The Philippines is an island nation situated in the western Pacific Ocean in Southeast Asia, bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east and the South China Sea to the west. This archipelago consists of approximately 7,107 islands and is located near Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
48.5%
Urban population (2023)
51.5%
Rural population (2023)
50.8%
Male (2023)
49.2%
Female (2023)
10%
Baby boomer (2020)
16%
Gen X (2020)
24%
Gen Y (2020)
31%
Gen Z (2020)
66.6%
Participation rate (12/2023)
96.9%
Employment rate (12/2023)
65.1%
Labour force at MSMEs (2022)
24.1%
High-skilled labour ratio (2017)
US$ 331
Monthly average income (2022)
17.5%
Attrition rate (2023)
23.7%
Employment in Agriculture (2022)
18.9%
Employment in Industry (2022)
57.4%
Employment in Services (2022)
Economic profile
The 34th largest economy of the world
US$ 436.6B
GDP (2023)
US$ 3,870
GDP per capita (2023)
US$ 24B
Digital economy GMV (2023)
US$ 21.2B
ICT market size (2022)
99.6%
Percentage of MSMEs (2022)
US$ 956M
Total capital invested in startups (2023)
The 4th-largest economy in Southeast Asia
FDI inflows
Philippines attracted nearly 8.9 billion dollars in foreign direct investment in 2023
Export turnovers
Exports of Philippines reached US$ 6.3 billion in May 2024
Newly-established businesses
In 2023, 984,332 new businesses were established in Philippines
US$ 8.9B
FDI Inflow (2023)
Manufacturing
23.4%
Real Estate
11.2%
Financial and Insurance
9.5%
Others
9.4%
US$ 6.3B
Export turnovers (5/2024)
Electronic products
56.2%
Other mineral products
4.8%
Ignition wiring set & other wiring sets used in vehicles, aircrafts and ships
3.1%
Gold
1.5%
984,332
Number of newly-established businesses (2023)
Retail selling in sari-sari stores
17.6%
Other restaurants and mobile food services activities
7.9%
Real estate buying, selling, renting, leasing, and operating of self-owned/leased apartment buildings, non-residential and dwellings
4.2%
Central Luzon
13.05%
Bulacan
4.0%
Pampanga
3.1%
Nueva Ecija
2.1%
Tarlac
1.4%
Zambales
1.17%
Doing business in Philippines
Opportunities & challenges
Opportunities
• Dynamic tourism sector
• Growing BPO sector
• Qualified and English-speaking workforce
• Diverse geographic and sectoral sources of expatriate workers’ remittances
• Large and young population
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