Philippines

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Country summary

Capital

Manila

Borders

(N/A)

Government type

republic

Population

97,976,603 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

1.957% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

71.09 years[1]

Unemployment

7.5% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

109[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

139[3]

Doing Business ranking

144[4]


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 World War II, 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. A 20-year rule by 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 that prevented a return to full political stability and economic development. Fidel RAMOS was elected president in 1992. His administration was marked by increased stability and by progress on economic reforms. In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands. Joseph ESTRADA was elected president in 1998. He 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. Decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines have led to a peace accord with one group and on-again/off-again peace talks with another.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Peso (ISO code: PHP)
  • Central bank discount rate: 3.5% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 6.89% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $24.32 billion (30 November 2009)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $55.71 billion (30 November 2009)[1]

Notable events:

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 76 157 75 913 71 216 76 814 79 634 86 930 98 824 117 534 144 043 166 909
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8] 59.414 52.921 59.665 66.483 71.386 77.723
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] 15.923 15.165 15.436 14.345 14.842 14.550 14.980 16.170 15.756 15.797
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] 17.450 19.618 18.589 17.943 17.475 17.225 17.049
Debt to revenue (years) 3.731 3.490 3.865 4.635 4.810 5.342

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Philippines", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  2. ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Philippines", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  3. ↑ Transparency International. "Philippines", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  4. ↑ Doing Business. "Philippines", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  5. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 378. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 90. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Philippines: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  8. ↑ World Bank. "Philippines: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  9. ↑ World Bank. "Philippines: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  10. ↑ World Bank. "Philippines: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.

Links

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