|
Economy
>
Economy
>
Overview
|
The Indian Ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas. It carries a particularly heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia. Its fish are of great and growing importance to the bordering countries for domestic consumption and export. Fishing fleets from Russia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean, mainly for shrimp and tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and western Australia. An estimated 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean. Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
|
Philippine GDP growth, which cooled from 7.6% in 2010 to 3.9% in 2011, expanded to 6.6% in 2012 - meeting the government's targeted 6%-7% growth range. The 2012 expansion partly reflected a rebound from depressed 2011 export and public sector spending levels. The economy has weathered global economic and financial downturns better than its regional peers due to minimal exposure to troubled international securities, lower dependence on exports, relatively resilient domestic consumption, large remittances from four- to five-million overseas Filipino workers, and a rapidly expanding business process outsourcing industry. The current account balance had recorded consecutive surpluses since 2003; international reserves are at record highs; the banking system is stable; and the stock market was Asia's second best-performer in 2012. Efforts to improve tax administration and expenditure management have helped ease the Philippines' tight fiscal situation and reduce high debt levels. The Philippines received several credit rating upgrades on its sovereign debt in 2012, and has had little difficulty tapping domestic and international markets to finance its deficits. Achieving a higher growth path nevertheless remains a pressing challenge. Economic growth in the Philippines averaged 4.5% during the MACAPAGAL-ARROYO administration but poverty worsened during her term. Growth has accelerated under the AQUINO government, but with limited progress thus far in bringing down unemployment, which hovers around 7%, and improving the quality of jobs. Underemployment is nearly 20% and more than 40% of the employed are estimated to be working in the informal sector. The AQUINO administration has been working to boost the budgets for education, health, cash transfers to the poor, and other social spending programs, and is relying on the private sector to help fund major infrastructure projects under its Public-Private Partnership program. Long term challenges include reforming governance and the judicial system, building infrastructure, improving regulatory predictability, and the ease of doing business, attracting higher levels of local and foreign investments. The Philippine Constitution and the other laws continue to restrict foreign ownership in important activities/sectors (such as land ownership and public utilities).
|
|
|
Environment
>
Current issues
|
endangered marine species include the dugong, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and Red Sea
|
uncontrolled deforestation especially in watershed areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in major urban centers; coral reef degradation; increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps that are important fish breeding grounds
|
|
|
Geography
>
Area
>
Comparative
|
about 5.5 times the size of the US
|
slightly larger than Arizona
|
|
|
Geography
>
Area
>
Comparative to US places
|
about 5.5 times the size of the US
|
slightly larger than Arizona
|
|
|
Geography
>
Area
>
Total
|
68.56 million sq km
Ranked 3rd.
229 times more
than
Philippines
|
300,000 sq km
Ranked 74th.
|
|
|
Geography
>
Climate
|
northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon (June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and October/November in the northern Indian Ocean and January/February in the southern Indian Ocean
|
tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
|
|
|
Geography
>
Coastline
|
66,526 km
Ranked 4th.
83% more than
Philippines
|
36,289 km
Ranked 5th.
|
|
|
Geography
>
Elevation extremes
>
Highest point
|
sea level 0 m
|
Mount Apo 2,954 m
|
|
|
Geography
>
Geographic coordinates
|
20 00 S, 80 00 E
|
13 00 N, 122 00 E
|
|
|
Geography
>
Location
|
body of water between Africa, the Southern Ocean, Asia, and Australia
|
Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam
|
|
|
Geography
>
Natural hazards
|
occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches
|
astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis
|
|
|
Geography
>
Natural resources
|
oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
|
timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper
|
|
|
Geography
>
Terrain
|
surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in the southern Indian Ocean; unique reversal of surface currents in the northern Indian Ocean; low atmospheric pressure over southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninetyeast Ridge
|
mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands
|
|