The Philippine islands are located in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. Located approximately 500 miles SE of Hong Kong, the archipelago consists of many wondrous natural landscapes and is home to one of the world’s most remote and majestic islands. An important factor to consider in the development of the natural geography is its location on a continental oceanic transform fault crossing a major subduction zone.
A result of the Philippines’ location on these fault lines is the magnificent creation of geologic structures. Developed through volcanic activity on the sea floor beginning around the mid-Oligocene era 30 millions of years ago, the Philippine islands formed as a result of uplift as the Australian continent drifted northward in conjunction to the Asian continental shield drifting southward. This resulted in the creation of the 7107 islands that make up the terraqueous country (Boquet). Despite the numerous islands, only 154 of them are larger than 5 square miles. Due to the archipelagos position on the continental shelf, relatively modern sediments are found in the area. It’s diverse coastal zone is home to many tropical ecosystems to include sandy beaches, rocky headlands, sand dunes, coral reefs, mangroves, sea-grass beds, wetlands, estuaries, and lagoons (Boqet). In the area of Luzon, igneous rocks such as diorites, andesites, diorite intrusions and other granites are buried by tertiary sediments (Manila).
The capital city of Manila is located on an extensive flood plain, resting on alluvial deposits from the Pasig River, a tidal estuary connecting Laguna de Bay to Manila Bay. Manila is characterized as typically flat with a 3.17% gentle slope. Because of the relatively flat elevation, Manila is highly susceptible to flooding (Geology).
In addition to The Philippines’ susceptibility to volcanoes and earthquakes, a high vulnerability factor exists in relation to typhoons. Storms are typically most intense in the summer between June through November and because of this, it is imperative for the Filipino government to work proactively in land-use planning and implementation of effective warning systems. There are four predominant climate types in the Philippines’ based off of the distribution of rainfall. Typhoons typically generate in the Marianas and Caroline Islands region, their movement follows a northwestern direction that makes the southern tip of the Philippines’ prime for agriculture and industrial development (Basconcillo).
98.7% of the Filipino population live on only 20 out the 154 islands. According to the 2019 World Health Bureau’s population data sheet, in mid-2019 the Philippines’ reported a population of 108.1 million people. When observing the percentages of age groups within the population, 31% of Filipinos are ages less than 15 and only 5% of the population are the elderly. The median age between both male and females is 24.1 years, this points to a relatively young population. Approximately 47 percent of the population is urban dwelling which seems to be an issue as many young Filipinos are leaving their agricultural roots in pursuit of work or education in the city (Guzman).
Information compiled on the CIA World Factbook point to
Western Roman Catholic acting as the majority religion for the largest proportion
of people in the Philippines at about 80% of the population. 8.2% make up other
denominations of Protestant, other Christians make up 2.4%, Muslims make up 5.6%,
tribal regions .2%, and other at .1%.
Ethnic groups consist of Tagalog 24.4%, Bisaya/Binisaya 11.4%, Cebuano 9.9%, Ilocano 8.8%, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo 8.4%, Bikol/Bicol 6.8%, Waray 4%, other local ethnicity 26.1%, other foreign ethnicity .1% (2010 est.) (CIA).
In respect to major economic activities, the Philippines is considered to have one of the most dynamic economies in East Asia and the Pacific. Their economic activity is described by some analysts as a “wobble” experiencing periods of growth spurts and rapid decline. (Alburo). In fact, after over 50 years, the average change in GDP has been 4 percent per year. At the end of World War 2, the Philippines experienced one of the highest growth rates in the region. This was most likely due to factors that continue to fuel economic growth today, to include “solid fundamentals, their competitive workforce, stable job market, steady remittances, and investments in the construction sector” (Nordeatrade). However, due to social disparities and inequality among social classes, their economy eventually falls into such economic pitfalls due to factors such as “low investment ratios, low productivity across sectors, low savings conversely high consumption, insufficient infrastructure, market failures, public sector inadequacies including fiscal deficits and insufficient fiscal consolidation, overregulation in industries and sectors, among others.” (Alburo). A direction towards sustainable growth may include a focus on regional and local solutions ranging from conventional policy reformation supporting an accelerated infrastructure, good governance, access to more equitable opportunities such as finance, land, education, health, and other social services in the public sector Alburo).
Currently, due to the COVID-19, GDP growth is expected to fall to 0.6% in 2020 however pick up to 7.6% in 2021 due to post-pandemic global economic recovery. (Nordeatrade).
The Philippines’ primarily exports commodities such as: semiconductors and electronic products, machinery and transport equipment, wood manufactures, chemicals, processed food and beverages, garments, coconut oil, copper concentrates, seafood and fruits. The commodities listed above are primarily exported to Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, and China. In 2017, approximately 28.2 billion was generated in revenue from their exports.
In 2018, GNI (previously
referred to as GNP) reached 3830 USD. Although this points to growth, the rate at
which it is growing is slowly decreasing, as high as 7.1 percent in 2013, to 6.2
percent in 2018. The director general of the National Economic and Development
Authority (NEDA) blames the economy’s slowing performance on agricultural fallbacks
caused by “El Niño, the African Swine Fever outbreak in Luzon, and the budget impasse
in the first quarter of 2019.” (Economy).
Alburo, Florián A. (2015) : Development dynamics in the Philippines historical perspectives: 1950 - 2010, UPSE Discussion Paper, No. 2015-14, University of the Philippines, School of Economics (UPSE), Quezon City. Retrieved April 26, 2020, from https://www.eu-jer.com/EU-JER_9_2_743.pdf. (2020). European Journal of Educational Research, 9(2). doi: 10.12973/eu-jer.9.2.753
Submitted by Suzanne Lopez on 17 Apr 2020.