Country Profile

Spanning more than 300,000 sq km, the Republic of the Philippines reaches from Taiwan in the north to Indonesia in the south. The Philippines is the fourth-largest country in South-east Asia in territorial size and is home to some 175 ethnolinguistic groups across over 7000 islands. In terms of population, it has the 13th-largest population in the world and the seventh largest in Asia. According to the UN, the population reached 107.4m in the first quarter of 2019. Income inequality and uneven growth are problems that need addressing if the country is to escape the middle-income trap, with poverty incidence among Filipinos in the first quarter of 2018 estimated at 21%. This chapter also contains interviews with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte; and Teodoro L Locsin, Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs.