Across The Philippines
What an awsome country.
If
you haven't discovered the Philippines yet,
let us help you get to
know this incredible country.
 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.
The islands attained their independence in 1946 after Japanese
occupation in World War II. The 21-year rule of Ferdinand MARCOS ended
in 1986, when a widespread popular rebellion forced him into exile.The
Philippines has had a series of electoral presidential transitions
since the removal of MARCOS. The government continues to struggle with
armed Muslim insurgencies in the south.
Area: total:
300,000 sq km
slightly larger than
Arizona
Climate:
tropical marine; northeast monsoon
(November to
April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
Population:
86,241,697 (July 2004 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 35.8%
(male 15,758,255;
female 15,152,291)
15-64 years: 60.2%
(male 25,847,345; female
26,096,211)
65 years and over: 3.9%
(male 1,473,873; female
1,913,722) (2004 est.)
Religious
affiliation:
Roman Catholic 83%,
Protestant 9%,
Muslim 5%,
Buddhist and other 3%
Ethnic
Groups:
Christian Malay 91.5%,
Muslim Malay 4%,
Chinese 1.5%,
other 3%
Languages:
two official languages
-
Filipino (based on Tagalog) - In spite of being
the national language, only about 55 percent of Filipinos
speak the language.
- English
is generally used for educational, governmental and commercial purposes
and is
widely understood since it is the medium of instruction in
schools. The
Philippines are the third largest group of English speaking people in
the world,
after the United States and the United Kingdom.
Since
English is widely spoken in the Philippines, it is common to hear
Filipinos use
a mixture English and Filipino words or phrases, known as "Taglish" (a
mixture of English and Tagalog), in their everyday conversations.
about 111 distinct indigenous languages
and
dialects
eight
major dialects
- Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocan, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo,
Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense
A
steadily dwindling minority still speak Spanish, which had at one time
been an
official language. 
Economy:
The Philippines was less severely affected
by the
Asian financial
crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual remittances
of $6-7 billion from overseas workers. 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. GDP growth accelerated to 4.4% in 2002
and 4.2% in 2003, reflecting the continued resilience of the service
sector, gains in industrial output, and improved exports. Nonetheless,
it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable
progress in poverty alleviation given the Philippines' high annual
population growth rate and unequal distribution of income.
The
MACAPAGAL-ARROYO Administration has promised to continue economic
reforms to help the Philippines match the pace of development in the
newly industrialized countries of East Asia. The strategy includes
improving the infrastructure, strengthening tax collection to bolster
government revenues, furthering deregulation and privatization of the
economy, enhancing the viability of the financial system, and
increasing trade integration with the region. Prospects for 2005 will
depend on the economic performance of two major trading partners, the
US and Japan, and on increased confidence on the part of the
international investment community.
Population
below poverty line:
40% (2001 est.)
Labor force by
occupation: agriculture 45%, industry 15%,
services 40% (2003 est.)
Industries:
electronics assembly, textiles,
pharmaceuticals,
chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing
Natural Hazzards:
astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15
and
struck by five to six
cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive
earthquakes; tsunamis
Natural
Resources:
timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver,
gold, salt, copper
Environmental
Issues:
uncontrolled
deforestation especially in watershed areas; soil erosion;
air and water pollution in major urban centers; coral reef degradation;
increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps that are important fish
breeding grounds
Export Partners:
US 20.1%, Japan 15.9%, Hong Kong 8.5%, Netherlands
8.1%, Taiwan 6.9%, Malaysia 6.8%, Singapore 6.7%, China 5.9% (2003)
Communications: (2004)
Telephones: 3,310,900 (2002)
mobile: 15.201 million (2002)
Radio stations:
AM 369
FM 583
Shortwave 5
Television stations 225 - 1373 CATV networks
Internet country code: .ph
Internet hosts: 38,440 (2002)
Internet users: 3.5 million (2002)
Airports
- 253 (2003 est.) - Heliports: 2
HIV/AIDS: 9,000 (2003 est.)
Primary
Source: World Fact Book
|
