Philipine Country Report

INTRODUCTION
The Republic of the Philippines is one of the largest island groups in the world, comprised of more than 7,100 islands located in Southeast Asia, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam. These islands combined amount to a landmass that is only slightly larger than Arizona, and are home to over 97 million Filipinos. The capital of the Philippines is Manila, which is located on the island of Luzon. The archipelago consists of seventy-three provinces. (Tarradell, 2004).
According to the World Fact Book Retrieved December 2, 2010, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rp.html The Philippine Islands was a Spanish colony during the 16th century; they were ceded to the US in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. In 1935 the Philippines became a self-governing commonwealth.   In 1942 the islands fell under Japanese occupation during World War II, and US forces and Filipinos fought together during 1944-45 to regain control. On 4 July 1946 the Republic of the Philippines attained its independence. 1992, the US closed its last military bases on the islands.
The Filipino culture is heavily influenced by Spanish and Japanese traditions due to their occupation of the islands throughout history (Spain in the 16th century, Japan during WWII). Although the Filipino political system is technically a Democratic Republic similar to that of the United States, its unique culture has had a heavy impact on the business environment of the Philippines to this day. (World Fact Book, CIA)

DEMOGRAPHY

Population 99,900,177 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12

Age Structure 0-14 years: 35.2% (male 17,606,352/female 16,911,376)
15-64 years: 60.6% (male 29,679,327/female 29,737,919)
65 years and over: 4.1% (male 1,744,248/female 2,297,381) (2010 est.)
Median Age total: 22.7 years
male: 22.2 years
female: 23.2 years (2010 est.)
Population Growth Rate 1.931% (2010 est.)
country comparison... [continues]

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