Geography of the Philippines essay Essay

geographyGeography and modality use up always had truly manly effects on culture. Geography, or the line of business of relationships between spate and locations on Earth, very often shapes the way people lodge and interact with each early(a). Climate, or the paramount weather patterns either all all oer time of a neighbourhood, also has drastic effects on society and cultures, and these statements ar especially authentic in the southwestern due east Asian nation of the Philippines.The land of the Philippines is an archipelago, or reach of is republics, located off the south-eastern coast of Asia. Consisting of over 7,000 vol behindic islands with a total land orbital cavity of nearly three hundred,000 squ be kilometers (approximately the surface of Arizona), islands of the Philippines are predominantly mountainous boot out for densely populated coastal plains on larger islands. The arena is located over the Philippine Trench, a plate architectonic bounda ry which forms bug out of the sound of discharge (see Map 2).The Ring of Fire, a region closely associated with volcanic and earthquake practise, lends a heavy influence to volcanic activity on the islands of the Philippines (one such example is stack Pinatubo, a very active release on the island of Luzon. See Map 1 for location of Luzon). The geography accommodates for more or less ethnic diffusion, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity all reached the islands by the mid 117th coke although at that place are still places that are extremely isolated to the point of having no electricity7 at all and primitive methods of life.The temper of the land of the Philippines is a stiff and moist one. Affected by a northeasterly monsoon from November to April and a southwest monsoon from May to October, warm winds and moderate rainfall dominate the mood patterns of the nation. Approximately nineteen percent of Philippine land is tillable, the second nearly in the region of South East Asia. As shown in the Arable Land chart, the besides country near the Philippines with more nation area is Thailand with over thirty percent arable land. The warm weather and moist monsoons allow for dumbfoundth of the nations main harvests sugar, and rice. Although still 19% of the land is farmable there is plenty forest and permanent crop space for exporting cash crops and lumber, as is shown in Philippine Land enjoyment pie chart. Forty-six percent of the archipelago is covered with forests for loggers to separatrix and sell at reasonable pass judgment to give the economy a boost. brotherly IssuesThe Philippines guide seen a steady improver in tribe over the go 40 years. Since 1960, when the population was over 27 million (see Philippines Population anyplace clipping bar line chart), the nation has seen a steady sum up of about 10 million citizens per year. In 2001, the population bloom to over 82.8 million, an increase of over 20 million people in in effect(p) over ten years, probably because of an increase in the abundance of jobs in the area of lug and work. Since labor costs were tailor-make in 1992 due to a tedious economy the population skyrocketed because people could directly find jobs in factories and markets because of a contradictory interest in hiring inexpensive laborers.Over 95% of the Filipino population are of Malay decent, while the other fivesome percent is mainly people of Chinese ethnicity, as is shown in the Ethnic demographic pie chart. The dominant religion is Roman Catholicism, followed by Protestant and Islam (see Religious Demographic chart). on the whole of the popular philosophies in the Philippines came as a result of cultural diffusion from other areas, there is a very down(p) minority that practice native beliefs to the region.The Philippines ache a steadfast educational arrangement, with palliate schooling for children ages 7-12 years and one of the highest literacy order of all the nations in South East Asia. According to the chart titled Literacy, the Philippines have a rate of literacy (94.6% among people over 15 years of age) challenged only by those of Thailand and Vietnam. Schooling is also mandatory for all children who are citizens of the Philippines.Medical technology is some other strongpoint in the Philippine society. help deaths are the lowest among live countries shown in the Aids Deaths chart, with under 2000 aids deaths to date. This shows advancements in medicate and modernized facilities for people to be treated. in that location is one hospital bed gettable for every 860 people, and a physician for every 849 people. These ratios are very unsloped for the region, liveing countries are no where near that weaponed for the care of ill people.Political IssuesThe Republic of the Philippines is, as stated, a republic. The Head of invoke is an elected president. The country is divided into 73 provinces under one Union, as illustrated in Map 3, though only the 55 largest provinces are shown since the others are non visible to the maps scale. The bailiwick capital is Manila on the island of Luzon. in that location are approximately 150,000 active defence reaction troops stationed in the country for heterogeneous purposes. The only presidential term-recognized official languages are Filipino and English. A universal law of voting grants anyone 18 years of age or older the right to vote on elected officials and any other kit and caboodle requiring a majority vote from the public. The government is stable and reliable to citizens, with a rigid court dodging establish on Spanish and American concepts and an executive arm that enforces laws efficiently.EconomyThe Filipino economy is establish strongly on services and labor, as is shown in the chart for Philippine gross domestic product Sector Composition. The sectors for agriculture and manufacture are both(prenominal) less than the services sector, showing t hat the economy relies heavily on services. Labor in the country is cheap , and place are low for unconnected businesses wishing to hire out achievement of goods.The agricultural division of the economy has a strong influence, also. The chief cash crops are rice and sugar, both of which are cock-a-hoop on coastal plains on virtually of the islands in the archipelago. Farmland is restricted to the cabalistic coastal plains because of the generally mountainous terrain the islands have from their volcanic origins. Two warm and irritated monsoons fertilize soil and help crops grow in the fertile flatlands near the coast. main(prenominal) minerals mined in the region are cobalt, copper, and iron ore, all of which are exported at fair rates.Industry is doing well in the Philippines, the main industry for the country is textiles and since labor is cheap and there is a good mineral supply, machinery is not scarce. A heavy(p) deal of pharmaceuticals are also produced in the Phil ippines.Transportation is thriving in the Philippines. The Republic of the Philippines has more Airports than any neighboring nation, as is shown in Number of Airports graph. With al intimately 300 national airports, they have more than multiply the amount of any neighboring South East Asian country. Transport by air and sea is heavily relied upon, since the country has so some water borders. With over 36,289 km of coastline among its 7,000 islands, the archipelago of the Philippines heavily relies on boats and planes to roleplay about, domestically or when migrating to other countries. succinct of StatusThe Republic of the Philippines is a stable country built on a solid government and fair economy. reliance in the governing body is high, and the system of law enforcement and regulations are sturdily based on American and Spanish systems. Geography allows for growth of crops and an evenly dispersed population. past from extemporaneous volcanic activity and some tsunami action because of its location on the Ring of Fire, climatic conditions are dear to almost because of the positive effects on farming and fertilizing soil. Socially, the differences in culture between regions and islands can be great, but for the most part the nation is made up of people with Christian Malay heritage, though many other ethnic groups exist in the nation. Medical and educational systems are both very stable and advanced, with low death-at-birth- rates and abundant hospital space, along with a mandatory and free school system for children.All things considered, the Philippines are doing better than most South East Asian nations that neighbor the archipelago. With a well-balanced scale of politics, economy, and society, cap off with a mainly beneficial geographic setting, the Republic of the Philippines is doing better than most South East Asian nations in transportation technology, medical practice, arable and farmed land, forestry, and unnumerable other areas of the c ountrys part of economic and social areas. With good population growth and even better intercommunicate growth, the Philippines should endure years of moderate prosperity in the future based on everything mentioned above.