Geography of the Philippines essay Essay

geographicsGeography and climate have always had in truth potent effects on culture. Geography, or the study of relationships among pile and locations on Earth, truly often shapes the way stack live and interact with each new(prenominal). Climate, or the prevailing weather patterns all over cartridge clip of a part, excessively has drastic effects on society and cultures, and these statements atomic number 18 specially true in the mho eastside Asian soil of the Filipinos.The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago, or chain of is drops, dictated off the s starth-eastern seashore of Asia. Consisting of over 7,000 volcanic islands with a native Australian land area of in force(p)ly 300,000 full-blooded kilometers (approximately the size of Arizona), islands of the Philippines are predominantly unsmooth except for densely populated coastal plains on larger islands. The sylvan is located over the Philippine Trench, a musical musical scale tectonic bou ndary which forms part of the beleaguer of Fire (see chromo al just close mapping 2).The Ring of Fire, a region closely associated with volcanic and quake legal action, lends a heavy influence to volcanic activity on the islands of the Philippines ( wiz such mannikin is Mount Pinatubo, a very sprightly volcano on the island of Luzon. See Map 1 for location of Luzon). The geography al first-class honours degrees for some cultural distribution, Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity all reached the islands by the middle 117th century although there are still places that are extremely isolated to the elevation of having no electricity7 at all and primal methods of life.The climate of the Republic of the Philippines is a fervid and moist one. Affected by a northeast monsoon from November to April and a southwest monsoon from whitethorn to October, tippy winds and inhibit rainfall die hard the climate patterns of the nation. Approximately nineteen portion of Filipino land is arable, the second approximately in the region of South atomic number 99 Asia. As shown in the Arable repose chart, the lonesome(prenominal) orbit turn up the Philippines with to a greater extent farmland is Thailand with over thirty percent arable land. The warm weather and moist monsoons al low-down for growth of the nations main crops sugar, and rice. Although only 19% of the land is farmable there is plenty forest and constant crop space for exporting bullion crops and lumber, as is shown inPhilippine shore up Us get on pie chart. Forty-six percent of the archipelago is cover with forests for loggers to cut and sell at levelheaded rates to give the economic system a boost.Social IssuesThe Philippines have seen a tranquilize increase in universe over the last 40 years. Since 1960, when the cosmos was over 27 million (see Philippines Population oer Time bar line chart), the nation has seen a steady increase of about 10 million citizens per year. In 2001, the popul ation rose to over 82.8 million, an increase of over 20 million stack in just over ten years, probably because of an increase in the abundance of jobs in the area of labor and function. Since labor be were cut in 1992 due to a sluggish economic system the population skyrocketed because state could now find jobs in factories and markets because of a foreign interest in hiring punk laborers.Over 95% of the Filipino population are of Malay decent, while the early(a) five percent is chiefly people of Chinese ethnicity, as is shown in the pagan demographic pie chart. The dominant religion is papistical Catholicism, followed by Protestant and Islam (see Religious Demographic chart). All of the popular philosophies in the Philippines came as a result of cultural diffusion from new(prenominal) areas, there is a very small minority that practice native beliefs to the region.The Philippines have a stable educational system, with free aiming for children ages 7-12 years and one of the highest literacy rates of all the nations in South East Asia. According to the chart title 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 required for all children who are citizens of the Philippines.Medical engine room is another strongpoint in the Philippine society. support deaths are the lowest among dwell countries shown in the Aids Deaths chart, with under 2000 aids deaths to date. This shows advancements in medicine and modernized facilities for people to be treated. There is onehospital get laid available for every 860 people, and a medical student for every 849 people. These ratios are very severe for the region, attached countries are no where near that equipped for the care of ill people. policy-making IssuesThe Republic of the Philippines is, as stated, a republic. The bespeak of State is an elected president. The ground is divide into 73 prov inces under one Union, as illustrated in Map 3, though only the 55 largest provinces are shown since the others are not visible to the maps scale. The national capital is Manila on the island of Luzon. There are approximately 150,000 ready defense troops stationed in the country for various purposes. The only government-recognized official languages are Filipino and English. A universal natural law of suffrage grants anyone 18 years of age or older the right to voting on elected officials and any other deeds requiring a majority voting from the public. The government is stable and reliable to citizens, with a sturdy court system ground on Spanish and American concepts and an decision maker branch that enforces laws efficiently.EconomyThe Filipino economy is ground strongly on services and labor, as is shown in the chart for Philippine GDP Sector Composition. The sectors for floriculture and industry are both less(prenominal) than the services sector, showing that the economy relies hard on services. Labor in the country is cheap , and rates are low for foreign businesses wishing to hire out production of verticals.The agricultural division of the economy has a strong influence, also. The chief bills crops are rice and sugar, both of which are grown on coastal plains on most of the islands in the archipelago. Farmland is limit to the deep coastal plains because of the generally mountainous terrain the islands have from their volcanic origins. Two warm and wet monsoons fertilize soil and sponsor crops grow in the fertile flatlands near the coast. Main minerals mined in the region are cobalt, copper, and iron ore, all ofwhich are exported at fair rates.Industry is doing head 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 great deal of pharmaceuticals are also produced in the Philippines. commitation 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 near 300 national airports, they have more than doubled the amount of any neighboring South East Asian country. Transport by air and sea is to a great extent relied upon, since the country has so many water system 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 move about, domestically or when migrating to other countries.Summary of StatusThe Republic of the Philippines is a stable country built on a solid government and fair economy. Faith in the governing eubstance 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 sprinkle population. Aside from extemporaneous volcanic activity and some tsunami action because of its location on the Ring of Fire, climatic conditions a re just to most 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 embody in the nation. Medical and educational systems are both very stable and advanced, with low death-at-birth- rates and abundant hospital space, on with a mandatory and free school system for children.All things considered, the Philippines are doing unwrap than most South East Asian nations that neighbor the archipelago. With a well-balanced scale of politics, economy, and society, capped off with a mainly beneficial geographic setting, the Republic of the Philippines is doing smash than most South East Asiannations in transportation technology, medical practice, arable and farmed land, forestry, and countless other areas of the countrys array of economic and social areas. With good population growth an d even mitigate projected growth, the Philippines should endure years of moderate prosperity in the future based on everything mentioned above.