extremes:
lowest point: Philippine Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Apo 2,954 m

Natural resources: timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold,
salt, copper

Land use:
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 12%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 19% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 15,800 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and
struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active
volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis

Environment - current issues: uncontrolled deforestation in watershed
areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in Manila; increasing
pollution of coastal mangrove swamps which are important fish breeding
grounds

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification

@Philippines:People

Population: 81,159,644 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 37% (male 15,344,555; female 14,807,320)
15-64 years: 59% (male 23,777,245; female 24,285,565)
65 years and over: 4% (male 1,312,646; female 1,632,313) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.07% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 27.85 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 6.13 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -1.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 29.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 67.48 years
male: 64.65 years
female: 70.46 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.48 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Filipino(s)
adjective: Philippine

Ethnic groups: Christian Malay 91.5%, Muslim Malay 4%, Chinese 1.5%,
other 3%

Religions: Roman Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 5%, Buddhist and
other 3%

Languages: Pilipino (official, based on Tagalog), English (official)

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.6%
male: 95%
female: 94.3% (1995 est.)

@Philippines:Government

Country name:
conventional long form: Re