12 June 1898 (independence proclaimed from Spain); 4 July 1946 (from the US)
17 August 1945 (declared) note: recognized by the Netherlands on 27 December 1949; in August 2005, the Netherlands announced it recognized de facto Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945
Religions
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)
Muslim 86.1%, Protestant 5.7%, Roman Catholic 3%, Hindu 1.8%, other or unspecified 3.4% (2000 census)
Languages
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)
Exports
semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, fruits
oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles, rubber
External Debt
$72,270,000,000 $
$186,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Philippine pesos (PHP) per US dollar - 44.439 (2008 est.), 46.148 (2007), 51.246 (2006), 55.086 (2005), 56.04 (2004)
Indonesian rupiah (IDR) per US dollar - 9,558.1 (2008 est.), 9,056 (2007 est.), 9,159.3 (2006), 9,704.7 (2005), 8,938.9 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.900%
3.000%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
5
Location
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean
Area
300,000 km sq
1,904,569 km sq
Coastline
36,289 km
54,716 km
Climate
tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
