| STAT | Philippines | Taiwan | HISTORY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget > Revenues |
$36.35 billion
Ranked 59th. |
$78.38 billion
Ranked 39th. 2 times more than Philippines |
|
| Budget surplus > + or deficit > - |
-2.3% of GDP
Ranked 76th. |
-2.6% of GDP
Ranked 84th. 13% more than Philippines |
|
| Debt > Government debt > Public debt, share of GDP |
51 CIA
Ranked 61st. 42% more than Taiwan |
36 CIA
Ranked 99th. |
|
| Distribution of family income > Gini index |
44.8
Ranked 14th. 31% more than Taiwan |
34.2
Ranked 9th. |
|
| Overview | 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). | Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing government guidance of investment and foreign trade. Exports, led by electronics, machinery, and petrochemicals have provided the primary impetus for economic development. This heavy dependence on exports exposes the economy to fluctuations in world demand. In 2009, Taiwan's GDP contracted 1.8%, due primarily to a 13.1% year-on-year decline in exports. In 2010 GDP grew 10.7%, as exports returned to the level of previous years, and in 2011, grew 4.0%. In 2012, however, growth fell to 1.3%, because of softening global demand. Taiwan's diplomatic isolation, low birth rate, and rapidly aging population are major long-term challenges. Free trade agreements have proliferated in East Asia over the past several years, but except for the landmark Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) signed with China in June 2010, so far Taiwan has been excluded from this greater economic integration in part because of its diplomatic status. Negotiations continue on such follow-on components of ECFA regarding trade in goods and services. The MA administration has said that the ECFA will serve as a stepping stone toward trade pacts with other key trade partners, which Taiwan subsequently launched with Singapore and New Zealand. Taiwan's Total Fertility rate of just over one child per woman is among the lowest in the world, raising the prospect of future labor shortages, falling domestic demand, and declining tax revenues. Taiwan's population is aging quickly, with the number of people over 65 accounting for 11.2% of the island's total population as of 2012. The island runs a large trade surplus largely because of its surplus with China, and its foreign reserves are the world's fifth largest, behind China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. In 2006 China overtook the US to become Taiwan's second-largest source of imports after Japan. China is also the island's number one destination for foreign direct investment. Three financial memorandums of understanding, covering banking, securities, and insurance, took effect in mid-January 2010, opening the island to greater investments from the mainland's financial firms and institutional investors, and providing new opportunities for Taiwan financial firms to operate in China. In August 2012, Taiwan Central Bank signed a memorandum of understanding on cross-Strait currency settlement with its Chinese counterpart. The MOU allows for the direct settlement of Chinese RMB and the New Taiwan dollar across the Strait, which could help develop Taiwan into a local RMB hub. Closer economic links with the mainland bring greater opportunities for the Taiwan economy, but also poses new challenges as the island becomes more economically dependent on China while political differences remain unresolved. |
|
| Exports |
$46.28 billion
Ranked 58th. |
$299.80 billion
Ranked 20th. 6 times more than Philippines |
|
| Exports per capita |
$478.56
Ranked 132nd. |
$12,902.98
Ranked 26th. 27 times more than Philippines |
|
| GDP > Composition, by sector of origin > Services |
57.1%
Ranked 105th. |
68.2%
Ranked 61st. 19% more than Philippines |
|
| GDP > Per capita |
$3,756.92
per capita
Ranked 73th. |
$30,561.44
per capita
Ranked 28th. 8 times more than Philippines |
|
| GDP > Per capita > PPP |
$4,400.00
Ranked 130th. |
$38,400.00
Ranked 18th. 9 times more than Philippines |
|
| GDP > Purchasing power parity |
$419.60 billion
Ranked 31st. |
$894.30 billion
Ranked 19th. 2 times more than Philippines |
|
| Inflation rate > Consumer prices |
3.2%
Ranked 114th. 68% more than Taiwan |
1.9%
Ranked 166th. |
|
| Population below poverty line |
26.5%
Ranked 18th. 18 times more than Taiwan |
1.5%
Ranked 17th. |
|
| Public debt |
51.5% of GDP
Ranked 62nd. 44% more than Taiwan |
35.8% of GDP
Ranked 102nd. |
|
| Unemployment rate |
7%
Ranked 62nd. 67% more than Taiwan |
4.2%
Ranked 96th. |
|
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