Country name:

Philippines

Conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines
Conventional short form: Philippines
Local short form: Pilipinas
Local long form: Republika ng Pilipinas

Government type:

Republic

Capital:

Manila

Administrative divisions:

73 provinces and 61 chartered cities*;

Independence:

4 July 1946 (from US)

National holiday:

Independence Day (from Spain), 12 June (1898); note - 12 June 1898 is the date of independence from Spain, 4 July 1946 is the date of independence from the US

Population:

84,525,639 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 36.6% (male 15,731,451; female 15,169,264)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 24,990,500; female 25,478,245)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 1,399,862; female 1,756,317) (2002 est.)

Location:

Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam

Geographic coordinates:

13 00 N, 122 00 E

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Area:

Total: 300,000 sq km
Water: 1,830 sq km
Land: 298,170 sq km

Area - comparative:

Slightly larger than Arizona

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

36,289 km

Climate:

Tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)

Terrain:

Mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands

Elevation extremes:

Lowest point: Philippine Sea 0 m
Highest point: Mount Apo 2,954 m

Natural resources:

Timber, Petroleum, Nickel, Cobalt, Silver, Gold, Salt, Copper

Land use:

Arable land: 18.45%
permanent crops: 14.76%
other: 66.79% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:

15,500 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

Astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis

Environment - current issues:

Uncontrolled deforestation in watershed areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in Manila; increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps which are important fish breeding grounds

Environment - international agreements:

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
Signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:

Favorably located in relation to many of Southeast Asia's main water bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea, and Luzon Strait