Philippines
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines
conventional short form: Philippines local long form: Republika ng Pilipinas local short form: Pilipinas |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Manila
geographic coordinates: 14 35 N, 121 00 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of blue (top; representing peace and justice) and red (representing courage); a white equilateral triangle based on the hoist side represents equality; the center of the triangle displays a yellow sun with eight primary rays, each representing one of the first eight provinces that sought independence from Spain; each corner of the triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star representing the three major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; the design of the flag dates to 1897; in wartime the flag is flown upside down with the red band at the top |
| Currency | Philippine peso (PHP) |
| Internet country code | .ph |
| Ports and terminals | Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iligan, Iloilo, Manila, Surigao |
| Agriculture products | sugarcane, coconuts, rice, corn, bananas, cassavas, pineapples, mangoes; pork, eggs, beef; fish |
| Industries | electronics assembly, garments, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products, food processing, petroleum refining, fishing |
| Geography |
| Location | Southeastern Asia, archipelago between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam |
| Coordinates | 13 00 N, 122 00 E |
| Continent | Southeast Asia |
| Area |
total: 300,000 sq km
land: 298,170 sq km water: 1,830 sq km |
| Boundaries | 0 km |
| Coastline | 36,289 km |
| Climate | tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands |
| Natural resources | timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper |
| Natural hazards | astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis |
| People |
| Population | 89,468,677 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 80.9%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, Muslim 5%, other 1.8%, unspecified 0.6%, none 0.1% (2000 census) |
| Languages | two official languages - Filipino (based on Tagalog) and English; eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan |
