Philippines - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of the Philippines consists of more than seven thousand islands and atolls in southeast Asia, between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea..

It has an area of 115,831 square miles (300,000 square kilometers) more than two thirds of which consists of the islands of Luzon and Mindanao.

The Philippines is located in the Ring of Fire, an area of the Pacific that is known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are active volcanoes in the Philippines. Earthquakes are common.

Lake Taal, which is in Luzon, is located inside the crater of a huge volcano that erupted in 1911 and 1965, causing more then three thousand people to die.

Climate in the Philippines is hot and humid, with tropical storms and heavy monsoon rains.

A large portion of Manila, the capital of the Philippines is below sea level. The city is often flooded during the summer rainy season.

On the larger islands of the Philippines, most of the land is covered in mountains. There are narrow coastal plains, and plains and valleys in the interiors of the islands.

Mindanao has five mountain ranges and many active volcanoes.

The island of Bohol in the Philippines has over 1000 limestone hills that have been smoothed over by erosion. They turn brown during the dry season and therefore have been called "chocolate hills".

91,983,000 people live in the Philippines, mostly along the coastal strips or in the plains of the larger islands.

There are a wide variety of ethnic groups, such as Tagalog, Bisaya, Hiligaynon, Ilocano and Cebuano.

The Philippines was colonized by Spain in the sixteenth century, and gets its name from Philip II, who was king of Spain at the time.

For more than 400 years, the Philippines has been ruled by either Spain or the United States of America, and Spanish and American culture have had a strong influence on the culture of the Philippines.

English and Filipino are the official languages of the Philippines. Other languages spoken in the Philippines include Tagalog, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Cebuano and many other indigenous languages.

83% of the people are Roman Catholic, a reflection of Spanish influence. There are also Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists.

The economy of the Philippines is predominantly agricultural. The most important crops in the Philippines are sugar cane, pineapples, bananas, rice and coconuts.

Fishing is an important industry.

The Philippines' major exports are garments, electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, and products made from coconuts.

There are large deposits of nickel, copper and chromite in the Philippines.

The government of the Philippines is based on a Presidential system.