Country Fact Sheet: Philippines
The Republic of the Philippines is located in Southeastern Asia on an island chain between Philippine Sea and South China Sea just east of Vietnam. The Philippines is about the size of Arizona and covers an area of 300,000 sq. kilometers. The total population is 97.98 million and is growing at a rate of 1.957% with 65% living in urban areas. The capital of Manila has a population of 11.55 million with other main cities including Davao City (1.36 mil) and Cebu City (800,000). The people are governed by a republic and are predominately Roman Catholic. The primary national language is Filipino, but English is the language used in Government and Education. The local currency is the Philippine Peso.
The Philippines has an emerging economy that has grown steadily in the past decade. The Philippines is still lagging regional competitors economically and need to increase foreign trade and investment to sustain economic growth and improve poverty levels and living conditions. The Philippines’s main trade partners are the US, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Netherlands, South Korea, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. Its primary imports are electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, and plastics. Exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oils, and fruits. The Philippines’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $320.6 billion and is growing at a real rate of 4.6% with an inflation rate of 9.3%. The Philippines ranked 148th out of 183 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.
Demographic Data
|
|
Economic Data
|
|
Cultural & Other Data
|
|
|
|
GDP (PPP, $bn)
|
320.6
|
Capital
|
Manila
|
Area (sq. km.)
|
300,000
|
GDP Real
Growth (%)
|
4.6
|
Other Large Cities
|
Davao City, Cebu City
|
Population (million)
|
97.98
|
PerCap GDP ($)
|
3,300
|
Primary Language
|
Filipino
|
Population
Growth %
|
1.957
|
Prime Lending
Rate (%)
|
8.69
|
Urban
Population %
|
65
|
% Population
Under 15yrs
|
35.2
|
Inflation Rate%
|
9.3
|
Urban Growth %
|
3
|
Population below
poverty line (%)
|
30
|
Unemployment%
|
7.4
|
Literacy
(% of population)
|
92.6
|
Agricultural Workers
(% of population)
|
35
|
Foreign Direct
Investment($bn)
|
20.78
|
Education spending
as % of GDP
|
2.5
|
Industrial Workers
(% of population)
|
15
|
Debt-External
($bn)
|
53.48
|
CPI Score
(1-10)*
|
2.3
|
Service Workers
(% of population)
|
50
|
Exports ($bn)
|
49
|
Corporate Income Tax %
|
30
|
Labor Force (mil)
|
36.81
|
Imports ($bn)
|
58
|
Ease of Doing
Business Ranking **
|
144
|
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE
07/14/11 $1 = 42.924 PHP
Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in the Philippines
Doing Business in Philippines (2010)
Franchising Rides Waves of Economic Expansion in Asia and Pacific Rim (2007)
* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).
**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 181 countries.
Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise noted.
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