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Philippines
 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 Philippines attained their
independence. The 21-year rule of Ferdinand MARCOS ended in
1986, when a widespread popular rebellion 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 widespread demonstrations led to his ouster.
MACAPAGAL-ARROYO was elected to a six-year term in May 2004.
The Philippine Government faces threats from armed communist
insurgencies and from Muslim separatists in the south.
Economy
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, and no sustained
runup in asset prices or foreign borrowing 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. GDP growth accelerated to about 5% between
2002 and 2005 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. This 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
expressed concern about the Philippines' ability to service
the debt. Legislative progress on new revenue measures will
weigh heavily on credit rating decisions.
| Population |
87,857,473 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure |
0-14 years: 35.4% (male 15,869,636/female
15,255,588)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 26,503,785/female 26,722,511)
65 years and over: 4% (male 1,523,213/female 1,982,740)
(2005 est.)
|
| Median age |
otal: 22.27 years
male: 21.77 years
female: 22.8 years (2005 est.) |
| Population growth rate |
1.84% (2005 est.) |
| Net migration rate |
-1.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
| GDP (purchasing power parity) |
$451.3 billion (2005 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate) |
$90.3 billion (2005 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate |
4.7% (2005 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed) |
16.3% of GDP (2005 est.) |
|
