why is eastern europe poorer than western europe? why is eastern europe poorer than western europe?

The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, which spans roughly 40% of the continent's landmass while accounting for approximately 15% of its total . 9. Even the Catholic Church held a different view from the eastern church. You can think of that as being much like a baseball team that hires better players to win more games, but in this case, instead of coaches, it's political leaders and instead of games there are wars. Make a list of at least seven of the largest cities in Eastern Europe. Turkish belongs to the Turkic language family. Eastern Europe is a geographical term that refers to the easternmost countries of Europe. The reformation gave way to more literacy, the Protestant work ethic, which resulted in rapid advances in the sciences and technology. Luckily, this blog post will help you to understand some of the differences between these two parts of Europe. The main differences are the recognition of the pope as the head of the church, and the fact that priests in the Eastern orthodox faith are allowed to marry. The former East Germany trails the former West in productivity. The majority of western Europeans live within 50 kilometers (30 miles) from their place of birth. 4. Roma is the language of the people who used to be called Gypsies (The modern term for gypsies is "Roma."). It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Western Europe is home to the oldest living population in the world. Why are countries in eastern Europe poorer than in western Europe? 2.Standard of living in Britain was usually poor, Probably OP refers the wealth of the States, not the standard of living of the population (e.g. The book also reminds us that in a world where there are hostile powers, we really don't want to get rid of spending on improving military technology. Both regions have different economic structures and political systems. If we look at the stringency of control measures, we can also see that not all countries acted in the same way. In approximately one paragraph (at least three to five sentences), explain why Russia is sometimes considered part of Eastern Europe but sometimes not. These differences between eastern and western Europe will help you understand the magnitude of these differences better than before.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_5',109,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Western and Eastern Europe are on opposite sides of the continent. The Eastern Europeans developed their "taste" to the Western ways of life during the communist era around the 1970's 80's, based on stereotypes in films or on the rare visits Clean streets, orderly suburbs, homogenous (mainly white) population, comfortable life,. The Eastern and Western hemispheres of the world are vastly different in many ways. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Slovenia is the latest country in eastern Europe to carry out extensive tests in an effort to prove that multinational companies have been fobbing off eastern consumers with poorer-quality . The Netherlands is the country with the most time off in the world. Unofficial site of Thomas Sowell, Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? It seems that at least some countries in the region have learned their lessons. Resource 01: https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_EuropeResource 02: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Europe, Differences Between Eastern And Western Culture, Differences Between Eastern and Western Roman Empire, Differences Between Eastern And Western Religions, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Eastern_Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe. Over the years I've been interested in a number of different things, and this new work puts together a lot of bits of my research. Disease can't explain, for example, the colonization of India, because people in southeast Asia had the same immunity to disease that the Europeans did. But free markets and small government have produced decades of strong growth, and now these places are among the richest places on the planet. The political dominance of western Europe was an unexpected outcome and had really big consequences, so I thought: let's explain it. In this region may Catholics and Protestant Christians can be seen. 2023 Sowell.org. At least if the goal is more economic output and higher living standards. Live Longer: Western Europeans live longer than eastern Europeans.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,100],'questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_4',117,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Smaller House: Eastern Europeans live in smaller houses or apartments compared to western Europeans. The Hagia Sophia is now a mosque. South Asian Countries | Religion, Culture & Countries List. Despite these differences, the former East has narrowed the gap with the former West substantially in recent decades. A third of all languages spoken in western Europe are indigenous and not derived from Latin or Greek. Most of the Jews who live in the United States are the descendants of people who once lived in Eastern Europe. The former East has a much smaller population than the former West (about 16 million people, compared with about 67 million), but its productivity is also lower when adjusted for population differences. 5. Well, Eastern Europe has always been less developed than the Western half. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except for material where copyright is reserved by a party other than FEE. [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Commons, Filed Under: Countries Tagged With: Eastern bloc, Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe characteristics, Eastern Europe definition, Soviet bloc, Western and Eastern Europe compare, Western Europe, Western Europe characteristics, Western Europe definition, Western vs Eastern Europe. He has a Masters in Education, and a Bachelors in Physics. Its language is related to Italian, Spanish, and French, making the Romanians the only Latin people in Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is more industrialized than Western Europe while Western European countries tend to be wealthier than their eastern counterparts. Central American Countries & Facts | People, Tribes & Culture of Central America, Central America Geography | Map, Physical Features & Examples, Physical & Human Features of Europe | Mapping the Features of Europe, Comparing Life in Different Locations in Europe, Latin America | Population, Ethnic Groups & Demographics, Physical Features of Russia & Central Asia | Map, Characteristics & Geography, Where is Latin America? However, over the past 20 years, most of the nations of Eastern Europe have joined the . To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Hungarian is a Finno-Ugric language that is distantly related to Finnish and Estonian. Your email address will not be published. What this Westerner refused to mention was all the wars and foreign occupations we went through all of our history (for Russia, a lot but not the entirety). These two regions consist of a large number of countries that enrich the diversity of the two regions. However, if we look back at the death rates of the two regions in the graph above, its clear that eastern European countries introduced restrictions when experiencing far fewer cases and deaths. 1. Were Gaining Vitality on Key Measures, 60% of Americans Would Be Uncomfortable With Provider Relying on AI in Their Own Health Care, Gender pay gap in U.S. hasnt changed much in two decades. The highest mountain in eastern Europe is Mount Elbrus, which stands at 18,510 feet tall. Coming from Engineering cum Human Resource Development background, has over 10 years experience in content developmet and management. In fact, the Ottomans once controlled a large chunk of this region. But Im digressing. Most of these people migrated to Germany after the war. Although they may be connected by us all being human beings, there is a lot that separates us as well. Which is mostly Southern Europe and Anatolia (under the Macedonian dynasty at least). There is also easier access to mineral resources the further west you go in Europe, so more western regions would develop stronger economies when the Industrial Revolution upped the demand for those resources, while the minerals of the east weren't tapped until later. It severely inhibited political and economic development. However, most central and eastern European countries have been gradually converging towards western Europe countries over the past few decades after the transition to market economies, the introduction of democracy, and the formation of the European Union. And I mean apocalyptic. New research shows that this goes back about 1,000 years. Gunpowder was really important for conquering territory; it allows a small number of people to exercise a lot of influence. People speak romance languages and those with Germanic roots as well. Thomas Sowell Explains how geographical differences between Eastern and Western Europe played a key role in the economic differences between the two regions, which caused Eastern Europe to be historically poorer than Western Europe. But something like the smallpox epidemic that ravaged Mexico when the Spanish conquistador Hernn Corts overthrew the Aztec Empire just isn't the whole story of Corts's victory or of Europe's successful colonization of other parts of the world. Countries in the region imposed strict measures while being relatively mildly affected, whereas western countries waited until things got bad. And while 7.5% of East Germans ages 55 to 64 were unemployed in 2018, the share was 5.3% among West Germans in the same age range. Due to its Communist history, language barrier, poor infrastructure, poverty and just overall bad reputation, Eastern Europe has managed to deter the hoards of annoying tourists that are plaguing Western Europe. This is a problem in an age of common migration because the educated and talented are migrating from Eastern to Western Europe. One big factor that's important to the advancement of any defense technology is how much money a political leader can spend. 55 chapters | Eastern European death rates overtook those in the west in early October, but restrictions in the region which had eased after the first wave still lagged behind controls reintroduced in the west. In 2018, the average unemployment rate was 6.9% in the six states of the former East Germany, compared with 4.8% in the 10 states of the former West Germany. Therefore, there are a lot of contradictions in this country. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Moldova is an independent nation that was once part of the Soviet Union. Albanian forms its own branch of the Indo-European language family. Eastern Europe Lives And Breathes History. Even in countries where governments reintroduced relatively strong restrictions in October, such as Slovenia and Lithuania, infections and deaths have remained high throughout November suggesting low compliance with the rules. Romanian is a romance language. Some of the countries that fall under this category are United Kingdom, Norway, Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Vatican City, Netherlands, Sweden, Malta, Italy, Iceland, Germany, Greece, Finland, etc. I think the main reason is that Europe is . Stringency of COVID-19 restrictions, second wave, eastern Europe. Also Austria and Hungary drained ressources from the other areas (Bohemia being one of the few parts that was actually rather well off with a lot of industry). Hong Kong and Singapore, for instance, used to be poor jurisdictions. I understand why it looks that way but that's because of your perspective. Before 1800, Europe had already taken over at least 35 percent of the world, but Britain was just beginning to industrialize. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Some argued that this was because of economics: that eastern European countries locked down early because they feared their economies would not be able to handle many people getting sick. The largest country by area in eastern Europe is Russia with 677 thousand square miles. Great work Dr. Sowell. Continue with Recommended Cookies. They often wonder if theyre even in the same country when they arrive at their destination! Eastern Europe refers to the eastern part of Europe. Many of those that survived, emigrated to Israel or the US. Create your account. I dont have a policy lesson here: simply an observation that the United Kingdom has one really rich region (Greater London) and quite few relatively poor regions. This is probably the biggest reason I prefer Eastern Europe over Western Europe. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy: Legal. And while 7.5% of East Germans ages 55 to 64 were unemployed in 2018, the share was 5.3% among West Germans in the same age range. Romania is probably the most unusual country in this region. Eastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Moldova, Lithuania are some countries of Eastern Europe. Richer not only than Europe, but even more prosperous than the United States. This has led to higher levels of entrepreneurship in the west while greater collectivism in the east. Americans are not stupid, and when they complain about Europe, they are complaining about Western Europeans who are richer than Eastern neighbors yet less attentive to their own needs. Europe's economic crisis has thrown into relief the economic disparity between the Continent's richer, northern half and its poorer . Greece is located in south-east Europe! Eastern Europe: Most people follow Orthodox Christianity or Islam. So more spending would not only mean greater odds of victory over an enemy, but more rapid change in military technology. Some argued that this was because of economics: that eastern European countries locked down early because they feared their economies would . But one explanation that can probably be ditched is the culture argument mentioned previously. Many scholars believe that Moldovan is simply a dialect of Romanian, while others believe it is a separate language. It's just fascinating. Our World in Data COVID-19 Dataset. Unemployment is persistently higher in the former East Germany than in the former West. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. 7. Many East German businesses are part of western German or foreign corporations.. Eastern Europe: Eastern Europe is comparatively less advanced regarding the economy. In addition to historic sites, Western Europe also houses some of the most beautiful cities on earth with London being one such place. Explore Eastern Europe. (In all economic statistics in this analysis, Berlin is counted in East Germany, even though the city was divided during communism and is not directly comparable to other parts of East Germany.). 5. 50 Mississippi. A heretical Christian sect, known as the Hussites (named after Jan Huss), challenged the Catholic Church in part of Eastern Europe during the early 15th century, but they were stamped out by the Catholic political elite. Greece is in Eastern Europe. I've also been interested in the development of tax systems. In either event, the people of Romania and Moldova are closely related. It started after I gave an undergraduate here a book to read about gunpowder technology, how it was invented in China and used in Japan and Southeast Asia, and how the Europeans got very good at using it, which fed into their successful conquests. The Western European region is very much advanced in its economy. They have distinct cultures, languages, traditions, and cuisine. Bohemia and Hungary were also quite powerful, and only the Russian states could be considered poor. 10. What can we learn from the differences between Eastern and Western Europe? The Polish Lithuanian commonwealth was extremely powerful and wealthy by controling the rivers and by extension farmland and trade between Baltic and Black Seas. You can refer to the lesson, but try to recall as many from memory as you can. Most Eastern European Jews spoke Yiddish, a language closely-related to German. The governments report points to several possible factors for the worse economic conditions in East Germany, including the lack of major companies headquartered there. Among people ages 15 to 24, for example, the average unemployment rate in the former East Germany was 7.7% in 2018, compared with 4.1% in the former West. Also the Danube is a big invasion route from the Black Sea to Germany. Most Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet. Here is a look at how economic conditions in the former East and West Germany have changed over time, how they compare today and how people in the two areas perceive these differences. There are many stereotypes about Eastern Europeans, however, these stereotypes do not always apply to all Eastern European people due to differing cultures within the region itself. Cultural Syncretism Definition & Examples | What is Religious Syncretism? Others include Polish, Bulgarian, Czech, Slovak, Serbian, Slovenian, Croatian, Macedonian, Belorussian, etc. No major city is near the Danube until Belgrade. crochet cardigan size chart on carolina thunderbirds salary; why is eastern europe poorer than western europe? This tool measures the stringency of efforts to control the virus on a scale of 0-100, with 100 being the most restrictive. East-West differences in unemployment rates cut across demographic lines including age and gender. - Quora Answer (1 of 107): If you had a world atlas in 1350, you'd see an apocalyptic wasteland where Western Europe is now. A long line of horse-lords swept west from the steppe into eastern europe, and would generally displace the tribes living there - all the way up to the Mongols. In the former East, 42% of adults say the next generation will be better off, compared with 50% in the West who say this. See less Comments Constantinople is now the city of Istanbul in Turkey, and the greatest church of the Eastern Orthodox faith, the Hagia Sophia, is located there. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that Eastern Europe consists of countries that once belonged to the Soviet block, unlike the Western European countries. Understanding why eastern European countries chose to respond differently during the second wave is complicated, though. The influence of the ocean. Some people include Greece and the Baltic countries, as well. 8. Example: You could draw a long river to illustrate the blue Danube. Until 1991, the Soviet Union controlled everything from the Bering Strait to the Rhine. Learn what is considered Eastern European, view a list of Eastern European countries and discover Eastern Europe religions. This is Part 6 of an 8-Part series on Geography and Culture. By introducing very strict prevention measures early on, countries in the region had significantly fewer COVID-related deaths than their western European counterparts. Excellent point. We live much more better than Latin America, the Middle East, Africa or India for 2.Why is Eastern Europe Poorer than Western Europe? Scooby snacks for you! The difference is so stark that Eastern Europe is sometime not even counted as "Western Civilization." Communism explains some of it more recently, but it doesn't explain why it was also true in the medieval and ancient times. One difference is that Eastern European countries were part of the Soviet Union for decades while Western European countries had more independence during this period. Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by QCity Editorial Stuffif(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'questionscity_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',107,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-questionscity_com-medrectangle-3-0'); Foreigners visiting Europe often find themselves wondering what the differences are between Eastern and Western Europe. As its name suggests, Eastern Europe is the eastern part of the European continent. When we turn to the second wave (starting around September and ongoing), were faced with the opposite question: why did eastern European countries not act in spite of rapidly rising infections and deaths? Answer (1 of 3): The main reason is the Atlantic conveyor. Importantly, however, there have been major differences within eastern Europe too. Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Bulgarians, Serbs, and a few others are traditionally Orthodox Christians. Pandemic fatigue is present across the entire continent, and may be especially present in the east, where some people may have felt that they went into a lockdown for nothing. Then you have more capital to invest, which allows for growth of the countrys industry. 1615 L St. NW, Suite 800Washington, DC 20036USA The Chinese invented gunpowder, but Hoffman, whose work applies economic theory to historical contexts, argues that certain political and economic circumstances allowed the Europeans to advance gunpowder technology at an unprecedented rateallowing a relatively small number of people to quickly take over much of the rest of the globe. Map of the spread of Catholicism and the Eastern orthodox faith. My idea incorporates the model of a contest or a tournament where your odds of winning are higher if you spend more resources on fighting. I wish we did live in that world, but unfortunately it's not realistic. You also have more free time to learn other skills and trades. Just take any economic, social map and overlay it with the iron curtain map and you will understand what it's actually about. You want areas that produce finished products that are part of external trade systems. Things are much better if the conflict concerns something that can be split upsuch as money or land. Most European countries (including Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium) if they joined the US, would rank among the poorest one-third of US states on a per-capita GDP basis, and the UK, France, Japan and New Zealand would all rank among Americas very poorest states, below No. But exploring Soviet-era Eastern Europe is not even half the story. It's also a sign of prosperity that, when they do earn American dollars, foreigners often choose to invest those funds in the American economy (remember, the necessary flip side of a "trade deficit" is a "capital surplus"). Belgiums King Philippe is also Queen Mathildes husband. For example, how did states get the ability to impose heavy taxes? Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Breathtaking nature Last, but definitely not least, nature in Eastern Europe is stunning. For example, that Europe became industrialized more quickly and therefore became wealthier than the rest of the world. Eastern Europes pandemic experience has been dramatically different this autumn. Productivity in the East, in other words, was 75% of productivity in the West on a per-capita basis. There are many different religions practiced in eastern European countries, including Christianity and Islam. Also, the people follow many religions such as Orthodox Christianityand also Islam. Roma is an Indo-European language that originated in India. The more they spent, the more chances they had to improve their military technology through trial and error while fighting wars. But if you look at the US average ($54,629), it obviously is higher than economic output in European nations. So that's not the answerit's something else. Example: 1.56% of Eastern Europeans are atheist. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Be sure to note on your list which countries these cities are found in. - Definition, History & Criticism, Chaos Theory: Definition, History & Examples, What is a Pre-Existing Condition? Per-capita gross domestic product was 32,108 in the former East German states in 2018, compared with 42,971 in the former West German states. Authors compilation. For example, differences in economic strength could explain why the relatively richer Czech Republic waited to reintroduce restrictions (thinking it could bear the brunt of a high number of infections), but this doesnt account for the relatively poorer Romanias decision to do the same. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Please, enable JavaScript and reload the page to enjoy our modern features. The Czech Republic acted very late, for example, imposing stricter measures at the end of October, even though cases and deaths had been soaring upwards during the month. Conclusion paragraph: The differences between Eastern and Western Europe are vast, but there is one important similarity. What countries make up Eastern Europe? Eastern European countries include Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Bulgaria Croatia (Hrvatska), Czech Republic (esk Republika), Estonia (Eesti), Georgia ( ) Hungary (Magyarorsz g), Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Montenegro Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Ukraine. Eastern Europe squandered its spring gains and then repeated the mistakes made by the west in spring: waiting until cases and deaths are out of control before imposing controls. Amazing how so many refuse to acknowledge how climate and geography go hand and hand with a country's economic development. Then all the wars with the Turks and having to pretty much defeat the Nazis on their own. What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S. Eastern Europe: People speak languages with Slavic roots. Judaism - Eastern European Jews once numbered in the millions; however, they were nearly wiped out during the Holocaust. (+1) 202-419-4300 | Main Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Daily new COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants, eastern and western Europe. It also includes some of the Balkan nations. But a while ago I ran into this interesting post about the Romans in Eastern Europe: The Romans were mostly interested in conquering areas that had a high degree of self sufficiency which could provide a tax base for them to extract from. Sorry anon point already proven . Compare the Difference Between Similar Terms. Answer (1 of 21): It's not. Russias GDP per capita (PPP) was $14,900 as of 2018. The key difference between Western and Eastern Europe is that Eastern Europe consists of countries that once belonged to the Soviet block, unlike the Western European countries. Historically, the culture of Eastern Europe has been closely linked to the history of the rest of the continent. Yes, their welfare states are too large, but they somewhat compensate for that mistake by having very pro-free market policies in other areas.