[Citation: A Developing World (canadiangeographic.

ca)]

[Citation: A Developing World (canadiangeographic.ca)]

[Citation: https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/news/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E9%96%8B
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%E6%89%B9%E5%87%BA%E8%A8%B1%E5%8F%AF-204708829.html]

Using the Human Development Index, countries are being categorized according to their
level of development. While it is easy to understand when North America is considered as
Very Highly developed and a large part of Africa is considered as Lowly developed, there are
confusions and problems generated by such classification. A very good example is Japan,
one of the two Asian countries categorized as Very Highly developed, however, their tardy
response towards rolling out COVID-19 vaccination is putting the world in danger. It is
natural for international organizations like the WHO to adopt a minimal interference policy
towards highly developed countries, knowing that a large number of under-developed
countries will be needing their professional and financial support in health matters. And this
“assumption” by the WHO, even though understandable, will potentially lead to another
pandemic crisis as Japan has only just started to roll out their national vaccination programs
by the end of May, nearly 6 months later than other pioneering countries.

The case of Japan is particularly detrimental as it is the host of the upcoming Summer
Olympic Game. While audiences have been banned from watching the games as a
protection measure under COVID-19, thousands of athletes, officials and working staff will
be travelling between Japan and their home countries. If the pandemic is not well contained
in Japan during the Olympics, another wave of outbreak is bound to follow. Nevertheless,
under the assumption that Japan is a highly developed country, international intervention
seems difficult.

The fact that this map is showing Greenland as a highly developed country is an apparent
example of maintaining stereotypes rather than promoting understanding. When we talk
about a highly developed country it is common to anticipate that country fulfilling a number of
usual expectations, such as economic advancement, transportation and communication,
trade and culture and these are just part of a long list. Nevertheless, most of these
expectations about a highly developed country cannot be fulfilled in the case of Greenland.

First of all, it is the world’s biggest island located between Canada and Iceland with 80% of
it’s space being covered by snow. Besides, the gulf dominated shoreline has limited the
development of the road network, basically there is no land connection amongst the 18
towns spread across the island. As for international transportation, sea travel seems to be
the more viable means except that the sea tends to be frozen as well during the long winter.
Air transport is sporadic with small airports and short runways, only small planes can land
and take off in these airports. This highly challenging transportation situation is truly
contradicting our common understanding of a highly developed country.

Furthermore, economic development of Greenland is limited to fishing and its related

industries which takes up nearly 80% of the country’s total export. Tourism is highly
dependent on the short summer season while the excavation of rare minerals and crude oil
is still under development and the country is short of funding. Once again, this situation is
tremendously behind how we conceptualize a highly developed country.

The stereotyping of a highly developed country in the case of Greenland is not helping in
promoting any understanding of the place, which possesses great potential and a lot of
natural beauty. But categorizing it as highly developed is doing no good for anyone to
appreciate how magnificent Greenland is.

[Citation - https://stat.gl/publ/en/GF/2019/pdf/Greenland%20in%20Figures%202019.pdf]

https://visitgreenland.com/