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Somalia (Capital: Mogadishu) Vs. Philippines (Capital: Manila)

Area and population

Philippines has an area of 300,000 km2 and a population of 97,703,638 while

Somalia has an area of 637,657 km2 and a population of 10,085,638. Philippines is

smaller country than Somalia but it has a larger population.

Government

In terms in government, Philippines is a unitary presidential constitutional

republic while Somalia is a federal parliamentary republic. The President of the

Philippines is Benigno Aquino III and in Somalia is President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud

and their Prime Minister is Abdi Farah Shirdon.

Economy

The national economy of the Philippines is the 40th largest in the world, with

an estimated 2012 gross domestic product (nominal) of $250.436 billion. Primary

exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment,

garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruits. Major

trading partners include the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea,

the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. Its unit of currency is

the Philippine peso ( or PHP).

According to the CIA and the Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing

civil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on

livestock, remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications. Due to a

dearth of formal government statistics and the recent civil war, it is difficult to gaugethe size or growth of the economy.

Geography

In Philippines, most of the mountainous islands are covered in tropical

rainforest and volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount Apo. The Galathea

Depth in the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third

deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea. The longest river is

the Cagayan River in northern Luzon. Manila Bay, upon the shore of which the

capital city of Manila lies, is connected to Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the

Philippines, by the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf, and the Moro Gulf are

other important bays. The San Juanico Strait separates the islands of Samar and

Leyte but it is traversed by the San Juanico Bridge.

Somalia has the longest coastline on the mainland. Somalia has only two

permanent rivers, the Jubba and the Shabele, both of which begin in the Ethiopian

Highlands. These rivers mainly flow southwards, with the Jubba River entering the

Indian Ocean at Kismayo. The Shabele River at one time apparently used to enter

the sea near Merca, but now reaches a point just southwest of Mogadishu. After

that, it consists of swamps and dry reaches before finally disappearing in the desert

terrain east of Jilib, near the Jubba River.

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Religion

The Philippines is a secular nation having a constitution separating the state and

church. However, more than 90% of the population are Christians: about 80% belong

to the Roman Catholic Church while 10% belong to other Christian denominations,

such as the Iglesia ni Cristo, the Philippine Independent Church, United Church ofChrist in the, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Between 5% and 10% of the population are

Muslim, most of whom live in parts of Mindanao, Palawan, and the Sulu Archipelago

an area known as Bangsamoro or the Moro region.

Most Somalis are Muslims, the majority belonging to the Sunni branch of Islam and

the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, although some are adherents of the Shia

Muslim denomination.

Culture and Society Philippines

The culture of the Philippines reflects the country's complex history. It is a blend of the

Malayo-Polynesian and Hispanic cultures, with influences from Chinese.

The Philippines was first settled by Melanesians; today, although few in numbers, they

preserve a very traditional way of life and culture. After them, the Austronesians or

more specifically, Malayo-Polynesians, arrived on the islands. Today the Austronesian

culture is very evident in the ethnicity, language, food, dance and almost every

aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with China, India,

Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, the Middle East, Borneo, and other places. As a result,

those cultures have also left a mark on Filipino culture.

The Spanish colonized the islands and after more than three centuries of colonization

have heavily impacted the culture. The Philippines being governed from bothMexico and Spain, had received a fair bit of Hispanic influence. Mexican and

Spanish influence can be seen in dance and religion as well as many other aspects

of the culture. After being colonized by Spain, the Philippines became a U.S. territory

for about 40 years. Influence from the United States is seen in the wide use of the

English language, and the modern pop culture.

The cultural diffusion of Somali commercial enterprise can be detected in its exotic

cuisine, which contains Southeast Asian influences. Due to the Somali people's

passionate love for and facility with poetry, Somalia has often been referred to by

scholars as a "Nation of Poets" and a "Nation of Bards" including, among others, the

Canadian novelist Margaret Laurence. Somalis have a story telling tradition.

Somalis have a rich musical heritage that is centered on traditional Somali folklore.

Most Somali songs are pentatonic; that is, they only use five pitches per octave in

contrast to a heptatonic (seven note) scale such as the major scale.

Somali art is the artistic culture of the Somali people, both historic and

contemporary. These include artistic traditions in pottery, music, architecture, wood

carving and other genres. Somali art is characterized by its aniconism, partly as a

result of the vestigial influence of the pre-Islamic mythology of the Somalis coupled

with their ubiquitous Muslim beliefs.