philippines

=Philippines=

__Fast facts__

 * Population:** 91 077 280
 * Area:** 300 000km2
 * Currency:** Philipine Peso
 * Capital City:** Manila
 * Language:** Filipino and English
 * Head of State:** Gloria Macapagal -Arroyo

__Location__
The Philippines are located in the Northern Hemisphere, in south-east Asia. They are an archipelago in between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The Philippines are east of Vietnam. The geographical coordinates are 13 00 North and 122 00 East. The Philippines have no bordering countries. In the north is the Luzon Strait. In the south is the Celebes Sea and in the southwest is the Sulu Sea.

__Geographical Features__
The Philippines are made up of 7 107 islands. The total length of the Philippines coast line is 36 289kms. The islands are mostly mountainous with narrow coastal plains and tropical rainforest. Luzon is the largest island and it has numerous volcanoes. The longest river is the Cagayan which runs for 350kms. Other significant rivers are the Abra, Bicol, Chico and the Pampanga. The Philippines is mostly mountainous with narrow coastal lowlands.

The islands positioned on the Ring of Fire. This means they experience frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The Mayon Volcanoe is the most the most active volcanoe in the Philippines and it is considered one of the most dangerous in the world. The highest point is Mt Apo which is 2 954m. The Philippine Sea is the lowest point at 0m.

__Climate__
The Philippines have a tropical climate. They are very warm and humid throughout the year. From May to March is hot and dry weather with high humidity levels. In Manila temperatures range from 70 degrees F to 90 degrees F while the average temperature is 80 degrees F. The Philippines has seasonal monsoons. The northeast of the Philippines has the monsoon season from November to April. The southeast of the Philippines has their monsoon season from May to October.

Annual rainfall varies widely but is mainly heavy. Mountaionous regions is where the rain falls the heaviest. The Philippines get a few tsunamis that cause a lot of destruction. Landslides are a natural disaster due to the all the precipitation and the typhoons. Active volcanoes and destrutive earthquakes are another caution.

__Economy__
The Philippines is a newly industrialized country with an agricultural base, little industry and a service-sector economy. Listed in the "Next Eleven" economies, the Philippines is one of the most developed business process outsourcing industries in Asia. The GDP is $449.8 billion (2006 estimate) and the GDP per capita is $5 000 (2006 estimate). The Asia Financial Crisis wasn't as severe in the Philippines, although it badly effected the surrounding countries. The Philippines face one major problem in the future; that over 30 million people earn less than $2 a day. 7.9% of the population is unemployed (2006 estimate). 40% of the population is under the poverty line (2001 estimate).

The Philippines agriculture products are sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas,cassavas, pineapples, mangoes, pork, eggs, beef and fish. They earn $46.16 billion from exporting semiconductors and electronic products, transport equipment, garmets, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil and fruits. They export these things to the USA, Japan, Netherlands, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. The Philipines spend $53.11 billion on imports. These are electronic products, mineral fuels, machinery and transport equipment, iron and steel, textile fabrics, grains, chemicals and plastic. They get these from the USA, Japan, Sinapure, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

__Government__
The Philippines has a presidential, unitary as it's form of government. To this there is the exeption of one autonomous region that is free from the national government. The President, Gloria Macapagal -Arroyo, functions as the Head of State and the Head of Government as well as being the Commander-in-Chief of the countries armed forces. The President is elected by popular vote and they are president for a six year term. The Cabinet is appointed by the President.

The Philippines is a bicameral gongress, with a Senate as the Upper House and a House of Representatives as the Lower House. People are elected to the Senate every six years, while people are elected to the House of Representatives every three years.In the Philippines there are 17 regions, 81 provinces, 131 cities (including the capital, Manila), 1497 municipalities and 41 994 barangays. The Philipines are also separated in to three island groups; Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Each of these areas vote. Suffrage is 18 years and Universal.

__History__
In the 16th Century the Philippines Islands became a Spanish colony. After the Spanish-American War, in 1898 America took over the Philippines. The Philippines became a self governing commonwealth in 1935. Manuel Quezon was elected President and prepared the country for independence over a period of 10 years. The Japanese occupied the Philippines during World War II in 1942. During this time the U.S. forces and the Philippinos fought together to evict the Japanese. The Republic of the Philippines gained independence on the 4th July 1946. In 1986, the 20 year rule of Ferdinand Marcos ended because of the People Power movement in Manila. This forced him into exile and Corazon Aquino became President. During her time as President several coup attempts were made which stopped a return to full political stability and economic development.

In 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the island and Fidel Ramos was elected President. In 1998 Joseph Estrada was elected President but was succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in January 2001. Joseph had an impeachment trial on corruption charges and another People Power Movement forced him to resign. Gloria was elected to a six year term as President in May 2004. The Philippines face threats from three terrorist groups that are on the US Governments Terrorist Organisation List. In 2006 and 2007, the Philippines captured or killed some of these key wanted terrorists. In the southern Philippines decades of Muslim fighters have led to peace accord with one group and cease fires and peace talks are occuring.