Location:

Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

Geographic coordinates:

13 00 N, 122 00 E

Map references

Southeast Asia

19% (1993 est.)

79,345,812 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:

 

37% (male 15,057,698; female 14,555,430)
59% (male 23,168,043; female 23,715,877)
4% (male 1,269,522; female 1,579,242) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate:

 2.04% (1999 est.)

Birth rate:

 27.88 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate:

6.45 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate:

-1.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

34.56 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
 

Sex ratio

at birth :
under 15 years:
15-64 years:
65 years and over:
total population:

1.05 male(s)/female
1.03 male(s)/female
0.98 male(s)/female
0.8 male(s)/female
0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate:

33.89 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Joseph Ejercito ESTRADA elected president; percent of vote—NA%; Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO elected vice president; percent of vote—NA%

Senate—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—LAMP 12, Lakas 5, PRP 2, LP 1, other 3; note—the Senate now has only 23 members with one seat vacated when Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO became vice president; the seat can only be filled by election and is likely to remain open until the next regular election in 2001; House of Representatives—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—LAMP 135, Lakas 37, LP 13, Aksyon Demokratiko 1, other 35

Overview:

In 1998 the Philippine economy—a mixture of agriculture, light industry, and supporting services—deteriorated as a result of spillover from the Asian financial crisis and poor weather conditions. Growth fell to about -0.5% in 1998 from 5% in 1997, but is expected to recover to more than 2% in 1999. The government has promised to continue its economic reforms to help the Philippines match the pace of development in the newly industrialized countries of East Asia. The strategy includes improving infrastructure, overhauling the tax system to bolster government revenues, and moving toward further deregulation and privatization of the economy.

GDP-purchasing power parity :

$270.5 billion (1998 est.)

GDP-real growth rate:

 -0.5% (1998 est.)

GDP-per capita purchasing power parity:

$3,500 (1998 est.)
 

Population below poverty line:

32% (1997 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%:
highest 10%:

2.4%
33.5% (1994)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

9.7% (1998)

Labor force:

31.3 million (1998 est.)

Labor force—by occupation:

agriculture 39.8%, government and social services 19.4%, services 17.7%, manufacturing 9.8%, construction 5.8%, other 7.5% (1998 est.)

Unemployment rate:

 9.6% (October 1998)

Budget:

revenues:
expenditures:

 

$14.5 billion
$12.6 billion (1998 est.)

Railways

total :
narrow gauge:

897 km of which 492 km in operation
492 km 1.067-m gauge (1996)

Highways:

total:

paved:
 
unpaved:

161,313 km

290 km

161,023 km (1997)
 

Waterways :

3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels

Pipelines:

petroleum products 357 km