PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2020

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 11/20 www.petpla.net 25 Young people make up the majority of the Philippines’ population. In 2019, the largest group (62.5%) were 15 to 64-year olds, followed by 32.7% under the age of 15. The average age of the population in 2016 was 23.4. More than 180 different languages are spoken, with Filipino based on the standardised version of Tagalong and English being the country’s official languages. The Philippines is one of the emerging economic nations in South- East Asia, although the gap between rich and poor is still very wide. There is also a strong north-south divide as development, modernity and economic activity are concentrated on the island of Luzon, while those in southern Mind- anao are often poor by comparison and make their living through farming. The service sector is the main force that drives the economy, con- tributing around 60% of total GDP. The manufacturing industry makes up 30%, followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing. The rise of a more pros- perous middle class is closely associ- ated with the service sector. Traditional telephone services in which countries like India have long been dominant are being replaced by Philippine call cen- tres. This is because of the availability of excellent American-English lan- guage skills, which are vital in providing telephone services for the US market. Software development, online services and tourism also play significant roles in the economy. The Philippines is facing a severe recession this year as a result of the pandemic. Years of stable economic growth of around 6.4 % up until 2017 have been fol- lowed by a 7.3 % fall in GDP as was predicted by the Asian Development Bank in mid-September. A weaken- ing in the demand for exports to the country’s main trading partners, China, USA and Japan, disrupted Makati City’s economic and financial centre in Metro Manila