Philippines

Geography

The Philippines are an archipelago in the South China Sea. The land has a total area of 300,000 km² (115,831 mi²) and a total coastline of 36,289 km (22,548.9 mi). This land area is approximately 74% of the area of California. The Philippines are thus the 21st biggest country in Asia and in terms of area ranked 73rd worldwide. Only slightly less than half of all residents (48%) live within cities.

The Philippines are comparatively low at an average elevation of 442 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Apo) is at 2,954 meters. The archipelago consists of 7,641 mostly uninhabited islands. The Philippines have no direct neighbors. The distance between New York City and the Capital Manila is about 13,690 km (8,507 mi).

The climate in the Philippines

In the Philippines, as in all equatorial countries, there is a tropical climate. Unlike in Europe or the USA, there is almost no difference between the seasons. The daylight hours vary little, and the temperature differences between summer and winter are also lower. Depending on the season, the average daytime temperatures range between 30 and 33 degrees. In some parts of the country, the temperature rises to 35 °C. In the colder months, and depending in the region, the temperature drops to 23 °C in a month's average.

• Detailed climate data for the Philippines and 16 individual regions
• Volcanoes
• Earthquakes
• Tsunamis
• Typhoons

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Tagalog	29.3 %
Cebuano	23.3 %
Ilocano	9.3 %
Hiligaynon	9.1 %
Bicol	5.7 %
Waray-waray	3.8 %
Pampango	3.0 %
English	2.2 %
Kapampangan	2.2 %
Chinese	1.9 %
Pangasinan	1.8 %
Maguindanao	1.4 %
Maranao	1.3 %
Kinaray-a	1.0 %
Tausug	0.9 %
other	3.8 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Lutherans	2.8%
Church of Christ	2.3%
Roman Catholics	80.9%
Aglipayan	2.0%
other Christs	4.5%
Muslims	5.0%
other	2.5%

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Economy

GDP:	394.09 bn $
Exportations:	87.80 bn $
Importations:	127.40 bn $
› Tourism receipts:	2.77 bn $
› Debt rate:	56.95 %
› Unemployment rate:	2.2 %
› Inflation rate:	3.93 %
› Corruption index:	33 (bad)
› Energy consumption:	90.9 bn kWh

According to the definition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Philippines are a developing country because of its lower economic performance. Despite this classification, the country is currently also one of the emerging markets, i.e. countries with increasing industrialization.

In terms of revenues, the Philippines still rank 125th in the world and, with an average annual income of 3,550 USD are one of the lower middle-income countries.

Land use

4% Urban areas:	10,817 km²
42% Agricultural areas:	125,160 km²
24% Forest:	72,330 km²
1% Water areas:	1,830 km²
31% Others:	91,693 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	216,387 km
Railways:	77 km
Waterways:	3,219 km
Commercial harbors:	1,805
› Airports:	36