Urbanisation et développement en république des Philippines

Abstract

In an international context, urbanization in the Philippines seems to be an important and rapidly growing phenomenon. A brief analysis is given of the official definition of urban populations and also of the different types of urban settlements : chartered cities, provincial capitals and municipalities. Front this study, a series of 137 towns comes out, regardless of their administrative status, with at least 40 000 inhabitants, and a density of population well above the national average. Metro Manila dominates heavily over the urban hierarchy, with a primacy index of 3.36. Beyond Manila, the country comprises six large cities, twenty one intermediate and one hundred and nine small towns. Their geographic distribution is related to some historical factors, but mainly to the unsteady policies of development set forth by the succeeding govemments. During the Spanish and especially the American colonial rule, the Philippines were utilized as a source of raw materials and as an outlet for industrial products. Since independence, in 1946, serious efforts were under-taken to develop industries of substitution, mostly in the area of Manila and of the surrounding provinces. Consequently the urban network has been profoundly transformed. With a rate of natural increase of more than 25 ‰, demography adds a heavy burden to the economic problems of today. The population is young, generally well educated and qualified, nevertheless the future is far from being bright. During the last years of Marcos' era, employment has become scarce, real wages have dropped nearly fifty percent, external debt has climbed to unprecedented hights, insecurity has spread in many parts of the country, cronism and corruption have been utilized as a means of government. The question remains as to know the prospects, hopes and fears the recently appointed authorities may have, in matter of economic recovery and settlement of social problems.