Country Summary
Introduction
Background
The Philippine Islands became a Spanish colony during the 16th century and were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935, the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth. Following Japanese occupation during World War II, the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence on 4 July 1946.
Geography
Area
total: 300,000 sq km
land: 298,170 sq km
water: 1,830 sq km
Climate
tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
Natural resources
timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper
People and Society
Population
114,597,229 (2022 est.)
Ethnic groups
Tagalog 24.4%, Bisaya/Binisaya 11.4%, Cebuano 9.9%, Ilocano 8.8%, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo 8.4%, Bikol/Bicol 6.8%, Waray 4%, other local ethnicity 26.1%, other foreign ethnicity 0.1% (2010 est.)
Languages
unspecified Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Religions
Roman Catholic 79.5%, Muslim 6%, Iglesia ni Cristo 2.6%, Evangelical 2.4%, National Council of Churches in the Philippines 1.1%, other 7.4%, none <0.1% (2015 est.)
Population growth rate
1.6% (2022 est.)
Government
Government type
presidential republic
Capital
name: Manila
Executive branch
chief of state: President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022); Vice President Sara DUTERTE-Carpio (since 30 June 2022); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022); Vice President Sara DUTERTE-Carpio (since 30 June 2022)
Legislative branch
description: bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of:
Senate or Senado (24 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years)
House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan (316 seats; 253 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 63 representing minorities directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
diversified, growing East Asian economy; major semiconductor, ship-building, and electronics exporter; significant remittances; COVID-19 hit consumption and investments hard; regional tensions with China; major geothermal energy user
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$871.56 billion (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$8,000 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products
sugar cane, rice, coconuts, maize, bananas, vegetables, tropical fruit, plantains, pineapples, cassava
Industries
semiconductors and electronics assembly, business process outsourcing, food and beverage manufacturing, construction, electric/gas/water supply, chemical products, radio/television/communications equipment and apparatus, petroleum and fuel, textile and garments, non-metallic minerals, basic metal industries, transport equipment
Exports
$78.82 billion (2020 est.)
Exports - partners
China 16%, United States 15%, Japan 13%, Hong Kong 12%, Singapore 7%, Germany 5% (2019)
Exports - commodities
integrated circuits, office machinery/parts, insulated wiring, semiconductors, transformers (2019)
Imports
$97.58 billion (2020 est.)
Imports - partners
China 29%, Japan 8%, South Korea 7%, United States 6%, Singapore 6%, Indonesia 6%, Thailand 5%, Taiwan 5% (2019)
Imports - commodities
integrated circuits, refined petroleum, cars, crude petroleum, broadcasting equipment (2019)
Exchange rates
Philippine pesos (PHP) per US dollar -
Page last updated: Friday, October 14, 2022
