>A big part of what is perceived as "backwards" are long term effects of British colonial rule, from which they are still recovering. There's a lot of ink spilt

>A big part of what is perceived as "backwards" are long term effects of British colonial rule, from which they are still recovering. There's a lot of ink spilt studying how the systems which colonial powers set up get left behind, which keeps in place a stratified society with the goal of enriching all the people in positions of power (read: corruption). That takes time to overcome. This is as true for Latin America as it is for Nigeria, India and all the rest. The various coups, civil wars, brutal dictatorships and/or hastily implemented radical ideologies aren't really helping former colonies either.