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 Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. The 20-year rule of 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, 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 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, but in 2006 and 2007 scored some major successes in capturing or killing key wanted terrorists. Decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines have led to a peace accord with one group and an ongoing cease-fire and peace talks with another.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 97,976,603 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 13

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 35.2% (male 17,606,352/female 16,911,376) 15-64 years: 60.6% (male 29,679,327/female 29,737,919) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 1,744,248/female 2,297,381) (2009 est.)

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Median age: total: 22.5 years male: 22 years female: 23 years (2009 est.)

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Population growth rate: 1.957% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 61

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Birth rate: 26.01 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 64

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Death rate: 5.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 187

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Net migration rate: -1.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 133

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Urbanization: urban population: 65% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 20.56 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 104 male: 23.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.09 years country comparison to the world: 133 male: 68.17 years female: 74.15 years (2009 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 3.27 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 63

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.) country comparison to the world: 145

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 8,300 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 110

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: fewer than 200 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 119

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Major infectious diseases: degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever, malaria, and Japanese encephalitis water contact disease: leptospirosis (2009)

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Nationality: noun: Filipino(s) adjective: Philippine

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Ethnic groups: Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census)

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Religions: Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)

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Languages: Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.6% male: 92.5% female: 92.7% (2000 census)

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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): total: 12 years male: 11 years female: 12 years (2006)

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Education expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 158

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, no sustained runup in asset prices, and more moderate debt, 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. Average GDP growth accelerated to about 5% between 2002 and 2006 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, and this situation 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 at times expressed concern about the Philippines' ability to service the debt, though central bank reserves appear adequate and large remittance inflows appear stable. The implementation of the expanded Value Added Tax (VAT) in November 2005 boosted confidence in the government's fiscal capacity and helped to strengthen the peso, making it East Asia's best performing currency in 2005-06. Investors and credit rating institutions will continue to look for effective implementation of the new VAT and continued improvement in the government's overall fiscal capacity in the coming year.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $449.8 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $116.9 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 5.4% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $5,000 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 14.2% industry: 32.1% services: 53.7% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 35.79 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 36% industry: 15% services: 49% (2004 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 7.9% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 40% (2001 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3% highest 10%: 31.1% (2003)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 46.1 (2003)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 14.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $19.53 billion expenditures: $20.74 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 61.6% of GDP (October 2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish

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Industries: electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing

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Industrial production growth rate: 4.8% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 56.57 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - consumption: 49.75 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2005)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2005)

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Oil - production: 25,320 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 342,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: 34,900 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - imports: 353,700 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - proved reserves: 152 million bbl (31 December 2006)

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Natural gas - production: 2.9 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 2.9 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - proved reserves: 106.8 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)

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Current account balance: $4.9 billion (2006 est.)

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Exports: $47.2 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits

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Exports - partners: US 18.3%, Japan 16.5%, Netherlands 10.1%, China 9.8%, Hong Kong 7.8%, Singapore 7.3%, Malaysia 5.6% (2006)

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Imports: $51.6 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals, plastic

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Imports - partners: US 16.3%, Japan 13.6%, Singapore 8.5%, China 7.1%, South Korea 6.2%, Saudi Arabia 5.8%, Malaysia 4.1%, Thailand 4.1%, Hong Kong 4% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $22.97 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $54.06 billion (September 2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: ODA, $532.4 million in commitments (2005)

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Currency (code): Philippine peso (PHP)

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Exchange rates: Philippine pesos per US dollar - 51.246 (2006), 55.086 (2005), 56.04 (2004), 54.203 (2003), 51.604 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year