These include low levels of education, poor water quality or a lack of doctors. Political factors - some countries are at war or the government may be corrupt. Therefore money does not reach the people who need it most and spending on areas such as education and infrastructure may be insufficient.

Why do poor countries remain poor?

It is widely accepted that countries are poor because their economies don't manage to grow sufficiently. ... Instead, countries are poor because they shrink too often, not because they cannot grow -- and research suggests that only a few have the capacity to reduce incidences of economic shrinking.

Why are countries rich or poor?

Because GDP per capita is simply GDP divided by the population, it is a measure of income as if it were divided equally among the population. ... So, even in a country with relatively low GDP, some people will be better off than others. And, there are poor people in very wealthy countries.