Countries with smaller populations would naturally exhibit a larger variance than larger countries that would tend to clump toward the middle. However, no one w

Countries with smaller populations would naturally exhibit a larger variance than larger countries that would tend to clump toward the middle. However, no one would say it's just the luck of the draw that papua new guinea is a undeveloped backwater and sitzerland is the center of global banking. With Papua New Guinea for example, I'd imagine that a history of colonial exploitation and lack of contact with the outside world resulted in its present circumstance. Switzerland's tight cultural and economic integration with the rest of europe while staying politically neutral probably greatly contributed to it's current situation.