World Business | Asia | Asia Business | Philippines

Economy - overview:
The Philippines was less severely affected by the Asian financial crisis of 1998 than its neighbors, aided in part by annual remittances of $7-8 billion from overseas workers and no sustained runup in asset prices or foreign borrowing prior to the crisis. From a 0.6% decline in 1998, GDP expanded by 2.4% in 1999, and 4.4% in 2000, but slowed to 3.2% in 2001 in the context of a global economic slowdown, an export slump, and political and security concerns. GDP growth accelerated to 4.3% in 2002, 4.7% in 2003, and about 6% in 2004, reflecting the continued resilience of the service sector, and improved exports and agricultural output. Nonetheless, it will take a higher, sustained growth path to make appreciable progress in poverty alleviation given the Philippines' high annual population growth rate and unequal distribution of income. The Philippines also faces higher oil prices, higher interest rates on its dollar borrowings, and higher inflation. Fiscal constraints limit Manila's ability to finance infrastructure and social spending. The Philippines' consistently large budget deficit has produced a high debt level and has forced Manila to spend a large portion of the national government budget on debt service. Large, unprofitable public enterprises, especially in the energy sector, contribute to the government's debt because of slow progress on privatization. Credit rating agencies are increasingly concerned about the Philippines' ability to sustain the debt; legislative progress on new revenue measures will weigh heavily on credit rating decisions.
 

Agriculture - Products
sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, casavas, pineapples, fish, mangoes, pork, eggs, beef

Aid
US Agency for International Development (USAID):
Mission in the Philippines
 
Airlines
Airlines in Asia
Airlines Worldwide

Airports
Airports in Asia
Airports Worldwide

Country Budget
revenues: $12.22 billion
expenditures: $15.84 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.4 million (2004 est.)

Currency (code): Philippine peso (PHP)

Currency Exchange Rates
Philippine pesos per US dollar - 56.04 (2004), 54.203 (2003), 51.604 (2002), 50.993 (2001), 44.192 (2000)

Fiscal Year: calendar year

GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
GDP (purchasing power parity):  $430.6 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:  5.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:  purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 14.8%
industry: 31.9%
services: 53.2% (2004 est.)

Imports / Exports
Exports:  $38.63 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, garments, optical instruments, coconut products, fruits and nuts, copper products, chemicals
Exports - partners:  Japan 20.1%, US 18.2%, Netherlands 9%, Hong Kong 7.9%, China 6.7%, Singapore 6.6%, Taiwan 5.6%, Malaysia 5.2% (2004)

Imports:  $37.5 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities:  raw materials, machinery and equipment, fuels, vehicles and vehicle parts, plastic, chemicals, grains
Imports - partners:  US 18.8%, Japan 17.4%, Singapore 7.8%, Taiwan 7.3%, South Korea 6.2%, China 6%, Malaysia 4.5% (2004)

Industries
electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing

Internal Revenue
Bureau of Internal Revenue: (Philippines) PH
 
Investing
Forex, Foreign Exchange Market: Currency Trading

Labor Force & Unemployment Rate
Labor force:  35.86 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:  agriculture 36%, industry 16%, services 48% (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate:  11.7% (2004 est.)