Global South

Or glob·al south

[gloh-buhl south]

noun

1. the low- or middle-income countries located in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania; Third World.

   The article argues that poverty in the Global South stems from European exploitation of its natural resources.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Global South¹

First recorded in 1965–70; not literally referring to the Southern Hemisphere, but continuing the 20th century contrasts between the wealthy industrial north and the poverty-stricken agricultural south, and probably beginning with Antonio Gramsci’s essay “The Southern Question” (1926), in which he argued southern Italy had, in effect, been colonized by capitalists from northern Italy

Example Sentences

China, meanwhile, uses economic leverage to expand its influence across the Global South and to undermine democracy.

Read more on Barron's

"What is new about this initiative... it's the scale, it's the simplicity, it's the long-term vision, and it's the leadership of the Global South," said Elisabeth Hoch, international portfolio lead from the Climate and Company, a think tank.

Read more on Barron's

Beijing intends to provide $10 million in support for a China-U.N. facility for development of nations from the global south and intends to join with the U.N. on a center for sustainable development in Shanghai, Li said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Some Global South leaders have been hesitant in condemning the Russian war against Ukraine.

Read more on BBC

Though widely debunked in the West, this false claim lingered across the Global South.

Read more on BBC