The Philippines

About The Philippines

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia located in the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of approximately 7,761 islands broadly classified into three major geographic divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital of the Philippines is Manila and its most populous city is Quezon City, both of which are part of Metro Manila. It is bordered by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest. The Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, 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 vulnerable to earthquakes and typhoons, but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the greatest biodiversity in the world. The Philippines covers an area of 300,000 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 100 million. It is the eighth most populous country in Asia and the twelfth most populous country in the world.