Philippines
- This article is about the country in Southeast Asia. For the town in the Netherlands, see Philippine (Netherlands).
Republika ng Pilipinas Republic of the Philippines | |
|---|---|
| Motto: Maka-Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan, at Makabansa (English: "For God, People, Nature, and Country") | |
| Anthem: Lupang Hinirang ("Chosen Land") | |
 | |
| Capital |  Manila |
| Largest city |  Quezon City |
| Official languages | Filipino and English* |
| Government | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
| Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | |
| Noli de Castro | |
| Manuel Villar | |
| Jose de Venecia, Jr. | |
| Reynato Puno | |
| Independence | |
• Declared | June 12 1898 |
| March 24 1934 | |
| July 4 1946 | |
| February 2 1987 | |
• Water (%) | 0.6 |
| Population | |
• 2006 estimate | 85,236,913[1] (12th) |
• 2000 census | 76,504,077 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2005 estimate |
• Total | $451 billion (25th) |
• Per capita | $4,923 (112nd) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2005 estimate |
• Total | $98,731 billion (51st) |
• Per capita | $1,168 (120th) |
| HDI (2006) | 0.763 high (84th) |
| Currency | Philippine peso (piso) (PHP) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| Calling code | 63 |
| ISO 3166 code | PH |
| Internet TLD | .ph |
* Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon, Bikol, Waray-Waray, Kapampangan, Pangasinan, Kinaray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao, Tagalog, Tausug are the auxiliary official languages in their respective regions. Spanish and Arabic are promoted on an optional and voluntary basis. | |
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas as spelled officially, Filipinas in UP and KWF spelling), officially the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas; RP), is an island nation located in Southeast Asia, with Manila as its capital. It comprises 7,107 islands called the Philippine Archipelago, with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometers or 116,000 square miles, making it the 72nd largest country by area.
Modern day Filipinos are of Austronesian stock, although there is a minority of Filipinos with Chinese, Spanish, American, and Arab ancestry.[2]
Through its rich history, Philippine culture has many affinities with the West. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion, and Filipino and English are the official languages.[3]
Geography
The Philippines constitutes an archipelago of 7,107 islands with a total land area of approximately 300,000 square kilometres (116,000 sq. mi). It lies between 116° 40' and 126° 34' E. longitude, and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N. latitude, and borders the Philippine Sea on the east, on the South China Sea the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. The island of Borneo lies a few hundred kilometers southwest and Taiwan directly north. The Moluccas and Sulawesi are to the south, and Palau is to the east beyond the Philippine Sea.[4]
The islands are commonly divided into three island groups: Luzon (Regions I to V, NCR and CAR), Visayas (VI to VIII), and Mindanao (IX to XIII and ARMM). The busy port of Manila, on Luzon, is the national capital and second largest city after its suburb Quezon City.[4]
The local climate is hot, humid, and tropical. The average yearly temperature is around 26.5°C (79.7°F). There are three recognized seasons: Tag-init or Tag-araw (the hot season or summer from March to May), Tag-ulan (the rainy season from June to November), and Taglamig (the cold season from December to February). The southwest monsoon (May-October) is known as the "habagat" and the dry winds of the northeast monsoon (November-April) as the "amihan".[5] The country itself is undergoing desertification in place like Sorsogon, Baguio, Davao and the Sierra Madre mountain range.[citation needed]
Most of the mountainous islands used to be covered in tropical rainforest and are volcanic in origin. The highest point is Mount Apo on Mindanao at 2,954 metres (9,692 ft). There are many active volcanos such as Mayon Volcano, Mount Pinatubo, and Taal Volcano. The country also lies within the typhoon belt of the Western Pacific and about 19 typhoons strike per year.[citation needed]
Lying on the northwestern fringes of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines experiences frequent seismic and volcanic activities. Some 20 earthquakes are registered daily in the Philippines, though most are too weak to be felt. The last great earthquake was the 1990 Luzon earthquake.[6]
The longest river is the Cagayan River of northern Luzon. The nearly circular Manila Bay, is connected to the Laguna de Bay by means of the Pasig River. Subic Bay, the Davao Gulf and the Moro Gulf are some of the important bays. Transversing the San Juanico Strait is the San Juanico Bridge, that connects the islands of Samar and Leyte.[7]
Economy
The Philippines is a developing country with an agricultural base, light industry, and service-sector economy. It has been listed in "Next Eleven" economies. The Philippines has one of the most vibrant business process outsourcing (BPO) industries in Asia. Numerous call centers and BPO firms have infused momentum into the Philippine market, generating thousands of jobs, including Fortune 500 companies.[8]
The resiliency of the Philippine economy is due to low foreign inflows and an agriculture-based economy allowed it to snap back from international crises as evidenced by 3% growth in 1999 and accelerated to 4% in 2000. By 2004, the Philippine economy catapulted to over 6% growth after the East Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo pledged to turn the country into a First World state by 2020.[9] In 2005, the Philippine peso was said to be Asia's best-performing currency.[10] In 2006, the Philippine economy expanded at a rate of 5.4%, higher than of the previous year. The government plans to increase the country's GDP by 7% in 2007. The government forecasts the economy to grow at 9% by 2009.[11]
Strategies for streamlining the economy include improvements of infrastructure, more efficient tax systems to bolster government revenues, furthering deregulation and privatization of the economy, and increasing trade integration within the region and across the world.[12][13]
On November 1, 2005, a newly expanded value added tax (E-VAT) law was instituted as a measure to bridle the rising foreign debt and to improve government services such as education, healthcare, social security, and transportation. As of 2006, The Philippines' economic prosperity also depends in large part on how well its two biggest trading partners' economies perform: the U.S. and Japan.[14]
Despite the growing economy, the Philippines will have to address several chronic problems in the future. Income inequality remains persistent; about 30 million people lived on less than $2 per day in 2005. China and India have emerged as major economic competitors, siphoning away investors who would otherwise have invested in the Philippines, particularly telecom companies. Regional development is also somewhat uneven, with the main island Luzon and Metro Manila gaining most of the new economic growth at the expense of the other regions.[15]
In 2006, the Philippines experienced its lowest budget deficit in 8 years. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that the nation is "making gains ahead of schedule." The Philippines' target in 2007 is to have a balanced budget. The 2006 budget deficit was at an all-time low of $1.27 billion.[16]
The Philippines is a significant source of migrant workers; as of 2004, the Philippine government has estimated that there are over 8 million Overseas Filipinos while independent estimates by various Philippine civic organizations estimate the number at 11 million.[17][18] Overseas Filipinos sent home a record $10.7 billion in 2005.[18] The Filipino diaspora is present in 190 nations worldwide.[19] In 2006, Overseas Filipinos remitted $12.8 billion back home and represents an almost 20% increase from the previous year. The government forecast for 2007 that at least $14 billion will be sent to the Philippines by Filipino workers.[20]
The Philippines is a member of the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Colombo Plan, and the G-77, among others[21]
Demographics
The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country, with a population of over 90 million as of 2006.[1] Roughly two-thirds reside on the island of Luzon. Manila, the capital, is the eleventh most populous metropolitan area in the world. The literacy rate was 92.5% in 2003,[22] and about equal for males and females.[23] Life expectancy is 69.91 years, with 72.28 years for females and 66.44 years for males. Population growth per year is about 1.92%, with 26.3 births per 1,000 people. In the 100 years since the 1903 Census, the population has grown by a factor of eleven. This represents a much faster rate of growth than other countries in the region (Indonesia has grown fivefold over the same period).
Ethnic groups
The people of the Philippines are called Filipinos. Most Filipinos are descended from the various Austronesian-speaking migrants who arrived in successive waves over a thousand years ago from Taiwan, genetically most closely related to the Ami tribe.[24] These ethnic Filipinos are divided into various ethnolinguistic groups, including but not limited to the Bisaya, the Tagalogs, the Ilocanos, the Moro, the Bicolanos, the Kapampangans, the Pangasinense, the Igorot, the Lumad, the Mangyan, the Ibanag, the Chabacano, the Bajau, the Ivatan, and the Palawan tribes. The Negritos or Aetas, who are considered as the aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippines, currently number fewer than 30,000 people (0.03%).
Filipinos of Chinese descent, who had been settling in the Philippines since pre-colonization, currently forms the largest non-Austronesian ethnic group, claiming about 2% of the population [citation needed]. Other significant minorities, ranked according to population, include Spanish, Americans, other Europeans (particularly British and Germans), Australians, Japanese, Koreans, and South Asians.There are also numerous Arabs and Indonesians in the country, especially in Mindanao. The Philippines has Asia's largest Eurasian, Amerasian, and American population.
Throughout the country's history, various ethnic groups as well as immigrants and colonizers have intermarried, producing Filipino Mestizos. These mestizos can be any foriegn ethnic group combined with native Austronesian stock. According to genetic studies, less than 3.6% of the Filipino population have some Caucasian ancestry (mostly of Spanish or Mexican, American and other European descents), and about 10% have some Chinese ancestry[citation needed].
Languages
More than 170 languages are spoken in the country, almost all of them belonging to the Borneo-Philippines group of Malayo-Polynesian language branch of the Austronesian language family.
According to the 1987 Constitution, Filipino, and English are both the official languages. Most Filipinos understand, write and speak English, Filipino and their respective languages.
Filipino is the de facto standardized version of Tagalog, though is de jure distinct from it. It is widely used as a lingua franca throughout the country, and is the sole national language, taught in schools throughout the Philippines since 1940. It is the primary language of public education.
English was imposed by Americans during the U.S. intervention and colonization of the archipelago. English is used in education, churches, religious affairs, print and broadcast media, and business, though the number of people who use it as a second language far outnumber those who speak it as a first language. Still, for highly technical subjects such as medicine, programming, calculus, English is the preferred medium for textbooks, communication, etc. Very few would prefer highly technical books in the vernacular. Movies and TV programs in English are not subtitled and are expected to be directly understood.
The twelve major regional languages are the auxiliary official languages of their respective regions, each with over one million speakers: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, Waray-Waray, Bikol, Kapampangan, Pangasinan. Kinaray-a, Maranao, Maguindanao and Tausug.
The Lan-nang-oe variant of Min Nan Chinese dialect is widely spoken by the country's Chinese minority.
The use of Spanish in the Philippines was the original official language of the country for more than three centuries, but was used mainly by the educated illustrados (including José Rizal) or self taught natives and the Spanish authorities. Spanish was the language of Philippine Revolution, and the 1899 Malolos Constitution proclaimed it as the official language. Following the American occupation of the Philippines, its use declined, especially after 1940. Currently, only a few Spanish Mestizo families speak it as their first language, though many others use it together with Tagalog and English.
Both Spanish and Arabic are used as auxiliary languages in the Philippines. The use of Arabic is prevalent among the Filipino Muslims. It is taught in madrasah (Muslim) schools.
Religion
The Philippines is one of only two majority Roman Catholic countries in Asia (the other being East Timor). About 90% of Filipinos are Christians, where 81% belong to the Roman Catholic Church, and the 9% composed of Protestant denominations, the Philippine Independent Church, and Iglesia ni Cristo.[25] While Christianity is a major force in the culture of the Filipinos, indigenous traditions and rituals still influence religious practice.
Approximately 5% of Filipinos are Sunni Muslim,[26] and are locally known as "Moros", having been dubbed this by the Spanish due to their sharing Islam with the Moors of North Africa. They primarily settle in parts of Mindanao Palawan and the Sulu archipelago, but are now found in most urban areas of the country. Most lowland Muslim Filipinos practice normative Islam, although the practices of some Mindanao's hill tribe Muslims reflect a fusion with animism. There are also small populations of Buddhists, Jews and animists, which, along with other non-Christians and non-Muslims, collectively comprise 5% of the population [citation needed].
Culture
Filipino culture is largely a fusion of the indigenous traditions of the Philippines, with Chinese, Hispanic and American cultures. It has also been significantly influenced by Indonesian and Indian culture [citation needed].
The Hispanic influences in Filipino culture are largely derived from the culture of Spain and Mexico as a result of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule through Mexico City. These Hispanic influences are most evident in Roman Catholic Church religious festivals. Filipinos hold major festivities known as barrio fiestas to commemorate their patron saints. The most visible Hispanic legacy, is the prevalence of Spanish surnames among Filipinos. This peculiarity, unique among the people of Asia, came as a result of a colonial decree for the systematic distribution of family names and implementation of the Spanish naming system on the inhabitants of the Philippines. A Spanish surname in the Philippines does not denote Spanish ancestry. There are many other traces of Spanish culture in the country, such as names of countless streets, towns and provinces, which are also named in Spanish. Spanish architecture also made a major imprint in the Philippines. This can be seen especially in the country's churches, government buildings and universities. Many Hispanic style houses and buildings are being preserved, like the Spanish colonial town in Vigan City, for protection and conservation. Filipino cuisine is also heavily influenced by Mexican and Spanish cuisine.
The Chinese influences in Filipino culture are most evident in Filipino cuisine. The prevalence of noodles, known locally as mami, are a testament of the Chinese cuisine. Other Chinese influences include linguistic borrowings and the occasional Chinese derived surnames.[citation needed]
The use of English language in the Philippines is contemporaneous and is America's visible legacy. The most commonly played sport in the Philippines is basketball. There is also a wide "imitation" of American cultural trends, such as the love of fast-food; many street corners boast fast-food outlets. Aside from the American commercial giants such as McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and KFC, local fast-food chains have also sprung up, including Goldilocks, Jollibee, Greenwich Pizza, and Chowking. Modern day Filipinos also listen to contemporary American music and watch American movies. However, Original Pilipino Music (also known as OPM) and Philippine movies are also widely appreciated.
Filipinos honor national heroes whose works and deeds contributed to the shaping of the Filipino nation. José Rizal is the most celebrated ilustrado, a Spanish-speaking reformist visionary whose writings contributed greatly in nurturing a sense of national identity and awareness. His novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo originally written in Spanish, are required readings for Filipino students, and provide vignettes of colonial life under the Spanish rule.
As with many cultures, music (which includes traditional music) and leisure activities are an important aspect of the Filipino society. Various sports are also enjoyed, including boxing, basketball, badminton and billiards being popular games in the country.
Traditional Filipino Martial Arts, such as Eskrima, had secretly been banned by the Spanish during the 300 year colonial period, but have been revived through an interest in learning pre-hispanic culture. Hence, Filipino Martial Arts had in the 20th Century been made compulsory to learn for all members of the Filipino Armed Forces and the Police and many clubs exist.
See also
References
- ^ a b Philippine Census 2005 Population Projection
- ^ WOW Philippines www.tourism.gov.ph. Accessed September 30,2006
- ^ Constitition of the Republic of the Philippines, Article ZIV, Section 7 Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Accessed December 2, 2006.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
Aboutwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Climate of the Philippines [1]. Accessed September 30, 2006
- ^ The 1990 Baguio City Earthquake [2]. Accessed October 3,2006
- ^ Leyte is Famous For... [3]. Accessed September 30,2006
- ^ As India gets too costly, BPOs turn to Philippines [4]. Accessed October 2, 2006
- ^ Philippines now "Second World" [5]. Accessed September 30,2006
- ^ Philippines CIA World Factbook. Accessed August 23, 2006
- ^ Philippines Aims to Boost Growth by 2009[www.forbes.com] Accessed February 22, 2007
- ^ Large Swiss Firm offers to invest in Philippines [6]. Accessed January 27,2007
- ^ RP ready for Global Trade [7]. Accessed February 17,2007
- ^ Economy: Philippines' Exports and Imports Partners [8]
- ^ Beyond Imperial Manila [www.manilastandardtoday.com] Accessed July 25, 2006
- ^ President sees balanced budget by the end of the year [9]. Accessed February 2, 2007
- ^ Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos [10].Accessed September 29,2006
- ^ a b Trouble in Paradise [11].Accessed September 30,2006
- ^ [12] [13]. Accessed September 30,2006
- ^ Filipino workers sent home $12.8 billion in '06 [www.businessweek.com] Accessed February 17, 2007
- ^ International Organization Participation [14]
- ^ United Nations Human Development Report 2005, p.259
- ^ CIA World Factbook - Updated July 20 2006
- ^ Capelli et al, A Predominantly Indigenous Paternal Heritage for the Austronesian-Speaking Peoples of Insular Southeast Asia and Oceania, Table 1
- ^ PHILIPPINES: ADDITIONAL THREE PERSONS PER MINUTE National Statistics Office Accessed November 27, 2006
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
religionwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).
External links
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
News from Wikinews
Quotations from Wikiquote
Texts from Wikisource
Textbooks from Wikibooks
Resources from Wikiversity
Official
- Official website of the Philippine Government - Gateway to governmental sites
Maps
Other
- Template:Wikitravel
- Philippines, an external wiki
- BBC Country Profile on the Philippines
- CIA World Factbook: Philippines
- U.S. Country Studies: Philippines
- Origins of the Filipinos and Their Languages by Wilhelm G. Solheim II (PDF)
- History of the Philippine Islands in many volumes, from Project Gutenberg (and indexed under Emma Helen Blair, the translator)
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