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The
7000 islands that comprise the Philippines are the forgotten
islands of South-East Asia. Off the main overland route and
with a recent history of martial law and endemic corruption,
the country has struggled to attract tourists in the numbers
many of its southeast Asian neighbours have.
Since
the demise of the authoritarian Marcos regime 15 years ago
the Philippines has fared better; however, the last few years
have sent the country's fortunes tumbling once again.
In
2000 a Brussels-based research centre declared the Philippines
the most disaster-prone country on earth. It named typhoons,
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, garbage landslides
and military action against Muslim insurgents as just some
of the problems both locals and tourists have had to deal
with.
Political
woes continue to set the country back. Most recently, former
president Estrada was arraigned in July 2001 on the capital
offence of economic plunder. Meanwhile, new president Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo is struggling to revitalise the country and
establish her political credentials.
Despite
these difficulties, most of the Philippines is laid back,
stable and relatively safe. The country likes to promote itself
as the place where 'Asia wears a smile' and the locals are,
by and large, an exceptionally friendly and helpful bunch.
On top of this, transport is cheap, the food is good, accommodation
is plentiful and (for the monolinguistic) English is widely
spoken.
Full
country name: Republic of the Philippines
Area: 299,000 sq km (116,610 sq mi)
Population: 78.4 million
Capital city: Manila (pop: 10 million)
People: Predominantly descendants of Malays, Chinese and Muslim
minorities and a number of mestizos (Filipino-Spanish or Filipino-Americans)
Language: Pilipino (Tagalog) and English plus numerous widely
spoken indigenous languages, some Spanish
Religion: 82% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 5% Muslim, 3%
Buddhist
Government: Republic
President: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
GDP:
US$75.2 billion
GDP per head: US$1000
Annual growth: 3.9%
Inflation: 4.4%
Major products/industries: Electronic and electrical products,
clothing
Major trading partners: USA, Japan, Taiwan
Philippines
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