12 June 1898 (independence proclaimed from Spain); 4 July 1946 (from the US)
Religions
nominally Roman Catholic 92% (less than 20% practicing), Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%
Roman Catholic 80.9%, Muslim 5%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census)
Languages
Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Exports
soybeans and derivatives, petroleum and gas, vehicles, corn, wheat
semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits
External Debt
$136,800,000,000 $
$72,270,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Argentine pesos (ARS) per US dollar - 3.1636 (2008 est.), 3.1105 (2007), 3.0543 (2006), 2.9037 (2005), 2.9233 (2004)
Philippine pesos (PHP) per US dollar - 44.439 (2008 est.), 46.148 (2007), 51.246 (2006), 55.086 (2005), 56.04 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
0.900%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
6
0
Location
Southern South America, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Chile and Uruguay
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
Area
2,780,400 km sq
300,000 km sq
Coastline
4,989 km
36,289 km
Climate
mostly temperate; arid in southeast; subantarctic in southwest
tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
