The term the North is often used to refer to the wealthy and technologically advanced nations of the world, as opposed to the South, which is poorer and less developed.
In some cases the compass direction north is not accurate; Australia is in this sense a Northern country, even though it is south of the equator.
In the study of politics and international relations, the term the North is often used as a more theoretically coherent replacement for the earlier notion of the West.
The term the North can also be used to indicate the northern part of a particular country or geographical region.
Within that region, if places with a common characteristic are mostly found in the north, then the North becomes a synonym for that characteristic.
- Italy is one of several countries with a north-south divide where the wealthier regions are in the north. The North is the richer industrial and commercial heartland of the country, whilst the South is mainly agricultural. Lega Nord (the Northern League) campaigns for the secession of northern Italy from the rest of the country.
- In England, by contrast, the North is relatively poor. It is the home of many of the traditional heavy industries that have much run-down in recent years.
