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Cash Crops. A cash crop is an agricultural product that is grown for sale, not for the farmer’s consumption. It is often a crop (coffee, cotton, sugarcane, and rice and other grains) that requires manufacturing or processing. It may also be a crop (oranges, potatoes, bananas) that can be consumed upon harvest but is cultivated primarily to be sold. Cash crops are produced most effectively on a large scale, but they can be grown on small plots of land. When grown on a large scale, the crops are more likely to be exported than consumed locally, although small growers in developing countries may sell to a local buyer who then sells larger quantities domestically and abroad. The economies of many countries depend heavily on the sale of cash crops.
Diversified Economy. An economy is considered diversified if its stability relies on a variety of industries rather than one or two commodities. For example, oil-rich countries that rely almost solely on the petroleum industry for their income are vulnerable to changes in the price of oil on the world market. When the price drops significantly, the countries are suddenly unable to pay debts or finance social development projects. The same is true for countries that rely on agricultural products such as coffee or on minerals such as copper for their income. Countries whose economies are based not only on agricultural products but also manufacturing, services, technology, and so forth are better able to withstand global price changes. Thus, the more diversified a country’s economic base, the better.
Foreign Language Phrases. Most CultureGrams reports contain phrases and words in the target culture’s official or common language. In general, CultureGrams do not provide a pronunciation guide for these phrases, due to limited space. Also, including the pronunciation and translation tends to interrupt the flow of the text. CultureGrams are not designed to teach foreign languages. Rather, the phrases contained in CultureGrams are there to facilitate the description of how people interact with one another. Their translation often provides insights about the culture, but pronunciation is not necessary to gain that insight. In the few cases where pronunciation hints are provided, they are necessary for English speakers to properly pronounce a word. For instance, the country Lesotho is not pronounced as it would seem. Instead of saying “le-SO-tho,” one should say “le-SUE-too.”
Free and Compulsory Education. Most countries provide free education to their citizens, meaning the government operates a public school system open to all children who are in a certain age group. It does not necessarily mean there are no costs involved in attending school. Students may be required to wear uniforms (which must be purchased), might live far from the nearest school (and transportation must be paid for), or may need to supply their own books, pencils, and other basic items. In addition, having a child in school can cost a rural family one laborer on the family farm. This can become such a burden to poorer families that free education is still not accessible to them.
Compulsory education refers to the fact that the law requires children to attend school for a certain number of years. In many countries this rule is seldom enforced. Therefore, it may reflect the government’s target for how long children should remain in school to obtain a basic education rather than how long they actually are required to attend. Compulsory education usually encompasses six to nine years, and optional schooling usually continues for three or more years.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Per Capita. This economic statistic refers to the value of all goods and services produced annually in an economy per person. Naturally, not every person produces goods and services, but the total is averaged for the entire population. If the term is expressed as “gross national product” (GNP), it is essentially the same statistic except for the addition of income earned abroad minus the income earned in the country by noncitizens. This is significant when part of the population works in other countries and sends back money to their families. It is also significant for countries that have substantial investments abroad. However, for most countries, the two statistics, GDP and GNP, are almost interchangeable.
In the past, GDP was calculated in terms of the U.S. dollar after conversion from the local currency at official exchange rates. This caused accuracy problems because of artificially set exchange rates and because a dollar may not buy the same amount of goods in the United States as it does in another country. Social scientists recently have developed the concept of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), a measurement that tries to account for the inconsistencies of the past. When GDP is figured in terms of PPP, an international dollar not affected by exchange rates is used. Likewise, PPP attempts to express the relative ability of a person to purchase goods with the local currency. Therefore, measured with PPP, five hundred dollars will buy essentially the same things in the United States as it will in Brazil or Japan. For many countries, PPP data does not yet exist, and only estimates are available for others.
Most CultureGrams reports use PPP with GDP, as expressed by the phrase “real gross domestic product.” When the word “real” is absent, only the GDP has been calculated. The real GDPs in CultureGrams reports usually are taken from the Human Development Report (New York: Palgrave Macmillan). In cases where the real GDP is low (less than one thousand dollars, for example), one can assume that people have very little disposable income. But one should also remember that rural families may grow their own food and therefore need less disposable income to meet basic needs. In other cases, such a low figure indicates people indeed may be without food, shelter, clothing, or other necessities.
Hard Currency. Many countries have currencies that are not acceptable as currency for international purchases or exchanges. These currencies are considered inconvertible (not a medium of exchange) outside of their sponsoring nation. Such countries must pay for imports with a convertible currency that is accepted as a medium of exchange among countries. A convertible currency often is called hard currency because it is worth something outside its own borders. The U.S. dollar, Japanese yen, British pound, European Union euro, and a few others are global hard currencies. The currencies of most advanced economies are also convertible. Regional hard currencies also exist, such as the CFA franc, a currency used in many West African nations (former French colonies) as both a domestic and regional exchange currency. However, the CFA franc would not be accepted as a global hard currency. Developing countries without convertible currencies use hard currencies to import goods and services. They obtain hard currency through their goods and services exports, their expatriate workers, tourism, and international lending or development aid.
Human Development and Gender-Related Development Indexes. Originating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender-related Development Index (GDI) attempt to compensate for the inability of traditional economic indicators to portray accurately the environment in which people live—whether that environment nurtures personal development or hinders it. The project functions under the assumption that human development is a process of “expanding [people’s] choices to live full, creative lives with freedom and dignity” (UNDP 2003, 28). The three essential capabilities that people must have in order to expand their choices are “living a long and healthy life, being educated and having a decent standard of living” (UNDP 2003, 2). Accordingly, the basis of the HDI is statistics related to infant mortality, life expectancy, literacy, and real GDP. If people have access to adequate education, health care, and wages, they are more likely to be involved in community affairs, join the middle class, and contribute skills and time to society. Such societies are more often democratic and respectful of human rights.
Each country is ranked in relation to the others according to an index value that falls between 0 and 1. The HDI “shows how far a country has to travel to provide . . . essential choices to all its people. It is not a measure of well-being. Nor is it a measure of happiness. Instead, it is a measure of empowerment” (UNDP 1995, 12). The GDI measures progress in the same way as the HDI, but it is adjusted to account for inequality between men and women. It is common for men to have access more quickly than women to the same basic resources and choices. Only 156 nations have been ranked for the GDI, whereas 177 have been listed for the HDI. Each CultureGram for which HDI and GDI data are available lists the country’s rank. For more detailed analysis and additional data, refer to the entire Human Development Report, which is updated annually.
Income Distribution. This phrase generally is used in connection with the gap between what the poorest people in a country earn and what the richest earn. If income distribution is highly unequal, a small wealthy class generally controls the economy (and often the government) and owns most property. The much larger poor class is often landless, which is significant since the people are probably farmers who must rent property and receive only a small share of the benefits from their labor. An unequal, but not highly unequal, income distribution often indicates that a middle class is beginning to grow. When the distribution is fairly equal, as is the case in a minority of countries, it is due mostly to a large and prosperous middle class. However, it also can indicate the presence of a broad poor class and absence of a wealthy elite. Generally, having a highly unequal income distribution means the economy is unhealthy, whereas the existence of a strong middle (consumer) class is good for an economy.
Infant Mortality Rate. This statistic is expressed as the number of children per 1,000 live births who die before their first birthday. It is an important indicator of the overall health of a population, since infants who die at this age usually are subject to preventable diseases or birth defects related to the mother’s health. Those who die at birth often do so because of a lack of prenatal care and medical attention at birth. People who have access to health care, clean water, nutritious food, and education are more likely to have a low infant mortality rate than people without such access. Industrialized countries generally have a low rate (fewer than 10 per 1,000), while developing countries usually have a higher rate (averaging more than 30). The poorest countries may have rates exceeding 100.
Life Expectancy. This measurement refers to how long a person can expect to live from birth if mortality patterns remain unchanged. Someone born today may be expected to live 80 years if living in some European countries but only 55 years if living in parts of Africa. However, since mortality patterns do change throughout a person’s lifetime, the statistic is really a better reflection of how long an adult who is currently living can expect to live. So a person who is 50 today can expect to live until 80 in some countries or only a few more years in others. Women live longer than men in most countries, and people in industrialized countries live longer than those in developing countries. People in countries with high pollution have lower rates of life expectancy.
When a CultureGram lists only one average age, it is the average of the male and female averages. This statistic, like infant mortality, helps the reader understand the overall health of a population and whether the people have access to nutritious food, clean water, health care, and proper sanitation.
Literacy Rate. CultureGrams list a literacy rate for the general adult population. These data usually are taken from the Human Development Report, which defines adult literacy as “The percentage of people aged 15 and above who can, with understanding, both read and write a short, simple statement related to their everyday life” (UNDP 2003, 354). This is the global standard for reporting literacy, although a few countries will certify persons literate if they can write their name or if they have ever been enrolled in school. Most educational experts agree that such definitions are misleading, since being able to write a name or a short sentence does not imply a person can understand such things as a ballot, a newspaper, or work instructions. Were it possible to report functional literacy, many countries would have far lower literacy rates than are presented. But no uniform standard exists for reporting functional literacy. Therefore, readers should keep in mind that an official literacy rate is only one indicator of a nation’s overall educational level.
On the other hand, many developing countries report their literacy rates based on an official language that a majority or significant group of people does not even speak, let alone read. In these cases, people may be functional in a local language or an oral language but not functional in the “official” language. Although one cannot read and write an oral language, one can use it to recount history, calculate numbers, share information, relate instructions, and so on. In some areas, the ability to read may not be considered a necessary life skill. In other words, one cannot equate intelligence or skill with literacy.
Population and Population Growth Rate. The figure for population listed in each CultureGram is an estimate for the year previous to publication (i.e., 2008 population for text published in 2009). The estimate is based on the actual population at the last census, multiplied by an annual growth rate. The estimate may seem to conflict with other sources, since other sources often only print the population as of the latest census (whenever it may have been taken) or an estimate made in a base year (e.g., 2000).
CultureGrams estimates are in keeping with figures in U.S. government and UN publications, but they sometimes are modified by information from the target culture’s government. Each population estimate is revised annually.
The population growth rate is an estimate based on the previous year’s difference between births and deaths and the net number of migrants leaving or entering the country. The growth rate may change substantially in a single year if there is a large influx of immigrants, a massive emigration, a natural disaster, or an epidemic. Growth rates tend to be low in industrialized countries because families are small, averaging one or two children. Growth rates are generally high in developing countries, especially in areas where subsistence farming is the primary economic activity. These cultures require large families to help farm the land, but they often have a high infant mortality rate; many children are conceived to ensure that enough will survive into adulthood. In small nations, the growth rate may be low due to emigration, as people must go elsewhere to find work.
Poverty. Poverty is noted in CultureGrams in two ways. Sometimes poverty is described in general terms to indicate a low standard of living according to various governmental or societal criteria. Other references to poverty are based on the Human Poverty Index (HPI) from the Human Development Report 2007/2008. The HPI measures deprivation in three main areas—“a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living” (UNDP 2003, 353). These figures, expressed sometimes as percentages and sometimes as fractions, indicate what portion of a population not only lives in poverty but also lacks access to adequate education, health care, safe water, and economic opportunity to escape the poverty they face.
Staple Food. Staple foods are those foods that supply the majority of the average person’s calories and nutrition. A people’s primary staple food is usually starchy, such as cassava (manioc), corn, rice, millet, or wheat. Staple foods also include any meats, fruits, and vegetables eaten frequently or in large quantities.
Subsistence Farming. Subsistence farming refers to farming as the main source of a family’s livelihood. That is, a family will grow its own food, raise its own livestock, build its own home, and often make its own clothing. Members of such a family generally do not earn a wage by working at a job, but they usually are not entirely without a cash income. Family members might sell surplus produce or livestock, or make crafts or other items (blankets, baskets, etc.), in order to buy things they cannot provide for themselves. These usually include items such as sugar, cooking oil, clothing, rice or another staple food, and so forth. Subsistence farmers also may set aside part of their land to grow cash crops in order to earn money. Subsistence farmers generally do not grow an abundance of anything. They often live on small owned or rented plots of land, and they seldom enjoy the luxuries of running water or electricity.
Underemployment. Underemployment refers to when workers are not officially unemployed but either are unable to find enough work in their profession or are working in jobs below their skill level. For example, if a country’s universities graduate many people in engineering or other professional fields but the economy is not diversified or well developed, those people may find themselves underemployed, working in jobs that do not take advantage of their skills, or only working part-time in their field of study. In the latter case, they may return to farming or local retailing. In too many cases, the most educated people simply emigrate to another country to find work, resulting in what is called a “brain drain.”
Government unemployment figures generally do not include underemployment; it must be estimated. However, when unemployment is high (more than 10 percent), one usually can assume that underemployment affects at least as many or more workers. This condition reflects an economy that is not growing, and it can lead to social unrest. High underemployment (more than 40 percent) often leads to political turmoil and violence. Employing and paying people according to their skill level helps secure social stability and encourage economic growth.
Western/Western-style. This term usually refers to the dress, eating customs, culture, and traditions of Western Europe, the United States, and Canada. This culture often is referred to as Western because of its common ancient (primarily Greek and Roman) philosophical, legal, political, and social heritage. The term Western can also refer to cultures that have a Judeo-Christian value system and religious orientation.
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