Millenium Development Goals

Hey all,

Do spend the holidays well researching and writing up your answer to the below question:

Assess and evaluate the extent of success of 2 (out of the 8) Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). (8 marks)

Instructions:
1) Name the 2 MDGs you are assessing
2) State UN's goals by 2015 for the 2 MDGs you are assessing
3) Tell me the successes since 2000 in attaining the goals you are assessing.
4) Tell me the failures / obstacles / difficulties in attaining the goals by 2015

Website to check out:

1) BBC News summary and analysis (easy to understand)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/millennium_development_goals/html/default.stm#

2) BBC News real case studies (easy to understand)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/specials/1112_mdg/index.shtml

3) UN 2007 Chart on progress (clear concise presentation of information in one chart)

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2007/MDG_Report_2007_Progress_Chart_en.pdf

4) UN 2007 Report on progress (very detailed report on progress so far)

http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Resources/Static/Products/Progress2007/UNSD_MDG_Report_2007e.pdf



Good luck, and work hard!!
Mr Kevin Pang

My country Japan

http://boxstr.com/files/1016601_uzfsn/Japan.doc]Japan.doc

done by Jonathan Koh (Group 7)

ICELAND














( Based on 2007 results )

HDI :
Value : 0.968 Ranking : 1st
Health :
Life expectancy at birth (years) : 81.5

Economy :
GDP per Capital : US$36,510

Education :
Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrollment ratio : 95.4 %
About Iceland : Iceland is a country in northern Europe, comprising the island of Iceland and its outlying islets in the North Atlantic Ocean between the rest of Europe and Greenland. The language they speak often in is Icelandic,English,Danish and Swedish. Most Icelanders are Catholics and Christians. Not only is Iceland ranked 1st but it is also 4th most productive country and they rich in their culture and heritage. In fact there are a few popular Hollywood singers like Bjork that comes from Iceland. Cartoons such as Nick Jr's Lazy Town also originated from Iceland. So this shows how Iceland is rich in media and music at this day.


Data on Iceland's development index
HDI trends :

United Nations Millenium Development Goals

Do check out this website to learn more about the Millenium Development Goals (MDG) as set out by the World Bank in 2000. Very useful, very important, very interesting information!

http://devdata.worldbank.org/atlas-mdg/

As you go through the website, think and ponder upon these questions:

1) To what extent are the goals achieved?

2) What can the international community do to help achieve these goals?

Mr Pang

ISRAEL:)

HDI:0.932(high) ranking:23

PHYSICAL(geography)

Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon
Geographic coordinates:
31 30 N, 34 45 E

Area:
total: 20,770 sq km land: 20,330 sq km water: 440 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than New Jersey

Land boundaries:
total: 1,017 km border countries: Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km

Coastline:
273 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: to depth of exploitation

Climate:
temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas
Terrain:
Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Har Meron 1,208 m

Natural resources:
timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand

Land use:
arable land: 15.45% permanent crops: 3.88% other: 80.67% (2005)

Irrigated land:
1,940 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
1.7 cu km (2001)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Total: 2.05 cu km/yr (31%/7%/62%) Per capita: 305 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
limited arable land and natural fresh water resources pose serious constraints; desertification; air pollution from industrial and vehicle emissions; groundwater pollution from industrial and domestic waste, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
there are 242 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank, 42 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 0 in the Gaza Strip, and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 2005 est.); Sea of Galilee is an important freshwater source

SOCIAL(people)
Population:
6,426,679 note: includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2007 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 858,246/female 818,690) 15-64 years: 64.2% (male 2,076,649/female 2,046,343) 65 years and over: 9.8% (male 269,483/female 357,268) (2007 est.)

Median age:
total: 29.9 years male: 29.1 years female: 30.8 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.154% (2007 est.)

Birth rate:
17.71 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate:
6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.015 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.754 male(s)/female total population: 0.994 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 6.75 deaths/1,000 live births male: 7.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 79.59 years male: 77.44 years female: 81.85 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate:
2.38 children born/woman (2007 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
3,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Israeli(s) adjective: Israeli

Ethnic groups:
Jewish 76.4% (of which Israel-born 67.1%, Europe/America-born 22.6%, Africa-born 5.9%, Asia-born 4.2%), non-Jewish 23.6% (mostly Arab) (2004)

Religions:
Jewish 76.4%, Muslim 16%, Arab Christians 1.7%, other Christian 0.4%, Druze 1.6%, unspecified 3.9% (2004)

Languages:
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97.1% male: 98.5% female: 95.9% (2004 est.)

ECONOMY
Overview: Israel has a technologically advanced market economy with substantial, though diminishing, government participation. It depends on imports of crude oil, grains, raw materials, and military equipment. Despite limited natural resources, Israel has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Israel imports substantial quantities of grain, but is largely self-sufficient in other agricultural products. Cut diamonds, high-technology equipment, and agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) are the leading exports. Israel usually posts sizable trade deficits, which are covered by large transfer payments from abroad and by foreign loans. Roughly half of the government's external debt is owed to the US, its major source of economic and military aid. Israel's GDP, after contracting slightly in 2001 and 2002 due to the Palestinian conflict and troubles in the high-technology sector, has grown by about 5% per year since 2003. The economy grew an estimated 5.4% in 2007, the fastest pace since 2000. The government's prudent fiscal policy and structural reforms over the past few years have helped to induce strong foreign investment, tax revenues, and private consumption, setting the economy on a solid growth path.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$184.9 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$132.5 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
5.1% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$28,800 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 2.4% industry: 30% services: 67.6% (2007 est.)

Labor force:
2.88 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 18.5%, industry 23.7%, services 50%, other 7.8% (2002)

Unemployment rate:
7.6% (2007 est.)

Population below poverty line:
21.6% note: Israel's poverty line is $7.30 per person per day (2005)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 28.3% (2005)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
38.6 (2005)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.4% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
17.9% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $57.08 billion expenditures: $57.81 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt:
82.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Agriculture - products:
citrus, vegetables, cotton; beef, poultry, dairy products
Industries:
high-technology projects (including aviation, communications, computer-aided design and manufactures, medical electronics, fiber optics), wood and paper products, potash and phosphates, food, beverages, and tobacco, caustic soda, cement, construction, metals products, chemical products, plastics, diamond cutting, textiles, footwear
Industrial production growth rate:
4.1% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:
46.85 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
43.28 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
1.663 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
100 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - consumption:
249,500 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:
75,980 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
315,200 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - proved reserves:
2 million bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:
709.7 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
709.7 million cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2005)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
37.34 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Current account balance:
$5.941 billion (2007 est.)

Exports:
$48.6 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, software, cut diamonds, agricultural products, chemicals, textiles and apparel

Exports - partners:
Russia 38.4%, US 6.5%, Belgium 5.9% (2006)

Imports:
$52.8 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:
raw materials, military equipment, investment goods, rough diamonds, fuels, grain, consumer goods

Imports - partners:
Hong Kong 12.4%, US 8.2%, Belgium 6.7%, Germany 5.9%, Switzerland 5.1%, UK 5.1% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$240 million from US (FY06)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$30.99 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Debt - external:
$87.43 billion (30 June 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$47.39 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$34.89 billion (2006 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:
$173.3 billion (2006)

Currency (code):
new Israeli shekel (ILS); note - NIS is the currency abbreviation; ILS is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for the NIS

Exchange rates:
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)

HISTORY

Following World War II, the British withdrew from their mandate of Palestine, and the UN partitioned the area into Arab and Jewish states, an arrangement rejected by the Arabs. Subsequently, the Israelis defeated the Arabs in a series of wars without ending the deep tensions between the two sides. The territories Israel occupied since the 1967 war are not included in the Israel country profile, unless otherwise noted. On 25 April 1982, Israel withdrew from the Sinai pursuant to the 1979 Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty. In keeping with the framework established at the Madrid Conference in October 1991, bilateral negotiations were conducted between Israel and Palestinian representatives and Syria to achieve a permanent settlement. Israel and Palestinian officials signed on 13 September 1993 a Declaration of Principles (also known as the "Oslo Accords") guiding an interim period of Palestinian self-rule. Outstanding territorial and other disputes with Jordan were resolved in the 26 October 1994 Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace. In addition, on 25 May 2000, Israel withdrew unilaterally from southern Lebanon, which it had occupied since 1982. In April 2003, US President BUSH, working in conjunction with the EU, UN, and Russia - the "Quartet" - took the lead in laying out a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005, based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. However, progress toward a permanent status agreement was undermined by Israeli-Palestinian violence between September 2003 and February 2005. An Israeli-Palestinian agreement reached at Sharm al-Sheikh in February 2005, along with an internally-brokered Palestinian ceasefire, significantly reduced the violence. In the summer of 2005, Israel unilaterally disengaged from the Gaza Strip, evacuating settlers and its military while retaining control over most points of entry into the Gaza Strip. The election of HAMAS in January 2006 to head the Palestinian Legislative Council froze relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Ehud OLMERT became prime minister in March 2006; following an Israeli military operation in Gaza in June-July 2006 and a 34-day conflict with Hizballah in Lebanon in June-August 2006, he shelved plans to unilaterally evacuate from most of the West Bank. OLMERT in June 2007 resumed talks with the PA after HAMAS seized control of the Gaza Strip and PA President Mahmoud ABBAS formed a new government without HAMAS.

POLITCAL

Israel operates under a parliamentary system as a democratic country with universal suffrage. The President of Israel is the head of state, but his duties are largely ceremonial. A Parliament Member supported by a majority in parliament becomes the Prime Minister, usually the chairman of the largest party. The Prime Minister is the head of government and head of the Cabinet. Israel is governed by a 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset. Membership in the Knesset is based on proportional representation of political parties.Parliamentary elections are held every four years, but the Knesset can dissolve the government at any time by a no-confidence vote. The Basic Laws of Israel function as an unwritten constitution. In 2003, the Knesset began to draft an official constitution based on these laws.

Office of the President of Israel in 2007.
Israel has a three-tier court system. At the lowest level are magistrate courts, situated in most cities across the country. Above them are district courts, serving both as appellate courts and courts of first instance; they are situated in five of Israel's six districts. The third and highest tier in Israel is the Supreme Court, seated in Jerusalem. It serves a dual role as the highest court of appeals and the High Court of Justice. In the latter role, the Supreme Court rules as a court of first instance, allowing individuals, both citizens and non-citizens, to petition against decisions of state authorities.Israel is not a member of the International Criminal Court as it fears the court would be biased against it due to political pressure. Israel's legal system combines English common law, civil law, and Jewish law. It is based on the principle of stare decisis (precedent) and is an adversarial system, where the parties in the suit bring evidence before the court. Court cases are decided by professional judges rather than juries.Marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of the religious courts: Jewish, Muslim, Druze, and Christian. A committee of Knesset members, Supreme Court justices, and Israeli Bar members carries out the election of judges.
Districts of Israel: (1) Northern, (2) Haifa, (3) Center, (4) Tel Aviv, (5) Jerusalem, (6) Southern
The Israeli Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty seeks to defend human rights and liberties. Israel is the only country in the region ranked "Free" by Freedom House based on the level of civil and political rights; the "Israeli Occupied Territories/Palestinian Authority" was ranked "Not Free."Similarly, Reporters Without Borders rated Israel 50th out of 168 countries in terms of freedom of the press and highest among Middle Eastern countries. Nevertheless, groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have often disapproved of Israel's human rights record in regards to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Israel's civil liberties also allow for self-criticism, from groups such as B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization. Israel's system of socialized medicine, which guarantees equal health care to all residents of the country, was anchored in law in 1995.
Administrative districts
Main article: Districts of Israel
See also: List of cities in Israel
The State of Israel is divided into six main administrative districts, known as mehozot (מחוזות; singular: mahoz) – Center District, Haifa District, Jerusalem District, Northern District, Southern District, and Tel Aviv District. Districts are further divided into fifteen sub-districts known as nafot (נפות; singular: nafa), which are themselves partitioned into fifty natural regions. For statistical purposes, the country is divided into three metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv and Gush Dan (population 3,150,000), Haifa (population 996,000), and Beersheba (population 531,600). However, Israel's largest city, both in population and area is Jerusalem with 732,100 residents in an area of 126 square kilometers (49 sq mi). Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Rishon LeZion rank as Israel's next most populous cities, with populations of 384,600, 267,000, and 222,300 respectively.(COPIED FROM WIKIPEDIA for political only)

ELSON
group4 4e3

Philippines

HDI ranking: 90

HDI value: 0.771

Life Expectancy at Birth: 71

Adult Literacy Rate from 15 years of age onwards: 92.6%

GDP per Capita: US$5,365.287

Total GDP:$466.632 billion

Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio: 81.1%

Background of Philippines:

• Capital: Manila
• Official Spoken Languages: Filipino, English
• Spanish colony in 16th century
• US territory after Spanish-American War
• Independent on July 4, 1946
• Population in 2006: 88.701 million
• World's 12th most populated country
• The government plans to accelerate the country's GDP growth by 7% in 2007, 8% in 2008 and 9% by 2009, also known as the 7, 8, 9 project.
• 2 largest Economic partners and contributors: USA, Japan

Italy

Flag of Italy

HDI (2005)

Value: 0.941
Rank: 20

Economy

GDP per capita: $32,319 (7^th in 2007)
Employment Structure: tertiary (63%), secondary (32%), primary (5%) (2005)
Unemployment Rate: 6.7% (2007)

Health

Infant Mortality Rate: 5.0 (171st)
Life Expectancy: 79.81

Education

Adult Literacy Rate: 98%
% enrolled in school: 100%
% of Females enrolled in School: 100%

Reasons

Historical

• Liberalism to Fascism - Benito Mussolini (1870-1922)
• Fascism to Liberalism - King Vittorio Emanuele (1922-1945)
• Liberalism to Capitalism – King’s son Umberto II abdicated (1946-present)

Physical

• Cool temperate climate
• Most land unsuited for farming
• No substantial deposits of iron, coal and oil
• Most important mineral resource: natural gas

Political

• No political conflict (currently)
• Govt. rank 41 in 2006 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (dissolved)
• Long history of placing strong emphasis on education

Social

• School compulsory for children aged 6-18
• Population growth rate at 1.35 children per woman

Economic

• Economy divided: developed industrial North and less developed agricultural South
• 7^th largest economy
• 6^th largest exporter of manufactured goods
• Fashion (Armani, Valentino, Versace, Prada)
• Luxury vehicles (Ferrari, Lamborghini)
  

Caleb Castro (6)
4E1
Group 6

Solomon Island

http://boxstr.com/files/977420_8cnqz/Solomon%20Island.ppt


Andrew Tang (3)
4E1

The Bahamas
Facts about the country:

-The Bahamas consist of a group of island of the coast of Eastern Florida

-Offical language; English
-Offical currency; Bahamas Dollars
(in par with US Dollars)


HDI (2005)
Value: 0.845
Rank: 49
GDP per capita: 18,380
Literacy rate: 100.0%
Life expectancy: 72.3

Goverment

• The Bahamas is an independent country and a member of the commonwealth of nations.
• Queen Elizabeth II is the ceremonial head of state, represented by a Bahamian governor-general.
• The Prime Minister is the head of government and is the leader of the party with the most seats in the elected House of Assembly.
• The current Governor General is Arthur Dion Hanna
• The current Prime Minister is Hubert Alexander Ingraham.

Culture

• Bahamian culture is a hybrid of African and European influences
• A strongly religious country, there are more places of worship per person in the Bahamas than many other nations in the world
• Anglican Christian (over 70%)
• Baptist (20%)
• Roman Catholic (10%)

Economy

• classified as an upper middle-income developing country
• ranked among the wealthiest nations in the Caribbean
• Tourism was the nation's primary economic activity
• Diversification was adopted to inprove development in the industrial and agricultural sectors

Sanjay Nair, 4E3

Group 3 (Hearts)

My Country Croatia

Population Of Croatia: 4,440,690

Official Languages: Croatian

Currency: Kuna(HRK)

Counties
Anglicized name
Native name
1) Zagreb
Zagrebačka
2) Krapina-Zagorje
Krapinsko-zagorska
3) Sisak-Moslavina
Sisačko-moslavačka
4) Karlovac
Karlovačka
5) Varaždin
Varaždinska
6) Koprivnica-Križevci
Koprivničko-križevačka
7) Bjelovar-Bilogora
Bjelovarsko-bilogorska
8) Primorje-Gorski Kotar
Primorsko-goranska
9) Lika-Senj
Ličko-senjska
10) Virovitica-Podravina
Virovitičko-podravska
11) Požega-Slavonia
Požeško-slavonska
12) Brod-Posavina
Brodsko-posavska
13) Zadar
Zadarska
14) Osijek-Baranja
Osječko-baranjska
15) Šibenik-Knin
Šibensko-kninska
16) Vukovar-Srijem
Vukovarsko-srijemska
17) Split-Dalmatia
Splitsko-dalmatinska
18) Istria
Istarska
19) Dubrovnik-Neretva
Dubrovačko-neretvanska
20) Međimurje
Međimurska
21) City of Zagreb
Grad Zagreb


HDI as of 2007/2008
HDI value: 0.850
HDI rank: 47
GDP per capita: US$13,042
Life expectancy at birth: 75.3
Adult literacy rate: 98.1%
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births): 6.4
Under-five mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births): 7.7
Employment structure: Agriculture 6%, industry 27% and service sector 67%
Unemployment rate: 9.1%

History

• The Croats settled in the Mediterranean in the early 7th century and formed two principalities: Dalmatia and Pannonia.
• Dalmatia was definitively subdued by Augustus (35 BC-33 BC) and was incorporated with part of Illyria as a Roman province.
• The coastal islands and most of Dalmatia, except Dubrovnik, were under Venetian control by 1420.
• In 1991 Croatia declared independence.
  

Economic

• The Croatian economy has a stable functioning market economy.
• The industrial sector is dominated by shipbuilding, food processing and the chemical industry.
• Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer.
• Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world.
• In 2006 Croatia exported goods in value of USD 10.4 billion (FOB) (19.7 billion including service exports).
• Backlogged judiciary system, combined with inefficient public administration, especially issues of land ownership and corruption.
• Large and growing national debt which has reached over 35 billion dollars.
• In the first quarter of 2007, Croatian economy rose by 7.1%, in second quarter 6.6%, in the third quarter 5.1%.
• Annual growth rate which was expected to be around 4.7% has now been revised to around 6%.
• Croatian economy is entering a period of faster and stronger economic prosperity.
  

Political

• Croatia has been a democratic republic.
• Between 1990 and 2000 it had a semi-presidential system, and since 2000 it has a parliamentary system.
• Croatia has a three-tiered judicial system, consisting of the Supreme Court, county courts, and municipal courts.
• The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution.
  

Culture

• Croatian culture is the result of a thirteen century-long history.
• The country includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks.
• Croatia is also the birthplace of a number of historical figures included among the notable people are three Nobel prize winners, and numerous inventors.
• Some of the world's first fountain pens came from Croatia.
• The country has a long artistic, literary and musical tradition.
• It has a diverse nature of Croatian cuisine.
  

Physical

• Croatia is located in South-Central Europe.
• Its shape resembles that of a crescent or a horseshoe.
• Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum.
• Its terrain is diverse.
• It includes plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian Basin).
• It also includes densely wooded mountains in Lika and Gorski Kotar, part of the Dinaric Alps.
• There are also rocky coastlines on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia).
• The country is famous for its many national parks.
• Croatia has a mixture of climates.
• In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region.
• Offshore Croatia consists of over one thousand islands varying in size.

Done By: Shawn Ng (22)
4E2
Group 3

FRANCE (riyaas)
Presentation1.ppt

My Country-Poland...ENJOY!

POLAND





This is a short study research on my adopted country Poland.In this Study research,i would highlight and compare poland's HDI against Singapore's HDI,Poland's reasons for its development status in 5 main factors;mainly Historical,physical,political,social/cultural and last but not least,economic.


A brief intro of poland

Poland was officialy renamed The Republic of Poland after gaining its independence in november 1918,It is a country in central Europe and boasts a total land area of 312,679 KM square making it the 69th largest country in the world and 7th largest country in Europe based on land area.Poland also boasts a huge population of 38,518,241[around 38.5 million people] making it the 33rd largest country based on population.Its capital is Warsaw.

International Rankings
Human development index[HDI 2007/2008] ranked 37th out of 177 countries reviewed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index
Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index 2006 Ranked 58th out of 168 countries reviewed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders
Index of Economic Freedom 2006 Ranked 41st out of 157 countries reviewed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_Economic_Freedom_2003-2006
Summary Innovation Index 2005 Ranked 27th out of 33 countries reviewed
UNICEF Child well-being league table Ranked 14th out of 21 countries reviewed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/6359363.stm
Networked Readiness index 2006/2007 ranked 58th out of 122 countries reviewed
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/gitr/rankings2007.pdf


Frequently asked questions

Question: What is HDI,and what does it measure?
Answer:HDI stands for Human development Index.It is an index used by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to measure the level of development in a country.

Question:So how does it measure the level of development in a country?
Answer:The HDI takes into consideration three main aspects;economic well-being,helath and education standards of a country,which includes economic indicators such as employment structure,health indicators such as life expectancy,and education indicators such as literacy rate.



CASE STUDY

HDI:POLAND VS SINGAPORE

Poland is ranked 37th and Singapore ranked 12 rungs above poland at 25th.Let us compare their different factors that makes them ranked differently.


FACTOR---- Country/score

HDI VALUE POLAND 0.870 VS Singapore 0.922


Life Expectancy POLAND 75.2 years VS Singapore 79.4years
(At Birth)



Adult Literacy Rate POLAND dj VS Singapore 92.5%
(% aged 15 yrs old
and above)


Combined Gross enrolment POLAND 87.2 VS Singapore 87.3
ratio for primary,secondary
and tertiary education


GDP per capita POLAND US$13,847VS SINGAPORE US$29,663




Now,let us take a closer look into the differences in HDI between Poland and Singapore.what makes them so different in terms of ranking?Do certain factors carry more weightage in scoring?

Firstly,lets look at the first factor, The HDI Value.

The HDI values of both countries differs with poland having the lower value of 0.870 and singapore with the higher value of 0.922.Thus,there is no contradictions to the scoring as Singapore has a higher value and thus should be higher ranked.

Secondly,lets look at the second factor, Life expectancy at Birth.

Again,both countries differ again in terms of their statistics.Singapore has a higher life expectancy at 79.4 years and poland with a lower life expectancy at 75.2 years.This means that people living in Singapore can expect to live longer than people living in Poland,thus,Singapore should be higher ranked than Poland.


Thridly,lets look at the third factor,Literacy rate in adults.

Singapore's adult literacy rate is at 92.5%.However,Poland's adult literacy rate is not recorded.Does that mean that Singapore has a higher adult literacy rate and thus should be ranked higher?Not necessarily so.From the HDI rankings,Cuba which is ranked at 51st has an impressive percentage of 99.8% adult literacy rate.Similarly,Georgia which is ranked 41 rungs below singapore at 96 has an impressive adult litracy rate of 100%!Therefore,does it signify that some factors has a higher weightage compared to others?


Fourthly,lets us look at the fourth factor,Combined gross enrolment ratio for primary,secondary and tertiary education.

Both Poland and Singapore have a very close percentage/scoring,with just a 0.1 difference.however,why are they seperated by so many rungs?furthermore,myanmar which is ranked 107 rungs below singapore at 132nd has a higher scoring of 89.9,so why the big difference?Again,does it signify that some factors has a higher weightage compared to others?


Lastly,let us look at the last factor,GDP per Capita.

GDP per Capita of Poland stands in at US$13,847 and Singapore's at US$29,663,thus Singapore should be ranked higher than poland.However,Bahrain's GDP per capita is significantly higher compared to poland at US$21,482,so why is poland ranked higher?lets take a closer look at some other factors that perhaps can tell us the reasons for its development status.


REASONS FOR POLAND'S DEVELOPMENT STATUS

HISTORICAL REASONS

Piast Dynasty(966-1385)
-Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the tenth century under the Piast Dynasty.
-People from neighbouring states started migrating to Poland.


Jagiellon Dynasty(1385-1569)
-Poland formed an alliance with its neighbour,The Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
-Polish culture and economy flourished under the Jagiellons.
-Poland was also more tolerant against Religious dissent,allowing it to escape from the turmoil of religious turmoil that affected many parts of Europe.


Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth(1569-1795)
-"golden Age"period of Poland.
-During the golden age,poland expanded quickly to become the largest country in Europe.
-Poland was erased form the Map and its territories were divide into 3 partitions;mainly;Russia,Prussia and Austria.


Partitions Of Poland(1795-1918)
-Poland resent partitioners
-Napoleon recreated a polish state;The duchy of Warsaw
-However,it was again divided during the congress of Vienna


Reconstituition of Poland(1918-1939)
-Poland gained independence as second polish republic after the surrender of Germany.
-Poland reaffirmed her independence with military victories,most notably over the red Army during the Polish-soviet war


World War 2(1939-1945)
-Poland lost the largest percentage of citizens
-contributed the 4th largest military troop
-New poland after the war became 20% smaller.


Postwar Communist Poland(1945-1989)
-Soviet Union introduced a communist government into Poland
-officialy proclaimed The People's Republic of Poland in 1952


Democratic Poland(1989-present)
-A shock therapy programme by Leszek Balcerowicz during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into a Market economy.
-As with all other post-communist countries, Poland suffered temporary slumps in social and economic standards, but became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels.
-Human Rights such as freedom of speech was improved greatly.


Political reasons

Poland practice a social-democratic government with a president as head of state.The government centres on a council of ministers led by a prime minister(somewhat like singapore's)
Polish citizens would get to vote and elect a bicameral government.There are also special committees set up to protect the welfare of the citizens or minority races/religions.


Physical Reasons
Poland boasts a total land area of 312,679 KM square making it the 69th largest country in the world and 7th largest country in Europe based on land area.Poland also boasts a huge population of 38,518,241[around 38.5 million people] making it the 33rd largest country based on population.

Rivers/lakes.
Poland's longest river is called the vistula,it is 1,047 km (678 miles) long.Poland also has one of the highest number of lakes in the world!The largest lakes, covering more than 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles), are Lake Śniardwy and Lake Mamry in Masuria, as well as Lake Łebsko and Lake Drawsko in Pomerania.

Mountains/coasts
Poland has 21 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,561 ft) in elevation, all in the High Tatras.Poland also has many coasts,one of the largest ones is the Polish baltic coast.The Polish Baltic coast is approximately 528 kilometres (328 miles) long.

Land use
Forests cover 28% of Poland’s land area. More than half of the land is devoted to agriculture uses.More than 1% of Poland’s territory — 3,145 square kilometres (1,214 square miles) — is protected within 23 national parks. In this respect, Poland ranks first in Europe!

Climate
The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. The climate is oceanic in the north and west and becomes gradually warmer and continental as one moves south and east.


social/cultural reasons
Polish culture has been influenced by both eastern and western influences. Today, these influences are evident in Polish architecture,art, and folklore.

The Arts/music
The character of polish art are always reflected in world trends.Many world renowned polish movie directors includes academy award winners.There are also many world-reknowed musicians/composers.

Gastronomy
Notable foods in Polish cuisine includes Polish sausages, red beet soup and polish dumplings.Polish people also like eating potatoes ad thus potatoes can be found almost in every meal they eat. Traditional Polish desserts includes polish doughnuts and polish gingerbread.


Economical Reasons
Poland is considered to have the strongest economy of all Central and Eastern European countries with her strong GDP growth.Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberlising the economy and today stands out as a successful example of the transition from a state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market.Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union.Structural reforms in certain areas also saw Poland's potential in emerging as a leading powerhouse.


CONCLUSION:
Limitations of the HDI
Though the HDI is widely used to indicate and assess the level of development in a country,we have to bear in mind that it does not provide an accurate assessment of all the countries as shown above.

The HDI is most accurate when it is used to assess the DCs[developed countries]This is so as it is easier to obtain data neede to calculate the HDI.

WE must also recognize that the HDI fails to take into consideration the measurement of human rights and freedom and also,how fast the country is developing.

As such, i do hope that my short study research has given you a Bigger insight to my adopted country Poland and most importantly on the HDI index.



A study Research By :Ng Jhia Jhin Daren(23)
sec-4E2
Group 6



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No part of this entry can be shown,published in any form or print without permission from the author!

Sweden.
The land where Babes and Booze Galore!

Sweden is located in Northern Europe, between Norway and Finland.

Capital : Stockholm, which is Sweden's largest city as well.
Governance : Parliamentary Democracy and a Constitutional Monarchy
Land Area : 449 964km2 , of which 8.7% is water. (55th largest)
Population : 9,166,827 (88th largest)


GDP (PPP) : 2006 estimate
-Total : $336 billion
-Per Capita : $34,735
GDP (Nominal) : 2006 estimate
-Total : $384 billion
- Per Capita : $47,069
Unemployment Rate : 6% of labour force unemployed
Employment Structure :
(As a Percentage of Total Employment)
- Agriculture : 2%
- Industry : 22%
- Services : 77%


HDI Index (2004) : ▲0.956 (high) (6th Highest)
Life Expectancy (At Birth) : 80.5 yrs (7th highest)
Water Supply : 100% using improved sanitation.
Access to Water : 100% using an improved water source.
Infant Mortality Rate (Out of 1000 Births) : 4
GEM Rating (Gender Empowerment Measure) : 0.906. (2nd highest)

Adult Literacy Rate :
- % Enrolled in School (Primary, Secondary and Tertiary) : 95.3%
- % Females Enrolled in Schools (As a percentage to Males) : 110.8%

Reasons for Current Development Status

1. Historical

- Early Development of Industrialized Economy (1870-1914)

- Neutralism during Wars, both in WWI and WWII.
-This meant that Sweden's Industries weren't affected by the War and got a head start in helping to rebuild
Europe's broken economy.

2. Physical
- Vast Amounts of Natural Assets. (Iron, Copper and Timbre)


3. Political (Energy Politics)
- The 1973 oil crisis strengthened Sweden's commitment to decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels. Since then, has electricity been generated mostly from hydropower and nuclear power.
- In an effort to phase out the dependency on nuclear power and fossil fuels, the Swedish government has launched a multi-billion dollar program to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

4. Economic

- Sweden is known for the high taxes and large service industry.
- Sweden is an export-oriented market economy featuring a modern distribution system, excellent internal and external communications, and a skilled labour force.








- Linus Yuen, 4E3
Group 7. ♣