I have a neighbor who knows 200 types of wine. … I only know two types of wine — red and white. But my neighbor only knows two types of countries — industrialized and developing. And I know 200.

Rosling contrasts trivial expertise (fine distinctions among wines) with the oversimplified way many people categorize the world. The neighbor’s binary view—“industrialized” versus “developing”—mirrors a common mental model in which most countries are lumped into a single, backward “developing” category. By claiming he “knows 200” countries, Rosling argues for granular, data-informed understanding: nations differ widely in health, income, education, and demographics, and these differences matter for policy and for how we interpret global progress. The line also satirizes misplaced priorities: we often cultivate nuance where it is socially rewarded, while accepting crude stereotypes about global realities.