The Philippines officially recognized as the Republic of the
Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. An
archipelago consisting of 7,107 islands occupying 300,000 square kilometers or
116,000 square miles. Its 36,289 kilometers of coastline make it the 5th
longest coastline in the world. The Philippines is categorized generally into
three primary geographical divisions. They are, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The capital city is Manila.
Philippines Coat of Arms
With a population estimated at about 92 million people, the
Philippines is the world’s 12th most populace country. There are an estimated
that 11 million Filipinos overseas worldwide. The country is predominately
Catholic, about 80%.10% are other Christian denominations and between 5 – 10%
are Muslim. Multiple ethnicity’s and cultures are found throughout the islands.
The tropical climate sustains the richest collections of life in terms of
biodiversity in the world.
The Philippine culture is a combination of Eastern and
Western cultures. The Filipino’s share many aspects of the traditional Asan
culture and yet they display significant amounts of Spanish and American
influence. Particularly in literature, folk music, folk dance, language, food,
art, and religion. There are over a one hundred and seventy languages spoken in
the Philippines, but Filipino (Tagalog) and English are the official languages.
