Irrigated land: 15,800 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis
Environment-current issues: uncontrolled deforestation in watershed areas; soil erosion; air and water pollution in Manila; increasing pollution of coastal mangrove swamps which are important fish breeding grounds
Environment-international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification
@Philippines:People
Population: 77,725,862 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38% (male 14,867,972; female 14,379,722) 15-64 years: 59% (male 22,582,178; female 23,136,055) 65 years and over: 3% (male 1,232,813; female 1,527,122) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.09% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 28.43 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)