The 12th Most Populous Country...

is only the 73rd Largest

Such conditions can pose problems to a developing country. This country is the Philippines, a 7,107 island archipelago.


The Philippines is currently undergoing second phase in terms of demographic transitions. This phase can easily be identified in countries that are just beginning to develop. While the Philippines may not be the most developed country in South-East Asia, new advancements in technology are being brought to this country though currently it still suffers from overpopulation.

The Philippines was originally discovered by Ferdinand Magellan, who then claimed the country for Spain. Being an archipelago, it not have as much influence from surrounding neighbors like China as much as a country like Thailand would have. In that sense, the country was not very developed. The country was later named after King Phillip the 2nd.

Spanish control helped keep the Philippines as an entire country. After a many centuries, the Americans gained control of the Philippines, as the country was an important strategical location in World War 2. American influence helped open many public schools in the Philippines, eventually causing the country to become one of the most educated developing countries in the world.

Between 1960 and 1995, the Philippines had one of the highest rates of urban growth in the developing world. At the moment, about 60 percent of the population is urban. However, overall urban growth rates are beginning to slow though development does continue in other parts of the country. The Extended Metro Manila has a population of about 12 million people and is about a third of the total urban population. Urban-based business is one of the main forces contributing to national economic growth, although cities in other neighboring countries are proving to be competition due to them being better organized and having better living conditions.

Such a high economic growth rate does cause imbalances in terms of individual people and their incomes. About 30 percent of the country lives under the national poverty line. Many families in the Philippines are supported heavily by relatives ‘abroad’, or working outside the country.
Like other developing countries, the Philippines will need to be able to pass through the second phase as quickly as possible, in order to reduce backlash from such high population and possible consumption rates.




Sources:

http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/PHILIPPINESEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20771349~menuPK:333013~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:332982,00.html
http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/PHILIPPINESEXTN/0,,menuPK:333013~pagePK:141132~piPK:148560~theSitePK:332982,00.html
http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/PHILIPPINESEXTN/0,,contentMDK:21016342~menuPK:333013~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:332982,00.html
http://www.worldbank.org.ph/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/PHILIPPINESEXTN/0,,menuPK:333013~pagePK:141132~piPK:148560~theSitePK:332982,00.html
Zaide, Gregorio F. and Sonia M. Zaide (2004). Philippine History and Government (6th ed.). All-Nations Publishing Company.
Scott, William Henry. (1994). Barangay: Sixteenth-century Philippine Culture and Society. Ateneo de Manila University Press. p. 6. ISBN 9715501354. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
Spate, Oskar H. K. (1979). "Chapter 4. Magellan's Successors: Loaysa to Urdaneta. Two failures: Grijalva and Villalobos". The Spanish Lake – The Pacific since Magellan, Volume I. Taylor & Francis. p. 97. ISBN 070990049X. Retrieved 2010-01-07.