By: Joseph Seabra
According to the WorldOMeters population counter the Philippines currently has a population size of approximately 108.5 million people, which makes up around 1.4% of the total global population (2019). Though a major focus is that the Philippines population density is 939 people per square mile which is quite small when compared to other countries in Southeast Asia whose population densities can range into the thousands (2019). This can be attributed to the countries slow development, and declining birth rates when it was a territory of the United States, as it seems that their infrastructure is now developing more rapidly. But this population density also could be considered quite dense when compared to the United States which at the end of 2018 has an estimated population density of around 93 people per square mile (Duffin, 2018). A countries population density can indicate quite a lot of information, and assumptions regarding that country’s economic and infrastructural standing, with many third world countries having very large population densities, whereas more developed countries have quite smaller population densities.
According to the WorldOMeters population counter the Philippines currently has a population size of approximately 108.5 million people, which makes up around 1.4% of the total global population (2019). Though a major focus is that the Philippines population density is 939 people per square mile which is quite small when compared to other countries in Southeast Asia whose population densities can range into the thousands (2019). This can be attributed to the countries slow development, and declining birth rates when it was a territory of the United States, as it seems that their infrastructure is now developing more rapidly. But this population density also could be considered quite dense when compared to the United States which at the end of 2018 has an estimated population density of around 93 people per square mile (Duffin, 2018). A countries population density can indicate quite a lot of information, and assumptions regarding that country’s economic and infrastructural standing, with many third world countries having very large population densities, whereas more developed countries have quite smaller population densities.
Due to the United States holding
the Philippines as a territory for close to 40 years the influence of the
American education structure can be seen within the education system of the
Philippines. Though the major difference is that the primary education of
students in the Philippines is much shorter, lasting around 6 years compared to
the typical 8 in the United States (Macha, Mackie, Mazinger, 2018). The
completion of a formal education is very divided in the Philippines with
developed parts of the country having a completion rate of close to 100%, while
other parts of the country having primary education completion rates below 70% (Macha,
Mackie, Mazinger, 2018). When looking at the geography of the country it
becomes evident as to why this could be occurring; with the country being
divided into multiple small islands it is evident that the implementation and
control of a formal school system may not be feasible.
The current economy of the
Philippines seems to be doing quite well with a low unemployment rate of 2.4%,
along with a relatively low inflation rate of 3.2% as stated by The Heritage
Foundation (2019). According to The Heritage Foundations website on the current
economy of the Philippines this can be attributed to the countries “ambitious
state-funded infrastructure projects”; which although good for the countries
infrastructure have been seen as a way to shift focus on “domestic issues” (2019).
Though something that was quite interesting to see was that the country’s
political powers do seem to have a low level of government integrity, and it
does seem as if the Philippines limits entrepreneurship within the country to
hold greater control of businesses by the government.
The Philippines which by many would
be considered economically sound, may not have many economic barriers to the
implementation and development of new technologies within the country. This
lack of technological hinderance is evident in the country’s visible growth
towards a developed country. The country has developed significant
infrastructural projects to advance the country towards one that is more
developed, and with a growing infrastructure, a growth of technology is likely
to follow. Though the major hinderance towards an advancement in technology
within the Philippines may eventually be caused by the countries increased
control of individuals businesses, which in turn would causes a lack of
entrepreneurship that could affect the country’s technological growth.
References
Duffin, E. (2018). Population
density of the United States from 1790 to 2018 in residents per square mile of
land area. In Statista. Retrieved September 3, 2019, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/183475/united-states-population-density/
Macha, Mackie, Mazinger. (2018). Education
in the Philippines. In WENR: World Education News+Reviews. Retrieved September
3, 2019, from https://wenr.wes.org/2018/03/education-in-the-philippines
(2019). Philippines Population
(Live). In Worldometers. Retrieved September 3, 2019, from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/philippines-population/
(2019). 2019 Index of Economic
Freedom: Philippines. In Heritage.org. Retrieved September 3, 2019, from https://www.heritage.org/index/country/philippines
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