The Periphery
The 'periphery' consists of the countries in the rest of the world: Africa, South America, Asia (excluding Japan and South Korea), and Russia and many of its neighbors.
Although some parts of this area exhibit positive development (especially Pacific Rim locations in China),
it is generally characterized by extreme poverty and a low standard of living.
Health care is non-existent in many places, there is less access to potable water than in the industrialized core, and poor infrastructure engenders slum conditions.
Population is skyrocketing in the periphery because of a number of contributing factors including a limited ability to move and the use of children as means to support a family, among others. (Learn more about Population growth and the demographic transition.)
Many people living in rural areas perceive opportunities in cities and take action to migrate there, even though there are not enough jobs or housing to support them. Over one billion people now live in slum conditions, and the majority of population growth around the world is occurring in the periphery.
The rural-to-urban migration and high birth rates of the periphery are creating both megacities, urban areas with over 8 million people, and hypercities, urban areas with over 20 million people. These cities, such as Mexico City or Manila, have little infrastructure and feature rampant crime, massive unemployment, and a huge informal sector.