What Is It?

Reaching an acceptable standard of living for all people by improving economic and social conditions.

The aim of development is to help people become more productive and to improve the quality of life for individuals, families, communities and countries as a whole. As people become more productive, a country is in a better position to trade with other countries, and more trade means more goods and services to continue improving living conditions.

Development is a complex process, though. A country must concurrently pay attention to social, economic, political, cultural and environmental issues to ensure that development is sustainable and beneficial to all.

Reaching an acceptable standard of living for all people includes giving everyone access to the basics:

• Food
• Housing
• Jobs
• Health Services
• Education
• Safety and Security

Sustainable development means meeting today's needs and planning the country's growth without creating problems for future generations.

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Why Should I Care?

Because the world is out of balance.

There are 6 billion people alive today: One billion people live in developed countries. The other 5 billion live in developing countries where many of them barely survive on less than $2 or even $1 a day.

The one billion who live in developed countries control 80% of the global resources. This leaves the other five billion people to get by on 20% of the world's resources.

Populations in poor countries are growing much faster than populations in rich countries. Some 2 more billion people will be born, mostly in developing countries, over the next 25 years.

Poor countries need help to develop so that nobody goes hungry anymore, so that everyone can live in stability and peace, have an acceptable standard of living and choose how to live his or her life.

All countries are linked by trade, finance, environment, drugs, crime, migration, diseases/epidemics, etc.

Problems in one country inevitably affect other countries. For example, internal conflict in one country puts in motion a slew of problems that transcend borders: diseases and epidemics can spread, refugees start moving, trade is disrupted.

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What Is the International Community Doing?

Development is a cooperative effort of many different groups.

The governments of poor countries do the best they can to improve domestic conditions.

Some countries need assistance to develop an economic foundation and reach the point where they can trade equally with all other nations. Many countries don't have enough resources, knowledge, expertise or funds to develop independently.

Multilateral assistance by multilateral institutions like the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) provide money and fund projects to help nations develop.

Governments of most developed countries give money and assistance directly to poor developing countries.

Charitable groups and foundations around the world carry out projects within countries to help with development.

The Emergence of the International Development Field: How It Came About

International development—harnessing the resources and knowledge of rich, more developed countries to help the poorer ones catch up—is a concept that grew out of World War II. In its aftermath, world leaders realized that countries were like dominos—issues in one country will inevitably affect others nearby.

For example, fighting HIV/AIDS is one of the most important global issues today. But 20 years ago, nobody knew of this disease and nobody could've predicted how serious this pandemic would become.

Ideas of how to help countries grow and help their people change with time and often reflect other trends of what's going on in the world. For examples check out the History & Goals table to the right.

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What Can I Do?

Learn about the world and current events. And volunteer.

If you live in a developed country:

• Find your national volunteer service.
• Search through the UN Volunteer or Idealist websites to find volunteer opportunities worldwide to encourage sustainable development.
• Check out additional sites on our Take Action resources page.
• Learn how much money your government gives through bilateral and multilateral assistance, and lobby your government to give more. View official development assistance (ODA) levels by country.

If you live in a developing country:

• Stay in school—study and learn.
• Volunteer to help those in need.
• Encourage other kids and young people to stay in school and to volunteer.
• Learn how much money your government receives in development assistance and take action to ensure government funds are properly spent.

Poverty

Can you define poverty?

Poverty is more than a lack of money. It is a fear of and for the future, living one day at a time. It's about lacking basic nutrition, health, education, freedom, representation. It's about being invisible, voiceless and powerless to improve your living conditions on your own.

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