Comparative Analysis of:

Estonia, Kiribati,
and
Philippines

Patricia DC. Villanueva

i. GEOGRAPHICAL

ESTONIA

According to Nations Encyclopedia, Estonia is a country in northeastern

Europe that can be found between Latvia and Russia. It borders the Gulf of
Finland, the Baltic Sea, and the Gulf of Riga. It has a total area of about 45,226
square kilometers (17,462 square miles), which includes about 1,520 islands in
the Baltic Sea. Additionally, Estonia is divided into fifteen counties.

KIRIBATI

According to Nations Encyclopedia, Kiribati (pronounced "Kiribass")

consists of 33 islands in the central Pacific, situated around the point where the
International Date Line intersects the equator. Kiribati's total land area is 811 sq
km (313 sq mi), and its total coastline is 1,143 km (710 mi). Comparatively, the
area occupied by Kiribati is about the same as four times the size of Washington,
D.C. Kiribati's capital city, Tarawa, is located on the island of Tarawa.

PHILIPPINES

According to Nations Encyclopedia, Philippines is made up of about 7,100

islands, located on the southeastern rim of Asia and is bordered by the Philippine
Sea on the east, the South China Sea on the west, the Luzon Strait on the north,
and the Celebes Sea on the south. Its land area, which is slightly larger than that
of Arizona, measures 300,000 square kilometers (115,830 square miles), and its
coastline, is 36,289 kilometers (22,550 miles). The capital, Manila, is on the
island of Luzon in the highly urbanized National Capital Region.
ii. DEMOGRAPHICAL

ESTONIA

Being close to Finland, Estonians are Finnic people who speak Estonian,
which is closely related to Finnish. The ethnic breakdown is currently 69%
Estonian, 25% Russian, 2% Ukranian, 1% Belarusians, 0.8% Finns and 1.6%
other. Since then, Estonia has a low population growth and expected to still
happen in the future. Its population today is about 1.28 million, which is expected
to drop to 1.1 million by 2030 and 860,000 by 2060. Estonia was recently ranked
as the 23rd fastest-shrinking country in the world with a 2050 population forecast
at 1.22 million, a decline of more than 8%.

KIRIBATI

The native people of the nation are the I-Kiribatis, who are ethnically
Micronesians. Its population today is 119,774. Over 90% of the population
inhabits the Gilbert Islands, with over 33% of the population in an area of just 6.2
square miles on South Tarawa. Until very recently, the Kiribati people mostly lived
in villages on the outer islands with populations of just 50 to 3,000. Kiribati has a
low life expectancy rate of just 63 for women and 57 for men with many health
problems caused by the consumption of semi-raw seafood, bacterial
contamination of food, and few storage.

PHILIPPINES

The population of the Philippines has been steadily growing for many
years. It is the 12th most populated country in the world, between Mexico and
Ethiopia, and grew at a rate of 1.72% between 2010 and 2015. The 2019
population is 108.11 million, according to the latest UN estimates. Based on 2015
census data, the population in 2016 in the Philippines was 100,981,437.
iii. TECHNOLOGICAL

ESTONIA

According to an article in Racounteur, Estonia is coined as the most

digitally advance society in the world. In 1997, six years after Estonia gained
independence and the collapse of the Soviet Union, electronic-governance (e-
governance) was launched; e-tax came in 2000, a year before digital ID. In 2005
i-voting was introduced; Estonia started using blockchain technology in 2008, a
year before it was used as a decentralized, distributed ledger for bitcoin, and
began its e-health program in the same year. Some 94 per cent of applicants
gain e-residency, currently in exchange for €100, a photograph and their
fingerprints. They are issued with an identity card, a cryptographic key and a PIN
code to access Estonia’s national systems.

E-residency aims to create a digital nation for all, built on inclusion,

transparency and legitimacy to empower citizens globally, and achieve worldwide
digital and financial inclusion. Introduced in 2014, it is the latest of Estonia’s
progressive public sector developments towards an “information society”, all of
which have been fuelled by nascent technologies.

KIRIBATI

In Kiribati, it seems like reaching out is impossible because of either high

cost telecommunication or there is none. However mobile phone access is
mainly limited to Tarawa; the 50,000 people who live in the 20 inhabited Outer
Islands are unlikely to have a signal or an internet connection. Even those who
have network coverage often cannot afford the high costs of making a call.

The IT service currently provided or contracted by the Government of

Kiribati (GoK) is shambolic. Basic IT stratagems and policies used and accepted
around the world are non-existent. The lack of organization leads to unnecessary
duplication of services and systems, consistently poor implementation and a lack
of institutional memory. Services are being doubled up in some ministries yet are
absent in others, IT support is nonexistent in some Ministries, both disruptive and
discontinuous in others. This is exacerbated by the fact that there aren’t enough
appropriately trained and qualified IT workers in Kiribati to properly service the
country.

PHILIPPINES

Most people only see the struggles faced by Filipino farmers. But
surprisingly, there are technological inventions which help them to improve and
make their work a lot easier. One example is F1 hybrid seeds, which have been
used in corn production in the Caraga region. It is to “ensure sustainable
production in prime corn lands,” raise the average yields of corns per hectare and
increase the income of marginal corn farmers in the region. Intelligent farming
equipment has also helped farmers increase their field productivity. One example
is the WR-801 Multi-Function Hand Tractor that can do the job of ten people at
once. The machine can perform weeding, double-row tilling for fertilizer
application, rotavation and furrow forming for corn fields and vegetable plots.

The country also completed what could be considered its “first and
biggest” solar-powered irrigation system last May 2018. Piñol said that it could
irrigate up to 500,000 hectares.

The government also created a website specifically designed to help

farmers in crop planning. Called Farmers Guide Map, it assists farmers in
identifying suitable crops to be planted on their lands. It also provides data on
climate conditions and soil adaptability. In addition, different applications have
also been developed as well. Rice Crop Manager app, a web-based platform,
provides recommendations to farmers in crop management based on their own
farm conditions. AgriDOC app enables farmers to record their activities and
monitor farm inputs, improve their farm tasking and guide them in farm
management. KROPS app lets farmers market their own products at their own
prices and help potential buyers find sources of farm products within their own
area.
iv. SOCIAL

ESTONIA

The Estonians are very well aware of the world around them as well as the
differences in opinions and behaviors. Because of this, they are quite open to
various cultures and foreigners so odd behaviors are generally accepted (but not
encouraged). Your behavior should begin with modesty as being loud, rude,
showing off wealth, or dressing provocatively will get you stares. Likewise,
placing yourself above others or boasting is viewed negatively.

Traditional dress in Estonia has taken on many meanings over time and
there were numerous distinctions from region to region as well. However, in the
mid-1800s the traditional dress for many people has been clung to a significant
degree. For women this was generally a loose-fitting dress with a long-sleeved
white shirt, a belt, and socks. The degree of decoration varied greatly, but jewelry
was a popular piece to liven up these outfits; hats were also commonly worn by
women at the time. Men's dress also varied by region and over time, but one of
the more common forms of clothing for men were breeches, which are pants and
a short coat, generally in blue.

Today this traditional clothing is rarely worn as it has been replaced with
modern western-styled clothing. Only on special cultural events can this historic
dress be seen. Lastly, sunbathing naked or women sunbathing topless is only
permitted in certain places so always be sure to know where this is allowed
before doing so.

KIRIBATI

According to Safari the Globe website, the people of Kiribati are very
humble and modest as they rarely express themselves in a way to offend
another. This comes in respecting other people, dressing modestly, avoiding
outward signs of wealth or affection, and having a reverence for God as most
people are Christian.
 The most important aspect of etiquette for locals and guests involves
behavior in the maneaba, where there are appropriate places and ways to sit and
interact. In all aspects of life, humility and humbleness are admired. Direct eye
contact is uncommon, and it is inappropriate to look directly at one of higher
status or cut between the gaze of talking individuals. Touching of heads is
considered extremely intimate, and the top of the head is a taboo area. Modest
dress is important for women, and cleanliness of the body and clothing is valued.

PHILIPPINES

The Filipinos are conservative in most aspects of their lives and this is
best seen in their behaviors, dress, and dining etiquette. They tend to dress and
act conservatively, much of which is based on their deeply rooted Christian or
Islamic faiths.

The traditional dress of the Philippines varied greatly based upon where
an individual was from since the archipelago separated the people and the dress
was localized. With the arrival of the Spanish western-styled outfits were
introduced and combined with more historic clothing to form what is now known
as the national dress. For women this clothing is called baro at saya or baro't
saya, which is simply a blouse with a skirt. For men this national dress is called
barong tagalog and is essentially a long button-less white shirt with simple
embroidery on the front, which is worn untucked.

Today western-styled clothing rules the Philippines, but the above outfits
are commonly worn on special occasions or for formal events; one version for
women is the terno, which is a dress with large puffy shoulders that is popular
with some women. However, for everyday wear western-styled clothing rules and
in one of the country's many new shopping malls the clothing may look no
different than elsewhere in the world.
v. ECONOMIC

ESTONIA

The Estonian economy is diverse – industry and transport, as well as

commerce and different branches of services are all equally important. Due to
the available natural resources Estonian economy largely relies on the branches
related to the forest; Estonian energy sector is based on oil shale, a resource
quite rare elsewhere in the world. The Estonian economy profits significantly from
the business generated by more than 4 million tourists a year, most of whom
come from Finland.

Estonian governments have been pursuing a balanced policy thanks to

which the state budget has been more or less balanced or in surplus. Reserves
that had accumulated from budget surpluses enabled the Estonian government
to avoid borrowing during the crisis. Because of that, the Estonian burden of debt
was among the lowest in Europe – only 7.2% of GDP. During the recession of
2009, the government was forced to increase taxes and cut spending to
decrease the deficit, leading to a deficit that was very modest compared to the
rest of Europe, just 1.7% of GDP.

KIRIBATI

Kiribati has few natural resources and is one of the least developed Pacific
Island countries. Commercially viable phosphate deposits were exhausted by the
time of independence from the United Kingdom in 1979. Earnings from fishing
licenses and seafarer remittances are important sources of income, however,
remittances and the number of seafarers employed declined in the global crisis,
but has since improved. In 2013, fishing license revenues contributed close to
half of government’s total revenue and total remittances from seafarers were
equivalent to 6% of GDP.

Economic development is constrained by a shortage of skilled workers,

weak infrastructure, and remoteness from international markets. The public
sector dominates economic activity, with ongoing capital projects in infrastructure
including road rehabilitation, water and sanitation projects, and renovations to the
international airport, spurring some growth. Public debt increased from less than
10% of GDP in 2014 to 23% of GDP at the end of 2015 due to the Bonriki
International Airport repair and upgrade project financed by development partner
concessional loans.

PHILIPPINES

The economy has been relatively resilient to global economic shocks due
to less exposure to troubled international securities, lower dependence on
exports, relatively resilient domestic consumption, large remittances from about
10 million overseas Filipino workers and migrants, and a rapidly expanding
outsourcing industry. During 2017, the current account balance fell into the
negative range, the first time since the 2008 global financial crisis. However,
international reserves remain at comfortable levels and the banking system is
stable.

2016 saw the election of President Rodrigo DUTERTE, who has pledged
to make inclusive growth and poverty reduction his top priority. DUTERTE
believes that illegal drug use, crime and corruption are key barriers to economic
development among the lower income class. This administration wants to reduce
the poverty rate to 14% and graduate the economy to upper-middle income
status by the end of President DUTERTE’s term in 2022. Key themes under the
government’s Ten-Point Socioeconomic Agenda include continuity of
macroeconomic policy, tax reform, higher investments in infrastructure and
human capital development, and improving competitiveness and the overall ease
of doing business. The administration has vowed to address spending
bottlenecks and is pushing for congressional passage of a Comprehensive Tax
Reform Program to help finance more aggressive infrastructure and social
spending, starting in 2018. The government also supports relaxing restrictions on
foreign ownership, except for land.
vi. NATIONAL INCOME

ESTONIA

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Estonia was last recorded at
18977.39 US dollars in 2017. The GDP per Capita in Estonia is equivalent to 150
percent of the world's average. GDP per capita in Estonia averaged 13760.69
USD from 1995 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 18977.39 USD in 2017
and a record low of 7313.74 USD in 1995. In the long-term, the Estonia GDP per
capita is projected to trend around 19200.00 USD in 2020, according to our
econometric models.

KIRIBATI

The Gross Domestic Product per capita in Kiribati was last recorded at
1708.40 US dollars in 2017. The GDP per Capita in Kiribati is equivalent to 14
percent of the world's average. GDP per capita in Kiribati averaged 2027.51 USD
from 1970 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 4521 USD in 1975 and a record
low of 1471.60 USD in 2011. In the long-term, the Kiribati GDP per capita is
projected to trend around 1800.00 USD in 2020, according to our econometric
models.

PHILIPPINES

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Philippines was worth 313.60

billion US dollars in 2017. The GDP value of Philippines represents 0.51 percent
of the world economy. GDP in Philippines averaged 77.31 USD Billion from 1960
until 2017, reaching an all time high of 313.60 USD Billion in 2017 and a record
low of 4.40 USD Billion in 1962. In the long-term, the Philippines GDP is
projected to trend around 330.00 USD Billion in 2020, according to our
econometric models.
vii. CULTURAL ASPECTS

ESTONIA

Although most people living in Estonia are ethnic Estonians, nearly a

quarter of the population is ethnically Russian, a holdover from the Soviet times.
Estonians are ethnically similar to the Finns; both groups are a combination of
early Europeans and Uralic people from Central Asia and the Ural Mountains.
More distantly, the Estonians are related to these Uralic people, including the
Turks and many Central Asian groups today.

The linguistic breakdown in Estonia is similar to the ethnic make-up in

Estonia; with most ethnic Estonians speaking Estonian and most ethnic Russians
speaking Russian. However, only Estonian is an official national language.
Estonian is unlike most European languages as it is a member of the Uralic
language family and is most closely related to Finnish and, to a lesser degree,
Hungarian and numerous minor languages found in the Ural Mountains.

Most of the ethnic Russians speak Russian and few learn Estonian. This
makes Russian the primary language of communication as much of Estonia's
older population is fluent in Russian from the Soviet times. However today the
ethnic Estonians are learning Russian in smaller numbers, often times at the
expense of learning English, which is slowly becoming the second language of
choice and the primary means of communication between linguistic groups
(although many ethnic Russians and older people don't speak English).

Most of Estonia's population is either religiously unattached or doesn't

strongly adhere to any particular religion. For those who do practice, Evangelical
Lutheran is the most populous religion, followed by Orthodox, which is primarily
practiced by ethnic Russians.

Lutheranism is a protestant religion that was founded by and named after

Martin Luther, who led the Protestant Reformation. Like all Christian and
protestant faiths, Lutherans believe there is one God and that His son, Jesus is
the savior and forgiver of sins. Lutherans also believe that the Bible, which
includes the Old and New Testaments, is the only true word of God. It is
generally in the interpretation of the Bible that protestant religions vary and this is
true in the case of Lutheranism, which tends to interpret the Bible quite differently
from Catholicism, which was the religion Lutheranism separated from.

KIRIBATI

Almost everyone in Kiribati is ethnically Micronesian. The Micronesians

are a combination of Melanesian, Polynesian, and Filipino, but each group of
Micronesians is quite distinct from the next as some tend to be more Filipino in
ethnicity, language, food, and culture while others have more pronounced
Polynesian attributes, which is the case with the people of Kiribati. It seems the
first settlers were Austronesian, but later waves of people arrived and
intermarried, including those from Melanesia and Polynesia, over time creating
the ethnic group that exists today. Perhaps the closest relatives to the i-Kiribati
are the Marshallese and other Micronesian people, but with a more distant
relation to the Samoans and Tongans.

The official language of Kiribati is English, however very few people speak
English natively. Most of the population natively speaks Gilbertese (as it is often
called in English), which is also known as Kiribati, Kiribatese, or i-Kiribati.
Gilbertese is a member of the Austronesian language family, making it related to
many languages of Australasia and Southeast Asia, but its closest relatives are
other Micronesian languages, such as Marshallese.

Nearly everyone in Kiribati is Christian. Just over half the population is

Roman Catholic, just over a third is Protestant, and the remaining people adhere
to various faiths, but most of whom are Christian, including a significant Mormon
population.
PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is very diverse ethnically as each island seems to be

home to a different ethnic group. Most of these people are first related to each
other and second related to the people of both Polynesia/Micronesia as well as to
the people of the Far East, such as the Han Chinese, but with scant traces of
Indian and Malay. These groups, including the Tagalogs (who often refer to
themselves as Filipinos), Cebuanos, Ilocanos, and more are similar ethnically
and all have significant traces of Malay and Han Chinese or Indian.

Filipino (essentially the formalized version of Tagalog) is the official

language of the Philippines. Filipino and Tagalog are members of the Malay-
Polynesian language family and are distantly related to both the Malaysian and
Polynesian languages. There are dozens of other native languages in the
Philippines, most of which belong to the same language family and are closely
related to Tagalog.

English is also an official language in the Philippines and many university

programs are taught in English, meaning nearly anyone with a college education
is fluent in English, but this is a minority in the country.

Over 80% of the Philippines' population is Roman Catholic, a result of

Spanish colonization in the archipelago. Of the remaining people, the largest
group is the Muslims, who make up about 5% of the total population and are
primarily based in the south, on the island of Mindanao and surrounding islands.

Catholicism is a Christian religion that is one of the first Christian religions

(founded after the death of Jesus in about 30-33 AD). Catholicism believes that
there is a single God who created everything, a savior, the son of God, Jesus
Christ who is the forgiver of sins, and there is the Holy Spirit, which makes up the
last part of the Holy Trinity. Catholics follow the teachings of the Bible, consisting
of the Old and New Testaments. Much of the faith is based on the life and
teachings of Jesus, which is found in the gospels (in the New Testament).
CONCLUSION

Estonia, a developed country; Kiribati, a least developed country; and

Philippines, a developing country, are comparable to each other since they are in
different condition of economic development. The comparison above shows how
these three countries differ from each other and what the key points of its
differences are. These three countries can be differentiated geographically,
demographically, technologically, socially, economically, and culturally. First,
geographically, data gathered obviously shows that Philippines has the biggest
land area among the three. It holds 300 000 km 2 of land area while Estonia has a
42 388 km2 of land area and Kiribati has only 811 km 2 of land area. Although, the
three countries have one similarity, they are all rich in either forests or seas or
both. Second, demographically, still, Philippines is the most populated country
between the three. Third, technologically, Estonia is coined as the most digitally
advanced society in the world because of their e-governance that they use
toward the development of their information society. Unfortunately for Kiribati,
signal for telecommunication is slow and if not, it requires a high amount of
money. Although Kiribati is doing their best to improve their state, they still have a
long run to go to attain the stable and cost worthy signals. While, without every
citizens’ knowledge, Philippines is improving when it comes to providing help for
their farmers. Machineries were given to some of them (hopefully all can benefit
from this) to make their work a lot easier. Also, applications to monitor their crops
are offered to them to have an easy access to the conditions of their crops.
Fourth, socially speaking, the three countries are generally well-behaved and
value their traditional dresses for men and women. Next, economically speaking,
these countries have abundant natural resources and Estonia is seemingly doing
it right in allocating their scarce resources. The problem with Kiribati, they lack of
workers, weak infrastructure and, are not much involved in international market.
In Philippines, on the other hand, they depended to imports and forgotten that
they should export more. Lastly, culturally, these three are rich and are probably
diverse because of different religions inside their area.
REFERENCES:

https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/

http://worldpopulationreview.com/

https://www.raconteur.net/technology/estonia-digital-society

http://www.safaritheglobe.com/

http://www.interaksyon.com/breaking-news/2018/08/20/131961/technology-innovating-
philippines-agricultural-sector/

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/08/03/connecting-people-in-remote-kiribati

https://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/countries

http://www.estonica.org/en/Economy/General_overview_of_Estonian_economy/General/

https://tradingeconomics.com/