Philippines
Capital City : Manila (a population of 1.84 million)
Total Area : 300,400 km2 (1.3 times larger than the Korean Peninsula)
Population : 111.57 million (as of 2022, estimated by the IMF)
Ethnic Groups : The largest ethnic group is Malay, while there are also many Chinese Filipinos, American Filipinos, and Spanish Filipinos
Religion : 79% Catholicism, 7% Protestantism, 6% Islam, and others
Language : Both Filipino (Tagalog) and English are official languages
Government System : presidential system (single 6-year term)
Economy(as of 2022, estimated by the IMF)
- Annual GDP : $ 404.3 billion
- GDP per capita : $ 3,623
- GDP growth rate : 7.6%
Established diplomatic relations with the ROK on March 3, 1949 at the minister level and on February 1, 1958 at the ambassador level
Geography
Located in the eastern part of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean
It is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the South China Sea to the west and north, the Sulu Sea to the southwest, and the Celebes Sea to the south.
An archipelagic country consisting of 7,641 islands
Divided into three regions; Luzon in the north, the Visayas in the center, and Mindanao in the south
Situated in the circum-Pacific orogenic zone where volcanic eruptions and earthquakes often occur
Politics
Form of Government : Republic
Government system : Presidential system(Single 6-year term)
Head of State : President
Government : The government is headed by the President and the Vice-president. Cabinet members are appointed by the President, and consent from the Commission on Appointments of the National Assembly is required depending on the position.
Congress : Comprised of the 299 lower house members (3-year term) and the 24 upper house members (6-year term)
In every election, political parties in the Philippines tend to form a coalition, centering around the front-running candidate. The most representative parties are the PDP-Laban, NP, Lakas-CMD, and the LN.
President Rodrigo Duterte (PDP-Laban) is maintaining a firm control over state administration even in the latter half of his term based on his strong political leadership.
Economy
Annual GDP : $ 404.3 billion
GDP per capital : $ 3,623
GDP growth rate : 7.6%
Trade volume : $ 223.7 billion($ 81 billion in exports, $ 142.7 billion in imports)
Exchange rate : 1 USD = 54.5 PHP (average in 2022, PNB)
GDP ratio by sector: 60% services; 31% manufacturing; and 9.3% agriculture, forestry, and fishing (estimated by the Philippine Statistics Authority, 2018)
The services industry is the principal driver of economic growth in the Philippines. In particular, services outsourcing in finance, wholesale and retail trade, real estate, and foreign investment take up a big share of the Philippine economy.
The competitiveness of its local manufacturing companies is relatively weak, and multinational companies in the Philippines process and manufacture goods for export using raw material or semi-finished products.
A key part of its agricultural sector is export of coconuts, bananas, and pineapples. Despite the plentiful precipitation and warm climate that make double-cropping possible, the Philippines is an importer of rice.
Since 1945 until the early 1950s, foreign aid and the inflow of US capital helped the Philippines achieve rapid economic recovery.
By the 1960s, the Philippines grew to become one of Asia’s biggest economic powers along with Japan.
At the end of the Marcos regime (1965-1986), the economy showed sluggish growth due to social turmoil. However, the Philippine economy has grown by an average of 6% since the Aquino administration (2010-2016).
Goldman Sachs forecasted that the Philippines become have the world’s 14th largest economy in 2050, and according to HSBC, it would be the world’s 16th and Asia’s 5th.
$ 17.5 billion(estimated by the Korea International Trade Association, 2022)
Exports : $ 12.3 billion
Imports : $ 5.2 billion
Society/Culture
Population : 111.57 million(as of 2020, estimated by the IMF)
Language : Both Filipino (Tagalog) and English are official languages.
Ethnic groups : The largest ethnic group is Malay, while there are also many Chinese Filipinos, American Filipinos, and Spanish Filipinos.
Religion : 79% Catholicism , 7% Protestantism, 6% Islam and others
As the only Roman Catholic country among Southeast Asian countries, the Philippine culture takes a unique form, a combination of Catholicism with indigenous religion and animism, and religious ceremonies are held in a very enthusiastic, festival format.
In addition to blood relatives, the god-father and god-mother are also considered members of the family.
Generally, married women use their husband’s surname. However, it is also possible to use both the maiden name and the husband’s surname, since paternal and maternal lines are treated equally.
Handshakes are the most standard form of greeting between men. Between close women, or between a man and a woman, a light cheek-to-cheek kiss is also common.
To raise the spirit of nationalism after its independence, Tagalog was officially designated as the official language (Filipino). Currently, English and Tagalog are both official languages.
The school system consists of kindergarten, 6 years in elementary school, 4 years in middle school, and 2 years in high school. Elementary and secondary education is compulsory, and public schools provide free education.
The literacy rate of Philippine people reaches 93.8%, which is high compared to other developing countries.
The number of universities is approximately 2,000, and the number of enrolled students was about 3.2 million from 2018 to 2019. The annual number of graduates is about 750,000.
Contact
Information
| Address |
122 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig city |
|---|---|
| Telephone |
+63-2-8856-9210 |
| Consular Call Center (ROK, 24-hour) |
[Toll-free] 00800-2100-0404(international calls) |
|
philippines@mofa.go.kr |
|
| Website |
http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ph-ko/index.do |