Philippines has a free enterprise economy. Mining and quarrying industry plays a major role in the country’s economic development. The country has large reserves of gold, copper, chromate, nickel, iron and manganese.

(Source: tourism.gov, National Statistics)

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The GDP at current prices in 2010 was registered at PHP 8,513 billion, an increase of 10.8% over the previous year. The real GDP growth rate slipped to 1.1% in 2009 and gradually recovered with 7.3% of growth in 2010.

Despite global financial crisis and natural calamity in Philippines, real GDP registered a positive growth rate of 1.1% in 2009. The factors for growth were strong performance from services sector contributing to 43.4% of total GDP, growth of 12.1% and 5.1% recorded in government consumption expenditure and personal consumption expenditure respectively. The various economic reforms adopted since 1990 also led to a positive growth.

(Source: NS1, NS2, NS3, NS4 MIF)

(Source: National Statistics)

The positive foreign trade performance and political elections majorly accounted for 7.3% of real GDP growth rate in 2010. The services sector contributed to 48.4% of total GDP followed by 32.9% of industry sector.

(Source: National Statistics, NS5, NS6)

The per capita GDP amounted to PHP 16,350 in 2010, an increase of 5.3% over the previous year.

(Source: National Statistics)

GDP at PPP

The gross domestic product at PPP is estimated to be USD 370.66 billion in 2011, an increase of 5.8% as compared to last year.

(Source: IMF)

Gross National Product (GNP)

The Gross National Product in 2010 was PHP 9,750 billion as compared to PHP 8,809 billion in 2009. The GNP exceeded the GDP by PHP 1,237 billion in the year 2010. The annual GNP growth rate increased to 7.2% in 2010 from 4% in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

The per capita GNP amounted to PHP 18,863 in 2010, an increase of 5.1% as compared to the previous year.

(Source: National Statistics)

Gross National Income (GNI) per capita

The GNI per capita at PPP was registered at USD 4,002 in 2010 as compared to USD 3,429 in 2005.

(Source: UNDP)

Income Tax Rate

The income tax rate for individuals in the country is up to 32% for the year 2010-11.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

The corporate tax rate and Value added tax are imposed at 30% and 12% respectively.

Inflation Rate

The inflation rate in 2010 was recorded at 3.8%. (Source: Central Bank)

(Source: National Statistics)

Foreign Direct Investment Inflow

The total net Foreign Direct Investment inflows were USD 1,027 million in 2010 with a year on year decrease of 38% over the year 2009.

(Source: Central Bank)

The net foreign direct investment in August 2010 was USD 80 million as compared to USD 10 million in the corresponding period of 2009. This increase in inflow of investments was due to higher earnings of corporate in 2010 Q1 and Q2 and 7.8% and 7.9% of GDP growth in the same period. The equity capital inflows were USD 66 million with major capital coming from US and Japan.

(Source: bsp)

Portfolio Investment

The foreign portfolio investment inflows and outflows amounted to USD 6,335.5 million and USD 5,947.5 million respectively in 2009.

(Source: Central Bank)

Banking sector assets

The total bank assets were PHP 2,703.51 billion in July 2010 as compared to PHP 2439.24 billion over the previous year in the same period.

(Source: Central Bank)

Capitalisation of Banking Sector

The capitalisation of banking sector was recorded above the global standard of 8% in 2010.

(Source: Central Bank)

Non-Performing Loan Ratio

In November 2010, the non-performing loan ratio of universal and commercial banks was registered at 3.07% as compared to 3.26% over the same period in the previous year.

(Source: Central Bank)

(Source: Central Bank)

Stock Market Capitalisation

The stock market capitalisation for January 2011 amounted to PHP 9,077 billion.

(Source: Central Bank)

Consumer Price Index

The consumer price index in 2009 was 160, an increase of 3.2% over the previous year. Consumer price index for January 2011 was registered at 169.7.

Base Year:

Index Base 2000=100

(Source: National Statistics)

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)

WPI was registered at 201.6 in 2010, an increase of 5.2% as compared to previous year.

(Source: Central Bank)

Interest rate on Savings deposits

The high and low savings deposit rate on January 2011 was 6% and 0.1% respectively.

(Source: Central Bank)

Interest rate on Time deposits

(Source: Central Bank)

Money supply (currency in circulation)

(Source: National Statistics)

Government Expenditure

The total expenditure in 2010 amounted to PHP 1,619.4 billion, an increase of 13.9% over the previous year. Government expenditure in 2011 is estimated to be PHP 1,700 billion.

(Source: National Statistics, Central Bank)

Official exchange rate

The exchange rate in January 2011 was 44.17 Philippine Pesos per USD.

(Source: Central Bank)

Government Finances

Sovereign debt dynamics

Fiscal Balance

The fiscal deficit in 2009 amounted to PHP 298.5 billion corresponding to -3.9% of GDP. The fiscal deficit in 2010 and 2011 is estimated to be PHP 325 billion and PHP 290 billion.

(Source: National Statistics, Central Bank)

Total Revenue

The total revenues in 2010 amounted to PHP 1,294.4 billion, an increase of 15.2% as compared to previous year. The revenue in 2011 is estimated to be PHP 1,410 billion corresponding to 15.6% of total GDP.

(Source: Ministry of Finance, Central Bank)

Tax revenue

Tax revenue in 2009 was PHP 981.6 billion corresponding to 12.8% of total GDP. The total tax revenue in 2010 and 2011 is estimated to be PHP 1,153.2 billion and PHP 1,273 billion respectively.

(Source: Ministry of finance)

Current Account Balance

The Current Account Balance in 2010 (till Q2) amounted to USD 4,406 million.

(Source: Central Bank)

Balance of Payments

The overall balance of payments amounted to USD 3,256 million in Q3 2010 as compared to USD 2,187 million in Q3 2009. The current account registered a surplus of USD 2,660 million corresponding to 5.9% of GDP.

(Source: Central Bank, Central Bank1)

Labour Force

The total labour force was 60,718,000 in 2010, an increase of 2.5% as compared to the previous year. The employment rate was recorded at 92.7% in 2010.

(Source: census.gov)

Labour force participation rate

The labour force participation rate in 2010 was recorded at 64.1% as compared to 64% over the previous year.

(Source: census.gov)

Unemployment Rate

The total unemployment rate in 2010 was registered at 7.3% as compared to 7.5% in 2009. The underemployment rate was recorded at 18.7% in 2010.

(Source: census.gov)

Employment in Agriculture

29.1% and 4.1% of the total employees were employed in the agriculture, hunting & forestry sector and fishing sector respectively.

(Source: census.gov)

Employment in Industries

15% of total people were employed in the industries sector in 2010 as compared to 14.5% in 2009.

(Sources: census.gov)

Employment in Services

51.8% of total people were employed in services sector in 2010 as compared to 51.1% in the previous year.

(Source: census.gov)

Level of Unionisation

The national trade unions in the country include:

• Congress of Labor Organization (CLO)
• International Metal Workers Federation – Phil. Council
• Lakas Manggagwa Labor Centre (LMLC)
• National Confederation of Labor (Phils.) (NCL)
• Pambansang Diwa Ng Manggagawang Pilipino (PDMP)
• Philippine Congress of Trade Union (PHILCONTU)
• Philippine Trade Union Council (PTUC)
• Port Workers Union of The Philippines (PWUP)
• Trade Union Congress of The Philippines (TUCP)
• Visayas-Mindanao Confederation of Trade Union (VIMCONTU)

(Source: Bureau of Labour Union)

Minimum wage

The minimum wages in the country are fixed at regional levels. The National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for 11.55 million of total population and Cordillera Administrative Region constituted to 1.6 million of total population.

(Source: National Statistics, Department of Labour)

(Source: Department of Labour)

Government stability

Republic of Philippines has a democratic system of government. The country became independent from Spanish rule on June 12, 1898 by signing the treaty of Paris. The Constitution was reframed on 2^nd February, 1987 with a presidential system of government.  

(Source: BBC)

The government has three branches - executive, legislative and judiciary. The executive branch is headed by the President and Vice President of the country. The President enjoys a term of six years. The country’s parliament is bicameral comprising of upper house known as Senate and the lower house known as House of Representatives.

(Source: National Statistics, ipu.org)

Senate consists of 24 members who are elected by qualified voters of the country. The members are elected for a term of six years and half of the members are re-elected every three years.

(Source: senate.gov)

The House of Representatives consists of 250 members and runs a three year term. The members are elected by universal suffrage.

The major political parties in the country include:

• Liberal Party (LP)
• Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats - Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Lakas-Kampi-CMD)
• Nationalist Party (NP)
• Force of the Filipino Masses, PMP
• Philippine Democratic Party-People's Power, PDP-Laban
• Independents
• Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP)
• New Society Movement, KBL
• Philippine Labour and Peasant Party

(Source: ipu.org)

Regulatory environment

Philippine’s economy is 115^th freest economy in 2011 Economic Freedom Index, with a score of 56.2. The country ranks 21^st out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

(Source: heritage.org)

(Source: heritage.org)

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Philippines ranked at 134^th position on the Corruption Perceptions Index with a score of 2.4 as compared to 139^th rank in 2009.

(Source: transparency.org)

Freedom of Information

World Press Freedom Index 2010 ranks Philippines at 156^th position with a score of 60. The country slipped from its 2009 position, when it was ranked 122^nd.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers

Manila Bulletin, Philippine Star, The Daily Tribune, Malaya, Business World are some of the important newspapers in Philippines. ABS-CBN and GMA network are the important broadcasters in the nation.

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

The judicial system of the country is independent. It consists of four levels:

• Metropolitan Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts in cities
• Regional trial court (RTC) and Shari’a District Courts
• Court of Appeal which comprises of 23 divisions of three members each
• Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is the highest and final court of appeal. Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and 14 other justices.

The function of Court of Appeal is to review cases from the regional trial courts and agencies such as Civil Service Commission, National Labour Relations Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.

The country consists of two special courts - the Sandiganbayan which is an anti-graft court and Court of tax appeals.

(Source: judicial.gov)

Total Population

The total population of Philippines is projected to be 94.01 million in 2010 an increase of 1.9% over the previous year. The population is expected to reach 141.7 million in 2040 with a continuous decline in growth rate in future years. The growth rate is projected to be 1.82% in 2010-15 and 0.92% in 2035-40.

(Source: National Statistics)

The age group below 29 years of age accounted for 61.2% of country’s total population followed by 32.1% of population in age group 30-59, 6.1% of population in age group 60-79 and only 0.6% of the total population in the age group 80 and above.

(Source: National Statistics)

Mortality Rate

The infant mortality rate was registered at 23 deaths per 1000 live births in 2010. Birth rate and death rate in the country were 25 births per 1000 individuals and 4.8 deaths per 1000 individuals in the same period.

(Source: destatis.de)

Average Life Expectancy

The life expectancy at birth of an individual was registered at 72.6 years in 2010. The average life expectancy was 73.1 years for females and 67.6 years for males in the same year. The life expectancy is expected to be 68.81 years for males and 74.34 for females in 2015-20.

(Source: National Statistics, nscb.gov, UNDP)

Gender Balance

The gender balance in the country is almost equal. The total male population in the country is estimated to be 47.26 million in 2010. The total female population is estimated to be 46.75 million.

(Source: National Statistics)

Migration and Urbanisation

The total urban population in 2010 is estimated at 65.32% as compared to 62.25% in 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

At mid-year 2010, the total migrant population in the country was estimated to be 435,423 individuals. The international migrants formed only 0.5% of the total population. Female migrants constituted 51.1% of the total international migrant population.

(Source: UN)

Poverty and Inequality

Income gap, defined as average increase in income needed by the poor to come above poverty line, was recorded at 25.7% in 2009. The poverty gap was registered at 2.7% in 2009, a decrease of 3% as compared to 2006. The inequality of income among the poor i.e. severity of poverty decreased by 0.2% from 2006-2009. The magnitude of poor families and poor population was 3.86 million and 23.14 million.

(Source: National Statistics)

(Source: National Statistics)

Income distribution

Average per capita income for all income groups was increased by 21.7% from 2006 to 2009.

(Source: National Statistics)

Human Development Index

The country is ranked 97^th on the United Nations Human Developmental Index 2010 with a score of 0.64. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: UNDP)

Education/literacy rate

The adult literacy rate in the country in 2003-2008 was registered at 93%. The illiteracy rate in Philippines is estimated to be 3.1% in 2010. Illiteracy rate for males and females is also estimated to be 3.1%.

(Source: UNICEF, UNESCO)

Education resources

The education system in the country has undergone various reforms from the pre-Spanish period to the present. Education is free and compulsory for all individuals in the country.

(Source: Department of Education)

(Source: Department of Education)

The gross enrolment rate in elementary schools in 2009-10 was recorded at 100.83% as compared to 102.05% in 2008-09. The net enrolment rate in secondary schools was registered at 62.38% in 2009-10 as compared to 60.74% over the previous year. In 2009-10, the teacher-student ratio in elementary and secondary schools was 1:36 and 1:38 respectively.

(Source: Department of Education)

Healthcare resources

The total numbers of public and private hospital in 2008 were 711 and 1,073 respectively. The leading causes of death include heart diseases, tuberculosis, diabetes mellitus, nephritis, malignant neoplasm, chronic respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular diseases.

(Source: National Statistics)

The total health expenditure in 2007 amounted to PHP 234,321 millions corresponding to 3.5% of the GDP. The per capita health expenditure was PHP 2,642 in the same year.

(Source: National Statistics)

Mass public transit

The various means of public transit in the country include trains, motorcycles, tricycles, utility vehicles and cars.

(Source: National Statistics)

Roadways

The total length of roads was 213,151 km in 2009. The paved and unpaved roads length was 54,481 km and 158,670 km respectively.

(Source: dwph.gov)

Railways

The rail network of the nation consists of two main rail lines: the North rail and South rail. The rail line spans over a length of 900 km.

(Source: Philippine.portal) 

Ports

There are 61 ports in the country. Few of the major ports include Davao, Iloilo, Manila and Subic Bay.

(Source: worldportsource.com)

Airports

There are 79 airports in Philippines. Some of the important airports in the country are:

(Source: aircraft-charter)

Telecommunications networks

In 2008, the country had 7.37 million fixed-line subscribers and 68.1 million mobile subscribers. The telephone density was 8.35 per 100 individuals in the same year.

(Source: National Statistics)

The total internet subscribers were recorded at 29,700,000 of total population i.e. 29.7% in 2010.

(Source: internetworldstats.com)