Social: Belesia

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Social Overview

Belesian society is a blend of island diversity with general religious homogeneity. As a nation, it has struggled to overcome the cultural differences of the various scattered ethnic groups in the multi-island nation. However, centuries of colonial rule, and the rejection of that rule, served as a catalyst for the unifying spiritual presence of Islam – a unique institution in this region. This process has been anything but smooth, as the country has suffered a series of political shifts between popular yet inefficient and often corrupt traditionalists and more Western-leaning but brutal military juntas.

Brief History

Colonial governorship of Belesia was first given to the explorer Marco Celcano and his crew. The colonizers set up new towns and missionaries converted many of the inhabitants to Christianity. To defend their settlements, the colonizers constructed and manned a network of military fortresses across the archipelago. During its three-century rule, the colonial power also successfully quelled a number of indigenous revolts and external military challenges. Around 1900, Belesia began its second political shaping period, as Islam spread across the islands, and with it, a desire for independence from both colonial and Christian oversight. In 1918, a three-year civil war erupted, and although the colonial power defeated the insurgents it also weakened the colonial government and after WWII, Belesia received full sovereignty. With independence, the capital of Belesia moved from Cebu to Davao.

After independence, the Belesian government operated with a two party system; power being divided between the Islamic Coalition of the People (CP) and the military-backed and western-leaning United Alliance (UA) political parties. Political power, corruption, and influence fluctuated between the two, often violently, until 1986. Under the authoritarian rule of Armando Mendoza, the CP gained preeminence, as Mendoza effectively shut down opposition to his administration and removed term limitations. A popular military coup five years later overthrew Mendoza, paving the way for multiple political parties and restoring term limits. At the time, many negatively associated the CP with the Mendoza regime; however, it has had a resurgence in popularity in recent years and today, the CP is consistently one of the top five most popular political parties in Belesia.

Today, Belesia is an Islamic but western-leaning country that has also warm relations with North Torbia and other authoritarian governments. Its government is stable, but it faces many challenges. Corruption, dissatisfied island constituencies, debt, regional relationships, natural disasters, and other problems are ever-present threats to stability.

Demographics

The majority Muslim ethnic Suluese are dominant politically and socially. However, an Olvanese minority holds disproportionate economic power, while Christians dominate the military as a holdover from Colonial days. Generally, individual neighborhoods or even towns are homogeneous. These communities can coexist in relative harmony although racial and religious divides persist. This is especially true on the island of Mindanao, home of the most extreme Islamic factions. Age variation in Belesia is typical for an emerging nation. Approximately one third of Belesians are children, while only 5% are over the age of 65, with a median age of about 27.

Languages

Estimates of the total number of native languages and dialects spoken in Belesia differ, but studies suggest that there are around 150. Most of the country’s languages are closely related, and are collectively referred to as Belesian, with the major dialects of the country generally corresponding to the largest ethnic groups. Non-Belesian indigenous languages are found on Sabah, and Catanduanes. In homes where Belesian is not the primary spoken language, Belesian is still understood, especially in younger generations. Belesian is not a difficult language to learn and most expatriates quickly learn the language sufficiently to succeed in meeting every day needs. English may be spoken in international and high-level business contexts and in larger cities. However, in rural locations it will be difficult to find an English speaker unless at a widely visited tourist location.

Ethnicities

Many small groups of indigenous peoples historically account for Belesia’s population. However, these can generally be divided into either Mindanoan or Cebuan Suluese. Together, these groups make up nearly 70% of the overall population. Descendants of and current immigrants from Olvana and Torbia account for the other 30%. However, centuries of contact with first the Torbians, then the Olvanese, and later colonial powers has resulted in only a tiny percentage of the total population in a fixed indigenous tribe. Often these tribes are isolated in mountainous regions. Essentially, the population can be divided into four segments, whom, at any given time may be in either open conflict or tenuous peace with each other. The groups are the unmixed indigenous tribes, who may or may not ally with other indigenous groups based on millennia of tribal affiliation; the Suluese of mixed tribal ancestry; the Olvanese and Olvanese descendants of mixed ancestry; and the Suluese with colonial or Torbian ancestry.

Religions

The government of Belesia formally recognizes six religions and has official national holidays. About 87% of the population is Muslim, roughly 10% is Christian, either Protestant or Roman Catholic, while the remaining 3% is Buddhist, Hindu, or Confucian. While the country is predominantly Muslim, the government is secular and not based on a single religion. Islam was brought to southern Belesia in the 15th century from the west and the religion was already well established in the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao by the time of European contact. The small numbers of Belesians practicing Buddhism or Hinduism are primarily associated with communities of Olvanese or Torbian descent. Some of the more rural indigenous peoples maintain local religions.

Education

The Department of Education ensures that all school-age children and youths receive a basic high-quality education that will allow them to function as productive, socially responsible citizens.

Literacy Rate

The overall literacy rate in Belesia is 94.9%. Males are slightly more literate at 96.1% compared to females at 93.7%. The difference is that girls often drop out of school to get married when they are 15 or 16 years of age.

Educational System

The Belesian Department of Education oversees all education in the country.  Elementary education in Belesia is compulsory; it starts at age five and lasts for seven years (one year of kindergarten and six years of primary education). Secondary education begins at age 12 and lasts for an additional six years; undergraduate college instruction typically is four years. Tertiary (vocational) schools offer specialized training for one to three years. Children can attend a public school for basically free through twelfth grade, attend a private school, or be homeschooled. To attend post-secondary schools, students take an entrance test during their senior year in high school. Wealthy families can pay to attend the post-secondary schools. Tertiary schools are similar to trade schools. Often students will drop out of regular school to complete a course at the tertiary school and then begin their work careers. A major issue is that various languages are spoken at home by the students, but classes are all taught in Belesian.

Educational Attainment

There is a fairly high dropout rate (over 20%) for both Belesian males and females. The males drop out of the education system and start doing manual labor or take a tertiary course and work in the blue collar (plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.) field. Belesia females, on the other hand, drop out after one or two years of high school to get married and raise a family.  

Population Density

Overview

The population density in parts of Belesia is high, but the distribution of the population is uneven. For example, the density on the island of Cebu is 40 times that of Sabah. The country’s birth rate remains significantly higher than the world average, as well as the average for the region. A comprehensive family planning program in place since the mid-20th century has had limited success, in part because reductions in the birth rate have been offset to some degree by reductions in the death rate. Yet, the population growth rate has fallen by half over the past 3 decades. 

Since World War II, the population has tended to move from rural areas to towns and cities. At the beginning of the 20th century more than four-fifths of the population was rural, but by the early 21st century, that proportion had dropped to roughly one-half. The plains lying amid the mountains have long had the greatest density of population in the islands, except on Cebu, where the people have lived mostly on the coastal plain because of the island’s high and rugged interior. Many tribes on isolated mountainous islands have little contact with one another, let alone with the outside world, and live within a non-monetized economy dependent on subsistence agriculture. 

Belesia’s population problems center mostly on this issue of population density. Millions of inhabitants populate the islands around Cebu inclusive but these islands account for just over 7% of the land area. By contrast, the Sabah represents 22% of the total land mass, yet has only 1% of the population. While overall, the majority of the people have access to water and sanitation, the dense population trends towards a high risk of infectious disease.

Urban Areas

There are five metropolitan areas within Belesia with a population of about 450,000 or more people. Three of these are located on a single island—Mindanao. Only one city, Davao City, is above a million in population.

• Davao City: pop. 1,632,991 (Mindanao Island)
• Cebu City: pop. 922,611 (Cebu Island)
• Zamboanga City: pop. 861,799 (Mindanao Island)
• Cagayan de Oro: pop. 675,950 (Mindanao Island)
• Iloilo City: pop. 447,992 (Panay Island)

Rural Areas

Slightly over 50% of the Belesian population lives in the rural areas. Based on the annual urbanization rate over the last decade, urban dwellers will past rural residents within the next couple of years. The urbanization varies greatly, however, depending on the island.

Population Movement

Nearly 40 years ago, the Belesian government created regulations that were an inducement to recruit Belesians to work overseas. Since then, it has supplied all kinds of skilled and low-skilled workers to the world's more developed regions. Nearly 10% of the population works or resides outside of Belesia in close to 200 countries and territories. Although Belesia is one of the most important labor exporting countries in Asia, it still faces major problems in receiving actual socioeconomic benefit from globalization and a deregulated global labor market. Since the majority of Belesian workers deployed overseas are uneducated and unskilled, the country has issues with controlling irregular labor migrants and protecting its migrant workers.

Internal Migration

Poverty levels and lack of economic opportunity also contribute to Belesian migration.

Urbanization

Urbanization has been increasing at an increasing rate. While 37% of Belesian lived in urban environments twenty years ago, that number is 49% today and expected to reach 80% within two decades. The annual urbanization rate for all of Belesia is approximately 2.2%, but this varies from island. Within the next couple of years, more Belesians will be living in the urban areas than in the rural areas. On some islands, urban dwellers outnumber those in the rural areas. The government has been unprepared for this shift and the country has seen overcrowding, congestion, traffic, flooding, and environmental degradation. This rural-to-urban migration pattern remains the main migration stream in the country and has given rise to urban sprawls. Peripheral rural areas receive much of the spillovers of population from the highly urbanized cities.

Displacement

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Belesia has a smaller number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP). The IDP population generally fled the military actions between the military and the more extreme Islamic factions in areas of Mindanao into the northern and central islands with higher Christian populations. Generally, however, those fleeing Mindanao tend to leave Belesia altogether, driven by economic factors. The country’s largely Muslim refugee population stems from those seeking to flee persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual punishment, as Belesia has a broad immigration policy.

The country also has periodic temporary IDP surges as the result of natural disasters. Over the last thirty years, the country has had 363 natural disasters, claiming 33,000 lives and costing $7.5 billion in economic damages. The most recent typhoon season rendered 4.1 million people homes. Over 150,000 remain internally displaced. The poor, especially those who live in the most hazard-prone areas, are affected the most.

Stateless Personnel

There are few, if any, internal stateless personnel in Belesia.

Migration Cycles and Transhumance

While there are few, if any, Belesians who adhere to pastoral lifestyles, there are seasonal migration patterns. Some Belesians, especially in the outer islands, know where the best places to fish on a seasonal basis. Those fisherman that focus on a single type of fish follow the schools based on the ocean temperature and seasonal weather patterns. Those fisherman that do not care what type they catch, fish where they are traditional found based on centuries of family traditions.

Some rural Belesians use their small boats to travel to uninhabited islands to obtain nature’s bounty that grows wild on them. Centuries of experience have taught them what islands grow what plants and when they can expect them to be ready for harvesting.

External Migration

Inbound

In the last decade, there has been an increase in the number of people immigrating to Belesia. Some come for economic opportunity while others come because they escaped a dangerous situation back in their home country. A recent trend is for Westerners to retire to Belesia due to its weather and low cost of living.

Economic Migration

Very few workers come from other countries to working in Belesia. Those that do come to Belesia are from companies that conduct business in the country and stay for short periods of time. There are not a lot of manual workers who come to Belesia for jobs because there are plenty of homegrown manual workers.

Forced Migration (Refugees)

Most refugees in the region are from North Torbia and they usually end up in South Torbia. They would rather go to a country where they speak the language then end up in Belesia or Gabal.

Outbound

There is a significant number of Belesians that leave their country for long periods of time. The primary reason is usually economic. Some eventually settle permanently in the country they work in, but most eventually return to Belesia due to the draw of their family.

Economic Migration

Belesia sends more people to work abroad than almost any country in the world except Mexico. About 70% of these workers are legal. Many of these Belesians work in Olvana or South Torbia.

Forced Migration (Refugees)

Most Belesian refugees are from natural disasters and they are usually taken care of internally elsewhere in Belesia instead of a foreign country.

Culture

Dimensions of National Culture

There are studies that show that there are six basic issues that society needs to come to terms with in order to organize itself. Power distance is whether the society accepts unequal distribution of power or they seek to more evenly distribute the power. Individualism is whether the society desires each person to be a separate entity or if the individual is just a cog in the societal wheel. Uncertainty avoidance is whether the society tolerates ambiguity in life or wants life to be more certain. Some societies look long-term and save while others do not see the need because the future planned may never arrive.. Restrained societies live to work while indulgent societies work to live. Some societies encourage individuals to be competitive and do their best while other societies value cooperation over individual success.

Power Distance

With a score of 98 on the Hofstede scale, this means that the Belesian people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place in the system and no further justification is needed. Subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss in a benevolent dictator. Within the Belesian culture, challenges to the leadership and the social order are not well-received. People do what they are told because the system just works that way. For many manual laborers, they can be easily replaced by someone else so they do not try to buck the system.

Individualism vs. Collectivism

With a Hofstede score of 25, Belesia is a collectectivistic society with a long-term commitment to the member group, whether it is to a family, extended family, or to the individual’s “wantok” network. In a collective society, everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group where offenses against the general normal leads to shame and loss of “face.” Hiring and promotions are based on how the individual is connected to their place of work.

Uncertainty Avoidance (Tolerance for Ambiguity)

Belesia, with its score of 34 on the Hofstede scale, has a low preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries with low scores believe what one does is more important than principles and there should be no more rules necessary for the society to thrive. If the rules are not working, low-scoring groups believe that the laws should be changed. Hard work should be done when needed, but not just for the appearances. Precision and punctuality do not come naturally to Belesians, but innovation is not found threatening either.

Long-Term Orientation vs. Short-Term Orientation

Belesia scores a 40 on the Hofstede scale for time orientation. In a normative culture, the people do not think often out of the box. Instead, these cultures exhibit great respect for traditions, little propensity to save for the future because it may never come, and prefer quick, tangible results.

Indulgence vs. Restraint

With a Hofstede score of 60, Belesia has a culture that is known for indulgences. High scoring groups exhibit a willingness to act on their impulses and desires in regards to enjoying life as well as having fun. Normally, these people have a positive view towards optimism. Belesians care more about their leisure time than what they do at work.

Competitiveness vs. Consensus

Belesia has an intermediate score of 50 meaning that the culture displays both signs of competiveness and consensus. In high scoring societies, the group is driven by completion, achievement, and success. This starts early in schools and continues throughout their adult working life. In low scoring societies, standing out in a crow is not admirable and people do what they want to do—not what they are good at doing. Belesia’s indifferent score means that their society has a time and place for both with neither side being the dominant societal trait.

Cultural Norms and Values

Belesians, like many island nations, have cultural values that revolve around a multi-active understanding of time. Priorities are planned not according to a time schedule, but in accordance to personal and societal feelings. Speaking is important and body language is not subtle. Sticking to an agenda is not as important as ensuring that everyone’s opinions and feelings are expressed and respected.Belesian basic values include:

The Family:

The family is the center of a Belesian community. Children do not leave their parents’ home until they are married. Even after marriage, the new couple will likely live near one of their two parents. The youngest child is expected to take care of his/her parents when they become old and can no longer work. This often leads to two or three generations of family living under the same roof. 

Positive Attitude:

Belesians are known to be happy people. They love their local island history and most Belesians are optimistic about the future. When faced with a difficult problem, they turn to their family and together they believe that tomorrow will be a brighter day. 

Faith and Religion:

Most Belesians are spiritual people. It does not matter if the individual practices century old native religions or have converted to Christianity or another major religion. Most Belesians practice their faith, albeit it may not be in the standard method found in other parts of the world.

Hospitality:

When a guest comes to a Belesian home, the visitors are treated like royalty as much as the family can afford. If a meal is served, it will be better than the family normally east when not entertaining. When the guest leaves, the family will often send them home with a pasalubong or souvenir. This is often no more than a couple of pieces of dessert. This could include:

• Puto (rice-cakes)
• Kutsinta (spongy rice cake with coconut flavor)
• Turon (saba banana and jackfruit rolled in brown sugar & wrapped in a spring roll wrapper)
• Ensaymada (sweet, buttery bread).

Centers of Social Power

The traditional Belesian social structure includes the following characteristics: 1 - the practice of religion; 2 - recognition of bonds of kinship with obligations extending beyond the immediate family group including their Wantok network; 3 - generally egalitarian relationships with an emphasis on acquired, rather than inherited, status; 4 - a strong attachment to the land. Most Belesians still adhere strongly to this traditional social structure, which has its roots in island village life.

Communication

Traditional Methods and Symbolism

Most Belesians are still a generation behind in communication. Word-of-mouth is extremely important in the country as well as the print media, radio, and television for those that have access. These are slowly being pushed aside for newer and more personal types of communication.

Role of Technology and Media

Many older Belesians still have not fully embraced the technology age as cell phones have not fully penetrated the adult market. The younger a Belesian is in age, down to teenagers, the more likely the person will have a telephone. In some urban schools, the students are exposed to the Internet and smart phones. While cell phones are found nearly everywhere, their still relative high cost of smart phones, however, prevents the entire under-30 age market to be fully dependent on the Smart phone.

Social Impact of OE Hazards

Disease is a daily aspect of Belesian life. At certain times of the year so are natural disasters. Still the Belesian people struggle through these difficulties with their positive attitude hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Disease

There are six major diseases in Belesia. Many of these occur more often in the rural areas than urban areas and are often link to poor sanitation practices. Several of the other diseases are spread by insects, especially mosquitos. These include Bacterial Diarrhea, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever, Dengue Fever, Malaria, and Leptospirosis. Urban dwellers have better access to healthcare, but it is not top of the line except for those where money is no object. In rural areas, local healers try to help out the sick in addition to the doctors that make irregular visits outside the cities.

Bacterial Diarrhea

There are many different types of bacteria that can cause diarrhea and most enter the body through contaminated food or water. This disease is more prevalent in the rural areas of Belesia although the country’s larger cities are not immune to it. Most of those affected in the urban areas are under five years old and in the poorest sections of the cities, often because they cannot afford to seek out treatment.

Hepatitis A

Most Hepatitis A cases are linked to the poor hygiene of food handlers in Belesia’s open air markets. Hepatitis A normally is found in shellfish, uncooked vegetables, or raw fruit. More cases are found in the rural areas of the country as the government does a better job of inspecting the markets in larger cities. International health organizations often come to Belesia and provide free healthcare including preventive programs that inform the people how to prevent diseases by proper sanitation procedures. These programs have reduced the hepatitis A numbers, but not eliminated them. There is no treatment for hepatitis A. After recovery, the victims return to work but will likely have health-related issues connected to the disease for the rest of their life. In the end, the victims will likely died a premature death.

Typhoid Fever

Poor water purification is the standard cause of typhoid fever as it normally enters the body from drinking water contaminated with the feces of an infected person. The death rate for typhoid fever without antibiotics is about 20% and many poor Belesians cannot afford the cost of a doctor and the antibiotics. Luckily, the number of people afflicted with typhoid fever continues to drop each year as the government’s investment in teaching rural Belesians about clean drinking water has at least got the people drinking fresh rainwater instead of standing water or other sources of water that could be contaminated.

Dengue Fever

This is one of the mosquito borne diseases found in Belesia. People who have never been infected before and young children have milder cases than older children and adults who have been infected with dengue fever before. There is no treatment to cure dengue fever. Traditional practice to treat dengue fever includes rest and drinking plenty of fluids. If the family can afford it, fresh juices or the fruit itself may help.

Malaria

This is a mosquito-borne infectious disease, but it is not caused by a virus or bacteria. While there are a number of treatments that can prevent, interrupt, or treat a malarial infection, some Belesians cannot afford them. Malaria can go into remission on its own and an infected person can build up some temporary immunity. If bitten again by an infected mosquito, the victim may only suffer mild symptoms or maybe none at all. If bitten again by an infected mosquito, the victim may only suffer mild symptoms or maybe none at all. Symptoms include fever and other flu-like symptoms like chills, headaches, muscle aches, and tiredness. Some victims may exhibit nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Still in others there may be cases of anemia and jaundice.

Leptospirosis

This is a blood infection spread by animals to humans. Some known carrier animals include cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, and dogs. Leptospirosis is rarely found in cats. Symptoms for leptospirosis include high fever; headaches; chills; muscle aches, vomiting, jaundice, red eyes, and abdominal pain. Preventative measures include not swimming or wading in water contaminated with animal urine or contacting animals that may be affected with the disease. The bacteria is quickly killed by using soap, disinfectants, and drying. In other words, good hygiene practices will help prevent this disease. Oral antibiotics can be used early on to treat leptospirosis. If not caught early, intravenous antibiotics are also effective to cure the victim. The issue in Belesia is access to these antibiotics. They may not be available in the rural areas or could be cost prohibitive to the poor.

Natural Disaster

As part of the “ring of fire,” Belesia faces several types of potential disasters.

Typhoons

The most common disaster is the typhoon that is a seasonal activity that normally occur between the months of May and October each year. A typhoon is a hurricane that occurs in the Pacific Ocean. Typhoons strike Belesia almost every season, some of them are small and do little damage while others cause tremendous damage to the country. Due to the protection of western Belesia by North and South Torbia and Gabal, most of the damage occurs to either eastern or southern Belesia.

Floods

One of the results of typhoons or just heavy rains in Belesia is flooding. Rural areas with little infrastructure to deal with the water runoff are hit harder with floods than urban areas that have drainage systems.

Earthquakes

There are a few active volcanoes in South Torbia. There have been no major eruptions in the last century in Belesia itself. There have been eruptions over the last half-century in both North and South Torbia.  The Belesian government has few resources in the event of a major earthquake and will likely rely on other countries for assistance if a major earthquake does hit.

Tsunamis

Earthquakes or volcanic eruptions in other parts of the Pacific or even underwater can cause a tsunami (giant tidal wave) to hit a landmass up to several hundred miles away from the origination point. The most susceptible areas of Belesia for a tsunami are the eastern and southern parts of the country. The western part of the Belesia is protected physically by other countries that would absorb the tsunami’s force. The biggest threat of a tsunami is most likely flooding even though the coastline could be battered directly by the huge waves.

Social Volatility/Fragility

Social Fault Lines and Friction Points

The two main sources of internal strife in Belesia are poverty and interpretations of religion. Over the last two decades, Belesian politics have been split between supporters and detractors of the popular yet frequently corrupt ruling party. Over the past century, the military has seized power in often-violent coups no less than 12 times. These coups are followed by interludes of a democratically elected government. 

Either the government or the military control nearly all the national television networks and operate most of the radio networks. While the media are free to criticize government policies, and cover instances of corruption and human rights abuses, journalists tend to exercise self-censorship regarding the military, the judiciary and other sensitive issues. 

Emerging social problems have shown that the characteristics of poverty are becoming more complex, with differing forms of disparity and inequality. Unemployment is persistently at the 25-30% rate, with higher levels in youth and rural demographics. Government efforts to expand employment in the manufacturing and tourism sectors are offset by fears that development could harm the environment, particularly the rain forests that are under pressure from palm oil plantations and illegal logging. Poverty levels are the worst in either the densest urban or least dense rural environs. All of these factors have led Belesia to face widespread terrorism from a number of disparate groups, forcing the Belesian government to also require international assistance in developing counter-terrorism measures. These measures are often excessive and critiqued by the world at large.

Criminal Activity

Belesia’s crime rate is considered high. Incidences of theft, armed robbery, and assault are quite prevalent in the nation. The frequent disruptions in government and traditionally weak policing has allowed organized crime gangs to relocate from other areas of Asia in recent years, thus helping to increase the overall crime rate in the region. There appears to be a correlation between the urbanization rate in Belesia and the rise in crimes including “smash and grabs” in traffic by thieves on motorbikes, purse theft, and pickpocketing.

Cultural Approach to Punishment

For the most part those arrested are considered guilty and the accused must approve their innocence. The accused are often not released on bail or bond and are put in a prison while their case makes it through the system. Many times the individual’s case is thrown out or the accused found not guilty, but have already served a couple of years in the prison. Somewhere between one-quarter and one-third of inmates are innocent and just waiting for their case to be decided in their favor.

Prison Life

While many aspects of prison life in Belesia are similar to other Asian countries, there are also some differences. The Belesia prison system has their own brand of goods packaged in such a way that the prisoners cannot convert them to shanks or other contraband. While drugs are illegal in prisons, they still find a way into the prison through various methods. The worst contraband to be caught with is a cell phone with severe punishment for the offenders. To charge the cell phones, the prisoners smuggle in wire that connect to the lighting system. Belesia’s prisons are often overpopulated and underfunded, in some cases leading to extremely poor living conditions for inmates.

Human Rights

Belesia is currently a parliamentary democracy, but with a checkered history of military coups and corrupt governance. Recent elections saw continued claims of voter intimidation, violence, and influence peddling. However, although irregularities did occur, international monitors believe that the will of the people prevailed. While the current government purports to respect the civil and human rights of the citizenry, problems still exist. The judiciary is understaffed, which causes inefficiency and long delays in bringing people to trial, along with violent attacks on judges and witnesses. Police and private security forces are known to use excessive force, including fatal shootings of ‘suspects.’ The government uses surveillance of questionable legality to monitor persons of interest. Prison conditions are harsh, while inter-tribal violent crime led to the deaths of at least 30 people in recent years. Provincial power struggles, government corruption, and reprisal killings fuel violence, especially among the religious extremists of Mindanao. Rising malaria and HIV/AIDS infection rates are also a concern, prompting calls for emergency intervention from humanitarian aid organizations. 

Belesia scores 22 of 40 points for political rights on the Freedom House Civil Liberty criteria. Belesia scores two out of four points in most sub-categories such as electoral process; political pluralism and participation; and functioning of government. While this is an increase over the last couple of decades, there is still much improvement that Belesia can make to become a fully functioning democratic government. 

Once again, Belesia scores in the midrange (32 of 60 points) for civil liberties under the Freedom House Civil Liberty criteria. Belesia scores 3 or 4 out of a maximum 4 points available in the sub-categories under freedom of expression and belief. Belesia scores 2 out of 4 points in most sub-categories under associational and organizational rights and rule of law. Belesia only receives 1 of 4 points for equal treatment of all members of the population. Except for economic exploitation, Belesia scores 2 or more points in all sub-categories under personal autonomy and individual rights. While these scores are better than a half-decade ago, there is still a great amount of room for improvement in all areas of civil liberties.

Demographic Statistics Chart

Social Statistic	Country X
Primary Languages (%)	Belesian: 85.9% Major indigenous languages: 8.2% English: 4.5% Other foreign languages: 1.4%
Ethnic Groups (%)	Mindanoan Suluese: 54.7% Cebuan Suluese: 14.1% Olvanese: 23.3% Torbian: 7.0% Other: 1.0%
Major Religions (%)	Muslim: 86.8% Christian: 10.4% Buddhist: 2.8%
Literacy Rate (Older Than 15 in %)	Overall: 94.9% Males: 96.1% Females: 93.7%
Age Distribution (%)	Age 0-14 15-54 (Military Age) 55-64 65+	Male 32.94% 55.833% 5.38% 4.15%	Female 32.34 56.23 6.98 6.15
Median Age	Overall Males Females
Population	59.966,876
Annual Growth Rate	+1.53%
Birth Rate Per 1,000 People	19.7
Death Rate Per 1,000 People	5.9
Urban Population (%)	49.1%
Annual Urbanization Rate	2.2%
Infant Mortality Rate Per 1000 Live Births	22.6
Life Expectancy At Birth (Years)	Overall: 70.9 Males: 68.4 Females 73.5
Major Diseases In OE	Bacterial diarrhea Hepatitis A Typhoid Fever Dengue Fever Malaria Leptospirosis