Philippines

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The Philippines is bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the south. It shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to southeast, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest. It has diverse ethnicities and a rich culture. Manila is the country's capital, and its most populated city is Quezon City. Both are within Metro Manila.

Negritos, the archipelago's earliest inhabitants, were followed by waves of Austronesian peoples.

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Etymology

During his 1542 expedition, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the islands of Leyte and Samar "Felipinas" after the Prince of Asturias, later Philip II of Castile. Eventually, the name "Las Islas Filipinas" would be used for the archipelago's Spanish possessions. Other names, such as "Islas del Poniente" (Western Islands), "Islas del Oriente" (Eastern Islands), Ferdinand Magellan's name, and "San Lázaro" (Islands of St. Lazarus), were used by the Spanish to refer to islands in the region before Spanish rule was established.

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History

There is evidence of early hominins living in what is now the Philippines as early as 709,000 years ago. Bones from Callao Cave potentially represent an otherwise unknown species, Homo luzonensis, who lived 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. The oldest modern human remains on the islands are from the Tabon Caves of Palawan, U/Th-dated to 47,000 ± 11–10,000 years ago. Tabon Man is presumably a Negrito, among the archipelago's earliest inhabitants descended from the first human migrations out of Africa via the coastal route along southern Asia to the now-sunken landmasses of Sundaland and Sahul.

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Geography

The Philippines is an archipelago of approximately 7,641 islands, covering a total area (including inland bodies of water) of about 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). Stretching 1,850 kilometers (1,150 mi) north to south, from the South China Sea to the Celebes Sea, the Philippines is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Sulu Sea to the southwest. The Luzon Strait is the most economical (quickest) traffic node for shipping between the Americas and Asia.

It is also a critical junction of Asia-Pacific-Americas undersea communication cables.

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Government and politics

The Philippines has a democratic government, a constitutional republic with a presidential system. The president is head of state and head of government, and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected through direct election by the citizens of the Philippines for a six-year term. The vice president, limited to two consecutive six-year terms, is elected separately from the president. This means the president and vice president may be from different political parties.

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Economy

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its October 2025 update, the Philippines is the world's 33rd largest economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $494.16 billion. As a newly industrialized country, the Philippine economy has been transitioning from an agricultural base to one with more emphasis on services and manufacturing. The country's labor force is about 52.09 million with an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent as of February 2026. Gross international reserves totalled US$106.64 billion as of March 2026.

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Infrastructure

Transportation in the Philippines is by road, air, rail and water. Roads are the dominant form of transport, carrying 98 percent of people and 58 percent of cargo. In December 2018, there were 210,528 kilometers (130,816 mi) of roads in the country. The backbone of land-based transportation in the country is the Pan-Philippine Highway, which connects the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Inter-island transport is by the 919-kilometer (571 mi) Strong Republic Nautical Highway, an integrated set of highways and ferry routes linking 17 cities.

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Demographics

In July 2024, the Philippines had a population of 112,729,484. More than 60 percent of the country's population live in the coastal zone. In 2020, 54 percent lived in urban areas. Manila, its capital, and Quezon City, the country's most populous city, are in Metro Manila. About 13.48 million people, 12 percent of the Philippines' population, live in Metro Manila, the country's most populous metropolitan area and the world's fifth most populous. Between 1948 and 2010, the population of the Philippines increased almost fivefold, from 19 million to 92 million.

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Culture

The Philippines has significant cultural diversity, reinforced by the country's fragmented geography. Spanish and American cultures profoundly influenced Filipino culture as a result of long colonization. The cultures of Lumads of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago developed distinctly, since they had limited Spanish influence and more influence from nearby Islamic regions. Indigenous groups such as the Igorots have preserved their precolonial customs and traditions by resisting the Spanish. A national identity emerged during the 19th century, however, with shared national symbols and cultural and historical touchstones.

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