging earthquakes, as it was also hit in 1995 on the 17th of January at Kobe. Japan also accounts for one fifth of the world’s most powerful earthquakes (McCurry, 2011).
For those who don’t know, earthquakes are caused when tectonic plates move about and collide or rub together. This causes large amounts of energy to build up, and when released, often in a sudden burst, an earthquake occurs. The spaces between the plates are known as fault lines, and as you can see from the image below, Japan's Eastern Coast lies right above the Philippine and Eurasian fault line. Haiti is also close to where the Caribbean and North American plates connect.
Image: Tectonic Plates (Available at: http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/plate.html)
Another interesting point is that Japan suffered a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which was also followed by a devastating tsunami, yet Haiti’s earthquake was at 7.0 on the Richter scale (USGS, 2012), and no tsunami resulted. In other words, Japan was in a more serious situation, yet sustained far less casualties.
Another interesting point is that Japan suffered a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which was also followed by a devastating tsunami, yet Haiti’s earthquake was at 7.0 on the Richter scale (USGS, 2012), and no tsunami resulted. In other words, Japan was in a more serious situation, yet sustained far less casualties.