Brandt Line

In the 1980s, economists developed the ‘Brandt Line’, a curve that more accurately divided the world into the economic North and South.

About the Brandt Line:

• The Brandt Line is a visual depiction of the North-South divide between their economies, based on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita. 
• It encircles the world at a latitude of 30° N, passing between North and Central America, north of Africa, the Middle East and most of East Asia, but lowered towards the south to include Japan, Australia, and New Zealand above the line.

About the Global South:

• Global South is an ‘informal grouping’, that refers to the developing, often deprived, former colonised nations around the world.
• Such countries are largely concentrated in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania.
  • Australia even when lying in the Southern Hemisphere, belongs to the Global North. 
• In 1969, American anti-war activist Carl Oglesby campaigned against the oppression by ‘the North’ (the US, Europe, Russia, etc.) of the ‘Global South’, which led to the origination of the term. 
• The UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) was set up by the UN General Assembly in 1974, to coordinate South-South (amongst the Global South) and triangular cooperation (with Developed countries or agencies), working along with the G-77.

The Group of 77 (G-77) countries:

• In 1964, the Group of 77 (G-77) countries became signatories to a ‘Joint Declaration’ at the first session of the UNCTAD (UN Conference on Trade and Development) in Geneva, becoming the largest intergovernmental organisation of developing countries.
• The ‘Joint Declaration’ mandated to “articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the UN system”.
• The G-77 in current time has retained its name, despite its expansion to 134 countries.
• It is also referred to as ‘G-77+China’ in most multilateral fora as China doesn’t belong to the grouping.

Ref: Source