1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
300,440 km2; 53% forested, 30% arable land, 5% permanent pasture, 12% other WATER
Coastline
about 22,540 km
Limits of territorial waters (claimed)
0-300 nm (under an archipelago theory, waters within straight lines joining appropriate points of outermost islands are considered internal waters; waters between these baselines and the limits described in the Treaty of Paris, 10 December 1898, the US-Spain Treaty of 7 November 1900, and the US-UK Treaty of 2 January 1930 are considered to be the territorial sea); fishing 200 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
91.5% Christian Malay, 4% Muslim Malay, 1.5% Chinese, 3% other
Labor force
18.5 million (1981); 47.3% agriculture, 12.2% manufacturing, 12.2% commerce, 17.6% services, 3.5% transportation, 4.6% construction
Language
Tagalog (renamed Pilipino) is the national language of the Philippine Republic; English is the language of school instruction and government business
Literacy
about 83%
Nationality
noun—Filipino(s); adjective—Philippine
Population
51,574,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.5%
Religion
83% Roman Catholic, 10% Protestant, 4% Muslim, 3% Buddhist and other
Government
Branches
new constitution provides for unicameral National Assembly, and a strong executive branch under President and Prime Minister; judicial branch headed by Supreme Court with descending authority in a three-tiered system of local, regional trial, and intermediate appellate courts
Capital
Manila
Communists
about 5,000 armed insurgents; not recognized as legal party
Elections
Interim National Assembly serves as interim government pending regular elections scheduled for 1984 Political parties and leaders: national parties are Marcos's New Society Party (KBL), the Liberals, Nationalistas, and Laban; prominent regional parties include the Mindanao Alliance and the Pusyon Bisaya
Government leader
President Ferdinand MARCOS
Legal system
based on Spanish, Islamic, and Anglo-American law; parliamentary constitution passed 1973; constitution amended in 1981 to provide for French-style mixed presidential-parliamentary system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; legal education at University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and 71 other law schools; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; martial law lifted in January 1981
Member of
ADB, ASEAN, ASPAC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMCO, IMF, IPU, ISO, ITU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 12 June
Official name
Republic of the Philippines
Political subdivisions
72 provinces
Suffrage
universal over age 18
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
main crops—rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas, abaca, tobacco
Budget
(1980) revenues $5.06 billion, expenditures $6.17 billion (capital expenditures $2.21 billion), deficit $1.11 billion
Electric power
4,980,000 kW capacity (1980); 18.924 billion kWh produced (1980), 382 kWh per capita
Exports
$5.8 billion (f.o.b., 1980); coconut products, sugar, logs and lumber, copper concentrates, bananas, garments, nickel, electrical components, gold
Fiscal year
calendar year
Fishing
catch 1.6 million metric tons (1978)
GNP
$35.1 billion (1980), $720 per capita; 5.4% real growth, 1980
Imports
$7.7 billion (f.o.b., 1980); petroleum, industrial equipment, wheat
Major industries
mining, agricultural processing, textiles, steel processing,chemical products
Major trade partners
(1980) exports—33% US, 33% Japan; imports—22% Japan, 26% US
Monetary conversion rate
8.2 pesos=US$1 (September 1981)
Communications
Airfields
346 total, 316 usable; 62 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 42 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
approximately 80 major transport aircraft
Highways
152,800 km total (1980); 20,000 km paved; 80,700 km gravel, crushed stone, or stabilized soil surface; 52,000 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels
Pipelines
refined products, 357 km
Ports
18 major, numerous minor
Railroads
3,510 km total (1980); 2 common-carrier systems 1.067-meter gauge totaling about 1,177 km (360 km inoperable); 19 industrial systems with 4 different gauges totaling 2,333 km; 34% government owned
Telecommunications
good international radio and submarine cable services; domestic and interisland service adequate; 519,642 telephones (1.2 per 100 popl.); 273 AM stations, including 6 US; and 6 FM stations; 24 TV stations, including 4 US; submarine cables extended to Hong Kong, Guam, Singapore, and Japan; tropospheric-scatter link to Taiwan; 1 ground satellite station; domestic satellite network under construction
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 12,619,000; 8,948,000 fit for military service; about 555,000 reach military age (20) annually
Supply
limited small arms and small arms ammunition, small patrol craft production; licensed assembly of transport aircraft; most other materiel obtained from US; naval ships and equipment from Australia, Japan, Italy, Singapore, US, and Italy; aircraft and helicopters from West Germany and US