The Philippines (/ˈfɪləpiːnz/ ( listen) FIL-ə-

peenz; Filipino: Pilipinas [ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs] or Filipinas [ˌfɪlɪˈpinɐs]), officially the Republic of the
Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas),[a] is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated
in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands[20] that are categorized broadly under
three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The capital
city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro
Manila.[21] Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and
the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the
north, Japan to the northeast, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to
the south.
The Philippines' location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines
prone to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some
of the world's greatest biodiversity. The Philippines is the world's 5th largest island country with an
area of 300,000 km2 (120,000 sq mi).[22][4][5] As of 2015, had a population of at least 100 million.[7] As of
January 2018, it is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in
the world. Approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas,[23] comprising one of the
world's largest diasporas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In
prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed
by successive waves of Austronesian peoples.[24] Exchanges
with Malay, Indian, Arab and Chinese nations occurred. Then, various competing
maritime states were established under the rule of datus, rajahs, sultans and lakans.
The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer leading a fleet for the Spanish,
in Homonhon, Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization. In 1543,
Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor
of Philip II of Spain. With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City, in 1565, the first
Hispanic settlement in the archipelago was established.[25] The Philippines became part of
the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years. This resulted in Catholicism becoming the dominant
religion. During this time, Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia
with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons.[26]
As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the Philippine Revolution quickly followed, which then
spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic, followed by the bloody Philippine–American
War.[27] The war, as well as the ensuing cholera epidemic, resulted in the deaths of thousands of
combatants as well as tens of thousands of civilians.[28][29][30][31] Aside from the period of Japanese
occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II, when the
Philippines was recognized as an independent nation. Since then, the unitary sovereign state has
often had a tumultuous experience with democracy, which included the overthrow of
a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution.[32]
The Philippines is a founding member of the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Association
of Southeast Asian Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and the East Asia
Summit. It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank.[33] The Philippines is
considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country,[34] which has an economy
transitioning from being based on agriculture to one based more on services and
manufacturing.[35] Along with East Timor, the Philippines is one of Southeast Asia's
predominantly Christian nations.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2History
 o 2.1Prehistory
o 2.2Precolonial period
 2.2.1Early historic coastal city-states and polities
o 2.3Colonial era
 2.3.1Spanish rule
 2.3.2American rule
 2.3.3Japanese rule
o 2.4Postcolonial period
o 2.5Contemporary history
 3Politics
o 3.1Foreign relations
o 3.2Military
o 3.3Administrative divisions
 3.3.1Administrative regions
 4Geography
o 4.1Biodiversity
o 4.2Climate
 5Economy
o 5.1Transportation
o 5.2Science and technology
o 5.3Communications
o 5.4Tourism
o 5.5Water supply and sanitation
 6Demographics
o 6.1Cities
o 6.2Ethnic groups
o 6.3Languages
o 6.4Religion
 7Health
 8Education
 9Culture
o 9.1Architecture
o 9.2Music
o 9.3Dance
o 9.4Visual art
o 9.5Values
o 9.6Cuisine
o 9.7Literature
o 9.8Media
o 9.9Cinema
o 9.10Sports
o 9.11Games
 10See also
 11Notes
 12References
o 12.1Citations
o 12.2Bibliography
 13External links
o 13.1Government
o 13.2Trade
o 13.3General information
o 13.4Books and articles
o 13.5Wikimedia
o 13.6Other