ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Philippines. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Philippines. The Philippines won independence in 1946 after being ruled by the United States for 43 years and occupied by the Japanese during World War II. One of Southeast Asia's wealthiest countries, the Philippines has been plagued since the 1960s by economic mismanagement, widespread corruption, insurgencies, and 14 years of dictatorship under Ferdinand Marcos. Propped up by robust domestic demand, the Philippines' export-oriented economy weathered tough international conditions to grow by an estimated 2.8 percent in 2001, down from 3.9 percent in 2000.
