Philippines

• tropical marine;
• northeast monsoon (November to April);
• southwest monsoon (May to October)

• population concentrated where good farmlands lie;
• highest concentrations are northwest and south-central Luzon, the southeastern extension of Luzon, and the islands of the Visayan Sea, particularly Cebu and Negros;
• Manila is home to one-eighth of the entire national population

• astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms each year;
• landslides;
• active volcanoes;
• destructive earthquakes;
• tsunamis

volcanism:

• significant volcanic activity;
• Taal (311 m), which has shown recent unrest and may erupt in the near future, has been deemed a Decade Volcano by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations;
• Mayon (2,462 m), the country's most active volcano, erupted in 2009 forcing over 33,000 to be evacuated;
• other historically active volcanoes include
  • Biliran,
  • Babuyan Claro,
  • Bulusan,
  • Camiguin,
  • Camiguin de Babuyanes,
  • Didicas,
  • Iraya,
  • Jolo,
  • Kanlaon,
  • Makaturing,
  • Musuan,
  • Parker,
  • Pinatubo,
  • and Ragang
  ;
• see note 2 under "Geography - note"

noun:

Filipino(s)

adjective:

Philippine

total:

25.7 years (2024 est.)

male:

25.1 years

female:

26.3 years

• population concentrated where good farmlands lie;
• highest concentrations are northwest and south-central Luzon, the southeastern extension of Luzon, and the islands of the Visayan Sea, particularly Cebu and Negros;
• Manila is home to one-eighth of the entire national population

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.66 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

22 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

24.4 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

19.6 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

70.8 years (2024 est.)

male:

67.3 years

female:

74.5 years

total:

4.85 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

3.34 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.01 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

22.9% (2020 est.)

male:

39.3% (2020 est.)

female:

6.5% (2020 est.)

women married by age 15:

2.2%

women married by age 18:

16.5% (2017 est.)

• uncontrolled deforestation especially in watershed areas;
• illegal mining and logging;
• soil erosion;
• air and water pollution in major urban centers;
• coral reef degradation;
• increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps that are important fish breeding grounds;
• coastal erosion;
• dynamite fishing;
• wildlife extinction

• tropical marine;
• northeast monsoon (November to April);
• southwest monsoon (May to October)

urban population:

48.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

2.04% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

22.45 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

122.29 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

51.32 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

14,631,923 tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

4,096,938 tons (2014 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

28% (2014 est.)

municipal:

8.16 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

9.88 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

67.83 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

1

global geoparks and regional networks:

Bohol Island (2023)

conventional long form:

Republic of the Philippines

conventional short form:

Philippines

local long form:

Republika ng Pilipinas

local short form:

Pilipinas

etymology:

named in honor of King PHILLIP II of Spain by Spanish explorer Ruy LOPEZ de VILLALOBOS, who visited some of the islands in 1543

name:

Manila

geographic coordinates:

14 36 N, 120 58 E

time difference:

UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

derives from the Tagalog "may-nila" meaning "where there is indigo" and refers to the presence of indigo-yielding plants growing in the area surrounding the original settlement

• Independence Day, 12 June (1898);
• note - 12 June 1898 was date of declaration of independence from Spain;
• 4 July 1946 was date of independence from the US

history:

several previous; latest ratified 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987

amendments:

• proposed by Congress if supported by three fourths of the membership, by a constitutional convention called by Congress, or by public petition;
• passage by either of the three proposal methods requires a majority vote in a national referendum;
• note - the constitution has not been amended since its enactment in 1987

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of the Philippines

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022)

head of government:

President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president with the consent of the Commission of Appointments, an independent body of 25 Congressional members including the Senate president (ex officio chairman), appointed by the president

elections/appointments:

• president and vice president directly elected on separate ballots by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term;
• election last held on 9 May 2022 (next to be held on 9 May 2028)

election results:

• 2022: Ferdinand MARCOS, Jr. elected president;
• percent of vote - Ferdinand MARCOS, Jr. (PFP) 58.7%, Leni ROBREDO (independent) 27.9%, Manny PACQUIAO (PROMDI) 6.8%, other 6.6%;
• Sara DUTERTE-Carpio elected vice president;
• percent of vote Sara DUTERTE-Carpio (Lakas-CMD) 61.5%, Francis PANGILINAN (LP) 17.8%, Tito SOTTO 15.8%, other 4.9%

;

• 2016: Rodrigo DUTERTE elected president;
• percent of vote - Rodrigo DUTERTE (PDP-Laban) 39%, Manuel "Mar" ROXAS (LP) 23.5%, Grace POE (independent) 21.4%, Jejomar BINAY (UNA) 12.7%, Miriam Defensor SANTIAGO (PRP) 3.4%;
• Leni ROBREDO elected vice president;
• percent of vote Leni ROBREDO (LP) 35.1%, Ferdinand MARCOS, Jr. (independent) 34.5%, Alan CAYETANO 14.4%, Francis ESCUDERO (independent) 12%, other 4%

note: the president is both chief of state and head of government

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 14 associate justices)

judge selection and term of office:

justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutionally created, 6-member body that recommends Supreme Court nominees; justices serve until age 70

subordinate courts:

• Court of Appeals;
• Sandiganbayan (special court for corruption cases of government officials);
• Court of Tax Appeals;
• regional, metropolitan, and municipal trial courts;
• sharia courts

• Democratic Action (Aksyon Demokratiko)
• Alliance for Change (Hugpong ng Pagbabago or HNP)
• Lakas ng EDSA-Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD
• Liberal Party or LP
• Nacionalista Party or NP
• Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC
• National Unity Party or NUP
• Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP-Laban
• Partido Federal ng Pilipinas or PFP
• Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives or PROMDI

chief of mission:

Ambassador MaryKay Loss CARLSON (since 22 July 2022)

embassy:

1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila 1000

mailing address:

8600 Manila Place, Washington DC 20521-8600

telephone:

[63] (2) 5301-2000

FAX:

[63] (2) 5301-2017

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ph.usembassy.gov/

• two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red;
• a white equilateral triangle is based on the hoist side;
• the center of the triangle displays a yellow sun with eight primary rays;
• each corner of the triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star;
• blue stands for peace and justice, red symbolizes courage, the white equal-sided triangle represents equality;
• the rays recall the first eight provinces that sought independence from Spain, while the stars represent the three major geographical divisions of the country:
  • Luzon,
  • Visayas,
  • and Mindanao
  ;
• the design of the flag dates to 1897

note: in wartime the flag is flown upside down with the red band at the top

total World Heritage Sites:

6 (3 cultural, 3 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Baroque Churches of the Philippines (c);
• Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (n);
• Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (c);
• Historic Vigan (c);
• Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (n);
• Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (n)

• growing Southeast Asian economy;
• commercial rebound led by transportation, construction and financial services;
• electronics exports recovering from sector slowdown;
• significant remittances;
• interest rate rises following heightened inflation;
• uncertainties due to increased regional tensions with China

Fitch rating:

BBB (2017)

Moody's rating:

Baa2 (2014)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB+ (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

total:

6.9% (2023 est.)

male:

5.9% (2023 est.)

female:

8.4% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

37.9% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

2% of household expenditures (2022 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

32.5% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

production:

14.483 million metric tons (2022 est.)

consumption:

37.13 million metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

8.698 million metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

31.634 million metric tons (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

361 million metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

10,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

453,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

138.5 million barrels (2021 est.)

production:

2.251 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

consumption:

2.251 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

proven reserves:

98.543 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the Covid-19 pandemic had a relatively minor impact on the Philippine’s telecom sector in 2020;
• subscriber numbers fell in some areas, but this was offset by strong growth in mobile data and broadband usage since a significant proportion of the population transitioned to working or studying from home;
• major investment programs covering LTE, 5G, and fiber broadband networks suffered slight delays due to holdups in supply chains, but activity has since ramped up in an attempt to complete the roll outs as per the original schedule;
• the major telecom operators had mixed financial results for the past year;
• overall, the number of mobile subscribers is expected to grow to 153 million by the end of 2021, with the penetration rate approaching 144%;
• the government remains keen, and committed, to seeing strong competition, growth, and service excellence in the telecom sector, so there is likely to be continued support (financially as well as through legislation such as enabling mobile tower sharing and number portability) to ensure that the sector remains viable for emerging players;
• the mobile sector will remain the Philippines’ primary market for telecommunications well into the future;
• the unique terrain and resulting challenges associated with accessing remote parts of the archipelago means that in many areas fixed networks are neither cost-effective nor logistically viable;
• the bulk of telecoms investment over the coming years will continue to be in 5G and 5G-enabled LTE networks;
• coverage of LTE and 5G networks extends to over 95% of the population, and for the vast majority of people mobile will likely remain their only platform for telecom services (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line nearly 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular nearly 143 per 100 (2021)

international:

country code - 63; landing points for the NDTN, TGN-IA, AAG, PLCN, EAC-02C, DFON, SJC, APCN-2, SeaMeWe, Boracay-Palawan Submarine Cable System, Palawa-Illoilo Cable System, NDTN, SEA-US, SSSFOIP, ASE and JUPITAR submarine cables that together provide connectivity to the US, Southeast Asia, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia (2019)

• multiple national private TV and radio networks;
• multi-channel satellite and cable TV systems available;
• more than 400 TV stations;
• about 1,500 cable TV providers with more than 2 million subscribers, and some 1,400 radio stations;
• the Philippines adopted Japan’s Integrated Service Digital Broadcast – Terrestrial standard for digital terrestrial television in November 2013 and is scheduled to complete the switch from analog to digital broadcasting by the end of 2023 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

13 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 200

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

43,080,118 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

835.9 million (2018) mt-km

total:

77 km (2017)

standard gauge:

49 km (2017) 1.435-m gauge

narrow gauge:

28 km (2017) 1.067-m gauge

total:

216,387 km

paved:

61,093 km

unpaved:

155,294 km (2014)

total ports:

70 (2024)

large:

2

medium:

4

small:

8

very small:

56

ports with oil terminals:

22

key ports:

Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Manila, San Fernando Harbor, Subic Bay