Philippines and ASEAN

Located in the western Pacific Ocean, the Philippines is an archipelagic country and comprises over 7,000 islands. The capital is Manila, while the largest city is Quezon City. The country covers an area of 300,000 km2 and has a population of 110 million people.

The Philippines is an emerging market and a newly industrialized country whose economy is transitioning from agriculture to services and manufacturing. The country has a variety of natural resources and is home to a globally significant level of biodiversity.

There are over 70 airports in the Philippines that handle international, domestic, and charter flights. The Manila International Airport, informally known as NAIA Airport, is the largest of all airports in the country. It is located about 12 km south of downtown Manila, between the cities of Pasay and Parañaque.

The GDP was USD 373 billion in 2021, while the GDP per capita amounted to USD 3,160. Agriculture contributed 10 percent to the Philippines' gross domestic product, while the industry and the services sector contributed 28 and 62 percent, respectively.

The total value of the Philippines’s international trade amounted to USD 188 billion in 2021, with the exports amounting to USD 71 billion, and the total value of imports to USD 117 billion. The main export destinations were the United States, Japan, and China, while the major origins of imports were from China, Japan, and South Korea.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a political and economic union of ten members, has 667 million people and a territory of 4.5 million Km2; is currently the third largest economy in Asia-Pacific and the fifth largest in the World. The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has a combined GDP of USD 3.6 trillion according to estimates for 2022.