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Background: The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Manuel QUEZON was elected president and was tasked with preparing the country for independence after a 10-year transition. In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during WWII, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. The 20-year rule of Ferdinand MARCOS ended in 1986, when a "people power" movement in Manila ("EDSA 1") forced him into exile and installed Corazon AQUINO as president. Her presidency was hampered by several coup attempts, which prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992 and his administration was marked by greater stability and progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998, but was succeeded by his vice-president, Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, in January 2001 after ESTRADA's stormy impeachment trial on corruption charges broke down and another "people power" movement ("EDSA 2") demanded his resignation. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term as president in May 2004. The Philippine Government faces threats from three terrorist groups on the US Government's Foreign Terrorist Organization list, but in 2006 and 2007 scored some major successes in capturing or killing key wanted terrorists. Decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines have led to a peace accord with one group and an ongoing cease-fire and peace talks with another.
Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
Area: total: 300,000 sq km, water: 1,830 sq km, land: 298,170 sq km
Coastline: 36,289 km
Climate: tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands
Natural resources: timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper
People
Population: 91,077,287 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 34.5% (male 16,043,257/female 15,415,334), 15-64 years: 61.3% (male 27,849,584/female 28,008,293), 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 1,631,866/female 2,128,953) (2007 est.)
Median age: total: 22.7 years, male: 22.2 years, female: 23.3 years (2007 est. )
Population Growth Rate: 1.764% (2007 est.)
Birth rate: 24.48 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate: 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 22.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.51 years, male: 67.61 years, female: 73.55 years (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS: less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 9,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.)
Ethnic groups: Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census)
Religions: Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)
Languages: Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Literacy (definition: age 15 and over can read and write): total population: 95.9%, male: 96%, female: 95.8% (2003 est.)
Government
Official Name: Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas)
Government type: Republic
Capital: Manila
Independence (proclaimed from Spain): June 12, 1898
Independence (from US): July 4, 1946
Economy
Overview: The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by its high level of annual remittances from overseas workers, no sustained run up in asset prices, and more moderate debt, prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. Average GDP growth accelerated to about 5% between 2002 and 2006 reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output. Nonetheless, it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in the alleviation of poverty given the Philippines' high annual population growth rate and unequal distribution of income. The Philippines also faces higher oil prices, higher interest rates on its dollar borrowings, and higher inflation. Fiscal constraints limit Manila's ability to finance infrastructure and social spending. The Philippines' consistently large budget deficit has produced a high debt level, and this situation has forced Manila to spend a large portion of the national government budget on debt service. Large unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government's debt because of slow progress on privatization. Credit rating agencies have at times expressed concern about the Philippines' ability to service the debt, though central bank reserves appear adequate and large remittance inflows appear stable. The implementation of the expanded Value Added Tax (VAT) in November 2005 boosted confidence in the government's fiscal capacity and helped to strengthen the peso, making it East Asia's best performing currency in 2005-06. Investors and credit rating institutions will continue to look for effective implementation of the new VAT and continued improvement in the government's overall fiscal capacity in the coming year.
Annual GDP: $449.8 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita: $5,000 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.2%, industry: 32.1%, services: 53.7% (2006 est.)
Labor force: 35.79 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 36%, industry 15%, services 49% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate: 7.9% (2006 est.)
Industries: electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish
Exports - commodities: semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits
Communications
Telephone Lines in use: 3.367 million (2005)
Cellular Phones: 41.6 million (2006)
Television Broadcast Stations: 233 (plus 1,480 CATV networks) (2006)
Internet Users: 4.615 million (2005)
Transportation
Railways: total: 897 km (2006 est.)
Highways: total: 200,037 km, paved: 19,804 km, unpaved: 180,233 km (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: 83
Airports - with unpaved runways: 173
Transnational Issues
Disputes - International: Philippines claims sovereignty over certain of the Spratly Islands, known locally as the Kalayaan (Freedom) Islands, also claimed by China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea," has eased tensions in the Spratly Islands but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; Philippines retains a dormant claim to Malaysia's Sabah State in northern Borneo based on the Sultanate of Sulu's granting the Philippines Government power of attorney to pursue a sovereignty claim on his behalf; maritime delimitation negotiations continue with Palau.
Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons (IDP): IDPs: 60,000 (fighting between government troops and MILF and Abu Sayyaf groups) (2006)
Information from the CIA World Factbook 2007
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html
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