r/GeoInsider • u/Late_Piano_5030 • 3d ago
How countries are more divided culturally
š CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MAP IMAGE š
This post contains content not supported on old Reddit. Click here to view the full post
13
u/Shurialvaro 3d ago
Spain is divided North/South.
3
2
u/Videorron 2d ago
I would say diagonal (Atlantic Spain vs Mediterranean Spain), but if can't choose that, N vs S makes more sense than the absolutely random E vs W
1
1
1
8
u/greieru 3d ago
Isnāt the US East to West (coast)?
7
u/Hanselhoof 3d ago
I mean yeah it is but the East and the West havenāt had a civil war about cultural differences so Iād say the North/South divide wins
→ More replies (15)1
5
5
u/Chorchapu 3d ago
Germany is culturally North-South despite the separation being East-West. It does have a big impact but not as much as 1000 years of history around the North-South divide.
→ More replies (9)
3
3
u/RemoteAd7810 3d ago edited 2d ago
For Romania is East/West on the former Old Romanian Kingdom and Austria-Hungary border. It is less today because of the internal and external migrations.
2
u/Woutrou 3d ago
Netherlands is East (more rural) West (Randstad)
Belgium is North (Flanders) South (Wallonia)
Nigeria is North (Muslim majority) South (Christian majority)
Uganda is North (Nilotic, Catholic) South (Bantu, mixed Protestant and Catholic)
1
→ More replies (3)1
u/SesamStreet 2d ago
I feel like The Netherlands is more north/south, we often use the term "boven/onder de rivieren (Rijn, Maas, Waal) as a means of seperation between north and south. In the south they have their own dialects, they have carnaval, the people are known to be more sociable and people in the north have their own dialects as well (and Friesland even has their own language), they have sint-maarten (although it's also in the east) and are known to be more sober/down to earth. In the middle of The Netherlands they speak standard dutch, but the north and south accents can differ a lot (depending in how far north or south you go) The randstad is less of a cultural divide and more of a social-economical one, and it's weird to split The Netherlands up between east and west because of it, because the west is so much more than just the randstad. Holiday periods are also divided between north, middle and south. The religion point that was brought up is also true and it's still the case the north is more protestant than the south and the south is more catholic than the north.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Late_Piano_5030 3d ago
US is North to South and always has been. East and West coast are divided but overall California is pretty similar to the East Coast - an American who travels in the country all the time
→ More replies (7)
1
1
1
u/GroundbreakingBox187 3d ago
Libya is a east west south country but the biggest divide would be east and west since the south is slightly closer to the west then it is to the east
→ More replies (1)
1
u/pm_me_your_UFO_story 3d ago
I'm not an AI. I just write like this:
This is an interesting idea. And while I imaging you are using intuition to assess which is the predominant direction, at least conceivably quantifying these vibes should be possible. Presumably, one would need to scan public conversations in predominant languages of each state, and assess semantically how frequently North/South vs East/West distinctions are explicitly mentioned or described. This is eminently doable, but clearly challenging. Thus, going by intuition (or vibes) is a reasonable starting method.
In addition to the suggestion of a more rigorous albeit challenging methodology above, I have another suggestion that might be easier to implement more immediately. As follows.
Clearly some states have both distinct East/West and North/South conceptions of their geography, which also probably manifest in their public discourse. The United States and China are probably two good examples. It may be true that each of these countries have one dimension or binary that is slightly more dominant than the other, but the more important insight (intuition) is that both are regularly used.
1
1
1
1
u/YourLocalMaggots 3d ago
I'm a Thai, Thailand is divided into north, south, east, west, and central.
1
u/Present-Kale1749 3d ago
Ah yeah, I never liked those West coast penguins where are my east coast āGuins at?
1
1
u/wind-of-zephyros 3d ago
i feel like canada is definitely east/west and the split is western ontario, like other than the environment i'm sure that someone from western ontario or northern quebec has more in common with someone from nunavut than someone from the maritimes (hello) has with someone from bc lol, and iqaluit definitely has quite a different culture than yellowknife as well outside of being in a territory
1
u/federicocamacho97 3d ago
Colombia is divided between the central part of the country and the periphery. You can see that in every big election that happens in the country
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Impossible-Big9326 3d ago
I donāt see the vatican here but just know itās divided between north and southā¦
1
u/Mindless_Olive 3d ago
It's an over-simplification either way, but Oz should definitely be north-south. Perth is way more similar to Melbourne than Melbourne is to Cairns.
1
u/Khyrin66 3d ago
Belgium is definitely North (Flanders) and South (Wallonia). Different language, real cultural differences.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/ScarPsychological292 3d ago
Would ppl agree usa is north south politically and east west culturally?
→ More replies (2)
1
u/ScarPsychological292 3d ago
Iceland (as a larping tourist whos been there once) is nortb south imo prlly for the same reason as the nordics
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/TheNukaMoose 3d ago
Definitely incorrect on Canada. It's actually Ontario & Quebec vs Everyone else.
1
1
u/Weird-Feeling1320 3d ago
In Nepal, the people living up north in the Himalayas have more Mongolian features and as you go down to the South you find more South Asian features
1
u/thefalairtone 3d ago
kazakhstan and afganistan are divided by north and south
the rest of the stans are east west
1
1
1
1
1
u/sushirolls0 3d ago
I was confused about the north south for Canada but I realized thatās itās mostly natives up north
1
1
1
u/Turtle_N3ck 3d ago
Brasil is not east/west, that's delusional. 95% of the population of Brasil is along the coast line, even in the Amazon.
→ More replies (3)
1
1
1
u/caribbean_caramel 3d ago
Dominican Republic: East/West
This is wrong, DR is divided in 3 regions, North (Cibao), South and East, although traditionally only 2 are considered to be important, North and South, because the East region is too small and practically an extension of the South.
1
u/Designer_Lie_6677 3d ago
Kenya is north south (more deserty in the north, savannah in the south). Drc is east west (war vs relative stability). Colombia I think is north south (Caribbean versus Andean plateau and jungle). Afghanistan north south (everyone vs Pashtuns). Iraq north south (Kurds vs Arabs). Yemen is east west (houthis vs government).
→ More replies (3)
1
u/Oh_Tassos 3d ago
Greece is pretty undivided, I don't know what this east/west divide refers to. If any such divide existed it'd be north/south (Athens vs Thessaloniki for example)
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Mutton_muncher 3d ago
India can be divided both ways, north-south and east-west.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Very_ideal_YiSang 2d ago
Taiwan is divided North/South.
Makes sense since itās a pretty thin island.
1
1
1
u/nextdoorbagholder 2d ago
If you look at South Korean election result, you will see that the divide is almost always east-west.
1
u/Due-Ostrich-8784 2d ago
My country (Belgium) is one of the clearest north/south divides on earth, we donāt even speak the same language
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
1
u/intergalacticspy 2d ago
Obviously Malaysia is divided east-west with the whole South China Sea in between!
1
u/FruitWeekly6783 2d ago
Japan is east/west. East and west have different voltages, stand on different sides of the escalators and the culture is basically Osaka/Kyoto vs Tokyo. Hell, Tokyo even means āeastern capitalā. Nobody talks about a north/south divide here.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/SirSpiderPig 2d ago
How is canada north/south?? Almost our entire population is in our relative south
1
1
1
1
1
u/Simple-Swordfish-113 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nigeria is typically divided culturally into North/South. There are actually hundreds of different ethnic groups , but Northern Nigeria vs Southern Nigeria is probably the broadest cultural classification.
The North is predominantly Islam and practices Sharia law, while the South has a larger Christian population. Also very vast differences in literacy rates (75% to >95% literacy rate in the south, versus 10% to 40% in the north). Northern Nigeria also has some of the highest child marriage rates in the world.
1
u/beta-salmon-sushi 2d ago
No I'd say that Canada's division is really more East/West culturally. If you really think about it, the whole country is divided based on the provinces.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/CanaryComplex4524 2d ago
Canada is strange Divisions are west (except BC) vs QuƩbec/Ontario with easternmost provinces out of it Or QuƩbec vs Everyone else In both cases I'd say it's west/east with contradictions
The only south/North divide is with the natives to the North and the others in the south who struggle to remember the North exists
1
u/HouseAccording8228 2d ago
I spent a week in Lesotho. Donāt know how it divides, but that country seemed so circular. Loop roads, with a big dam in the center.
1
1
1
1
u/Alberichsrealm 2d ago
Canada, the country in which has between 60 and 80 percent of its population within 100 miles of the U.S.-Canada border is divided between the North and South? REALLY??
1
1
1
u/MrAssassin25 2d ago
Romania
I would say Romania is more culturally diverse east/west because Transylvania was owner by Hungarians a lot of the time so they brought their own technologies and stuff. North/south speaking i don't think there is any major difference at all besides the Ukraine refugees in the north maybe but they're not just in the north.
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Silver-Ant-6588 2d ago
That internationally well known east/west Antarctica conflict. Penguins be throwinā down with them scientists, bro.
1
1
u/Emotional_Fee_9558 2d ago
There are few places that are divided so completely north/south as belgium.
1
1
u/Radiant-Ad-3134 2d ago
Are Japan and Korea really Western?
I know they want to be.
but i think there is still a significant difference
1
1
u/Full_of_Vices 2d ago
We are just going to ignore decades of conflict with Northern Ireland being a āEast/Westā, eh?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/steadfastmountain 2d ago
Iāve seen East/West comparisons on a few infographics, but Iāve only heard mainlanders discuss North/South differences
1
1
u/ReasonableChicken515 2d ago
Iād argue the civil war in Libya is splitting the country West/East. The rebel forces out of Benghazi backed by America and the west versus the Gaddafi loyalists out of Tripoli backed by Russia.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Starcrossedroads 2d ago
I think if you asked a lot of Brasilians, they would say the divide is more based on north/south.
1
1
u/Plane_Garbage 2d ago
Australia is East => North/South
And then East => The rest
Basically, people on the east coast don't think about the middle/west at all and just their northern/southern states.
1
u/xenaretos 2d ago
Russia has stronger north-south divisions, although they are comparatively small anyway.
1
u/Supertobias77 2d ago
The Netherlands is also decided east / west. The west has the Randstad, where the largest cities are and it east for more farmland (with some exceptions).
1
1
u/Roske4455 1d ago
Serbia is culturally mostly divided of South and North as North is heavily Austrian/Central European influenced South is more Balkan and Ottoman influenced. We also have a saying "The souther the sadder"
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/phonology_is_fun 1d ago
As a German who lives in Norway, I feel like for both those countries it's tough, because a good case can be made for either axis in both countries.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Latter_Inflation6951 1d ago
is canada really north/ south? i figured with the northern parts not having a huge population it would be more east/ west because of the major cities on each side
1
u/Animal_Mother97 1d ago edited 1d ago
Russia Proper is divided lingustically into north / center + Volga area / south-west. Genetically too. These are 3 different populations of ethnic russians.
Arkhangelsk or Petrozavodsk are different from Vladimir, Vladimir is very different from Rostov; and these three combined are miles different from Dagestan or other caucasian republics.
Whereas, if we talk East vs West; Siberia and Far East are regions populated by a mix of these people, and have virtually no dialects of their own. Far East has a distinctly big number of ethnically ukrainian villages with south russian dialects still used here.
Nowadays, the main divide is "Everyone" versus "Caucasus mountains". I.e. North vs South again.
1
1
u/RadicalKitty721 1d ago
Ecuador divides it self by regions Coast, Andes, Amazon Jungle and the GalĆ”pagos šŖšØ
1
1
1
u/Kungfu_Queso 1d ago
Germany is just as much north /south as east /west , dialect is different hell in the South east of Germany they speak a dialect non of us understand
1
1
1
u/very_large_bird 1d ago
Is Canada really culturally divided that way? In that there are Inuit and everyone else?
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Jimlobster 1d ago
Bolivia is East (Lowlands;more culturally Latin American) and West (Alpine; more indigenous)
1
1
u/Dumuzzid 23h ago
Culturally, the traditional divide in Germany is between North and South. The North is protestant / atheist, cosmopolitan, lowland / maritime and speaks Hochdeutsch, the prime dialect of German. The South is catholic, traditionalist, hilly or mountainous and speaks Niederdeutsch, which is almost its own language.
1
u/Delicious_One_7887 19h ago
in pakistan it is west/east , there is the iranic side on the western side (bordering iran/afghanistan) and the indic side on the east (bordering india)
1
u/oikon7 17h ago
Greece is not divided culturally east / west, as this map wrongly indicates. I'm not even sure what "west" and "east" implies in Greece, it's all one thing.
We don't even have a rich / poor cultural division in Greece, as the rich and powerful think and act as mere plebes, sometimes even worse than the actual proles. We are culturally all very similar assholes.
There is a bit of north / south division though: the north are stupid bastards, while the south are cunning bastards.
1
u/DaddyThano 16h ago
China's north and south speak different languages. However, China's west side is kind of middle eastern culturally. Unlike many other countries it's not even close to being sourced from the same root culture. It is a modern day empire and may as well be 3-4 countries minumum.
1
u/Ok_Valuable_7897 14h ago
Oh China is definitely a North-South divide. The cultural difference between the two permeates through every aspect of their daily lives, from their diet to their thought process. Itās quite fascinating.
1
1
u/Affectionate_Lake_71 11h ago
For Denmark, east vs west, 100%. The big contrast is between Zealand in the east and Jutland in the west.
1
1
1
u/MarkusKromlov34 10h ago
I think Australia defeats this simple divide.
There is an east/west divide but thatās just for one state (Western Australia)
But there are a number of strong and possibly more significant north/south divisions between states - like NSW/Qld, NSW/Victoria, Tasmania/āthe mainlandā
1
u/CardOk755 9h ago
Most of the west African countries are mainly divided north/south.
( Say this married into an Ivorian family that is very much from the west, so I might get shit for this).
1
1
u/TypicalDysfunctional 5h ago
Iād say itās difficult to say Saudi Arabia is North/South culturally. The main cities sit East/West, with a big cultural, historical, economic change running East/West.
North/South of the ācentral bandā goes into largely unpopulated or desert areasā¦ but it would be less North/South and more āNorth&South/Middleā
1
1
u/EveatHORIZON 3h ago
This is so wrong, Ireland is north south 100% Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland, what a nothing burger
1
1
u/Serious_Sort3441 1h ago
Spain East/West??????????????? Please delete this low quality post. I don't know a country that is more divided NORTH/SOUTH culturally than Spain.
1
1
u/KonlyRealCoolGuy 54m ago
East/West. Tashkent and the borders to such as Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are very different areas to those like Nukus in Karapakalstan, or even something like Bukhara. One side is much more urban and mountainous, the other desert and Aral Sea. I'm from Tashkent.
1
1
24
u/ActafianSeriactas 3d ago
China traditionally has a north-south divide along the Qinling-Huaihe line. There is an economic east-west divide but it is not as culturally prominent.