Sunday, January 1, 2012

Snap Shot Demographics

I found some quick statistics and demographics on the Philippines that can help paint a picture of the country. This is from Index Mundi's profile on the Philippines for 2011:
Population
101,833,938 (July 2011 est.) 
Age structure
0-14 years: 34.6% (male 17,999,279/female 17,285,040)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 31,103,967/female 31,097,203)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,876,805/female 2,471,644) (2011 est.) 
Median age
total: 22.9 years
male: 22.4 years
female: 23.4 years (2011 est.) 
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 71.66 years
male: 68.72 years
female: 74.74 years (2011 est.) 
Population growth rate
1.903% (2011 est.) 
Net migration rate
-1.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.) 
Urbanization
urban population: 49% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.) 
Nationality
noun: Filipino(s)
adjective: Philippine 
Ethnic groups
Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census) 
Religions
Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census) 
Languages
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan 
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6%
male: 92.5%
female: 92.7% (2000 census) 
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
total: 12 years
male: 12 years
female: 12 years (2008) 
Education expenditures
2.8% of GDP (2008) 
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
20.7% (2003) 
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
4.3% (2003)
My own quick observations from the stats above:

I think the contrast between underweight children under the age of 5 years old (20.7%) and the obesity rate in adults (4.3%) is rather interesting. Particularly in contrast to America where the obesity rates in both children and adults are rather high. Is it the Filipino diet and/or poverty that keeps the rate of children underweight high? How does the growing influence of American fast food and availability affect child nutrition after the age of 5 years old?

It's also interesting to see that 49% of the population lives in an urban center. Poor rural families are gradually moving into the urban city where resources are more readily available. What kind of resources are needed in rural areas? What kind of infrastructure is needed to provide for the sufficient needs of rural farm communities?

I also thought the age structure statistics was interesting. I would have expected high percentages of seniors over the age of 65 years old. Was there ever a baby boom in the Philippines like there was in the U.S. after WWII?

No comments:

Post a Comment