The Philippines is officially called The Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia. Its capital city is Manila and it’s one of the most populous cities in the world.
The Philippines can be found in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, and they are at least 7,600 islands in total. They are also surrounded by the South China Sea on the west, with the Philippine Sea on the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest.
In addition, the Philippines also shares a maritime border with Japan, Taiwan, Palau, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China.
Continue reading and discover all these amazing facts about the Philippines
Philippines Facts
1. The Philippines is a very interesting place because of its geography
The Philippines is a very big and important archipelago, where only 2,000 of the islands are inhabited by citizens of the country. In addition to them, there are another 5,000 islands that belong to the country but are still unnamed on global maps, and where people still haven’t been able to reach, an interesting fact about the Philippines.
This country is one of the oldest and interesting formations of the earth, and it has volcanos that prove this theory. For example, the Taal Volcano is located on an island called Luzon, which also has a smaller lake named Taal Lake. In that lake, there is a small island called Volcano Island and it also has a smaller lake which is called the Main Crater of Taal Volcano, which, happens to have another tiny islet called Volcano Island inside of it.
It sounds too incredible to be true, but it is, in fact, a famous place in The Philippines.
2. And it’s also filled with history that dates back to thousands of years
Historians have found out that many different cultures used to get together in the mainland of the Philippines. People from China, Japan, and other Asian nations would go to the Philippines to make business.
Islam then made its way through some of the islands, and it began to take prominence in the Philippines. Soon after this, in 1521, the Spanish Monarchy had appointed Ferdinand Magellan, who was a Portuguese explorer, to navigate towards what is now known as the Philippines.
The first Spanish permanent settlement was located in Cebu, in 1565. Then, the capital city of Manila was founded in 1571, and soon afterward almost all soldiers had been converted to Roman Catholicism, because much of the archipelago was now under Spanish control.
Many years later, more specifically in August 1896, revolts started to happen in several provinces that are located next to Manila. Then, on June 12, 1898, the Philippines gained independence from Spain, and less than a year later, in January 1899, the country had a new government with a new constitution.
However, the Filipino’s dream was soon cut short, because the United States started to interfere soon after the Spanish-American war. In fact, American troops had landed in the Philippines, and, eventually, they gained control of the island, until 1946, when they completely achieved national sovereignty through the Treaty of Manila.
3. This archipelago is one of the most multicultural places on earth
The Philippines has been known for being a place where diverse cultures have merged. A fun fact about Philippines is that there are at least175 languages that are spoken throughout the islands, and at least 171 of them are still considered as living languages, which means that there is an active population that speaks in those languages daily.
And even though the official languages are English and Filipino – which is a language based on Tagalog – there are many more dialects that are very important as well, such as Cebuano and Ilocano.
In addition to them, Spanish is also spoken thoroughly, because of the history of the country and the colonization Spain had over the Philippines.
4. Filipinos like to live abroad
There are around 11 million Filipinos who live and work all over the world, and, it has been estimated that at least 25% of all international nurses are from the Philippines.
Ex-pats of the Asian country are also forming big communities overseas, and they are fast becoming the largest Asian group in several countries, such as in the United States.
Nowadays it is normal to see many restaurants that serve local Philippines’ food in all countries.
5. Religion is truly important in the Philippines
This archipelago country is known for being very religious and this can be seen everywhere you go. However, even though most of their neighbors practice either Buddhism, Hinduism, and or Islam, in the Philippines people are mostly Christians.
What’s more, at least 80% of people self-identify as Roman Catholics, and the rest are either Evangelists or Christians.
This predominance can be attributed to the Spanish influence the country has had over the last couple of centuries.
6. Filipinos are proud of everything they produce
Most of the coconuts that are exported to the international market come from this country, a fun fact about the Philippines. Not only this, but they also produce and export tropical fruits like mangoes and papayas.
This is another reason why Filipinos are proud of their country because they are aware that not only do they have amazing natural resources, but they also have the opportunity to obtain an economic benefit from this.
And the Filipinos are also proud of having the world’s longest snake which is a Python, the most amount of Jellyfish in the world, and they are definitely proud of having Manny Pacquiao as the best boxer in the world.
7. But nature has the last word in this archipelago
There are hundreds of typhoons each year in the Philippines, and in 2013, the Yolanda Typhoon was the most devastating natural disaster in the country, killing at least 6,000 people almost immediately and displacing millions of others.
Conclusion
The Philippines is a beautiful country filled with nature, contrasts and exotic landscapes.
They also have the loveliest of people who are truly happy and enjoy welcoming foreigners into their lands and lives.
I hope that this article on the Philippines facts was helpful! If you are interested, visit the Country Facts Page!
