Core countries

In world systems theory, the core countries are the industrialized capitalist or imperialist countries, which depend on appropriation from peripheral countries and semi-peripheral countries.^[1] Core countries control and benefit from the global market. They are usually recognized as wealthy states with a wide variety of resources and are in a favorable location compared to other states. They have strong state institutions, a powerful military and powerful global political alliances.

Core countries do not always stay core permanently. Throughout history, core states have been changing, and new ones have been added to the core list. The most influential countries in the past have been what would be considered core.^{[clarification needed]} These were the Asian, Indian and Middle Eastern empires in the ages up to the 16th century; prominently India and China which were the richest regions in the world until the European powers took the lead, although the major Asian powers such as China were still very influential in the region. Europe remained ahead of the pack until the 20th century, when the two World Wars were disastrous for the European economies. It was then that the victorious United States and Soviet Union, up to late 1980s, became the two hegemons, creating a bipolar world order. The heart of the core countries^{[clarification needed]} consists of the United States, Canada, most of Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. The population of the core is on average by far the wealthiest and best educated on the planet.