Economy

Imports
$167 billion (2022). Integrated Circuits ($15.7B), Refined Petroleum ($13.9B), Coal Briquettes ($5.18B), Cars ($4.3B), and Crude Petroleum ($3.32B), importing mostly from China ($53.6B), Indonesia ($13.6B), South Korea ($12.5B), Japan ($11.4B), and Singapore ($9.28B).

In 2022, Philippines was the world’s biggest importer of Iron Sheet Piling ($439M), Animal Fat ($76.1M), and Copra ($38.8M).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 46% have an account with a financial institution
• 8.1% have a credit card
• 21.7% have a mobile money account
• 8.3% make online purchases

Ease of doing business
It is moderately easy to conduct business (rated 62.8 out of 100) Ranked 11th out of 25 East Asian countries, and 95th worldwide out of 190 countries (2023, World Bank).

Exports
$110 billion (2022). Integrated Circuits ($32.4B), Office Machine Parts ($10.2B), Gold ($8.9B), Semiconductor Devices ($3.33B), and Insulated Wire ($3.26B), exporting mostly to United States ($15.5B), China ($15.3B), Hong Kong ($12.6B), Japan ($11.3B), and Singapore ($7.07B).

In 2022, Philippines was the world’s biggest exporter of Nickel Ore ($1.29B) and Gold Clad Metals ($90.3M).

Main local online stores
Lazada, OLX Philippines, Cebu Pacific, Zalora, Metrodeal, Ensogo, Ebay, Lamudi, Carmudi, Autodeal, Zipmatch.

Economic freedom
‘Moderately free’ (61.1 out of 100) ranked 15th out of 45 countries in Asia Pacific ranked 80th worldwide out of 186 countries (2022, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal)

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 11th out of 16 South East Asian, East
Asian, and Oceanian countries, 56th out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Television

ABS-CBN – commercial
GMA Network – commercial
ETC – commercial
People’s Television – government-owned

Radio

ABS-CBN – operates stations nationally
GMA Network – operates stations nationally
Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) – operates stations nationally
Radio Mindanao Network – operates more than 50 stations nationwide
Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) – government-run, operates 31 stations nationwide with emphasis on news, public affairs

News agency

Philippines News Agency – government-run

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 117.4%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 97.3%

Most popular web search engines
Google (94.83%), Bing (2.85%), Yahoo (1.26%), Petal Search (0.75%), Ecosia (0.24%), DuckduckGo (0.1%)

Most used social media
Facebook (85.29%), Twitter (4.63%), YouTube (4.02%), Instagram (3.11%), Pinterest (1.61%), Reddit (0.93%)

Religion
The Philippines is predominantly Roman Catholic. Other religions include Islam, Protestantism, Aglipay, the Church of Christ, and Buddhism.  There are Catholic Chapels and Mosques in the shopping malls. The Filipinos observe holidays during the holy week (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday), All Saints Day (November 1), and Christmas. During those times, people are involved in church activities and family life with work and business essentially coming to a halt. 

Ethnicity
The Philippines is one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the world. With 7,107 islands; about eleven languages and eighty-seven dialects are spoken in the Philippines. There are strong ties for people of the same ethnic groups. There are also varied pockets of indigenous populations in remote hilly and mountain areas.

Corruption perceptions Index
The Philippines scored 33 out of 100, ranked 116 out 180 countries worldwide.

CO2 emissions
1.37 metric tons per capita.

World Happiness Index
The Philippines ranked 60 out of 146 countries, with a score of 5.904.