the north–south divide is a socio-economic and political division of earth popularized in the late 20th century and early 21st century. generally, definitions of the global north include the g8 countries, the united states, canada, all member states of the european union, israel, japan, singapore, south korea, as well as australia and new zealand and four of the five permanent members of the united nations security council, excluding china. the global south is made up of africa, latin america, and developing asia, including the middle east, and is home to the bric countries (excluding russia): brazil, india, and china, which, along with indonesia, are the largest southern states.