Philippines

Philippines: capital Manila, population 116.8M, area 342,353 km². The 14th most populous country, in Asia. Facts, map, neighbours and more.

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Maritime exchange connected its communities with Southeast Asia and the Americas, while local landscapes produced rice terraces, coral-stone churches and densely forested karst. Its cultural life moves through regional languages, woven chants, martial arts, theatre and the decorated vehicles of everyday streets.

• The Laguna Copperplate Inscription, dated to 900 CE, records the release of a gold debt in Kawi script and predominantly Old Malay language.
• From 1565 to 1815, Manila galleons crossed the Pacific between the Philippines and Mexico, carrying Asian goods eastward and American silver westward.
• Philippine independence was proclaimed at Kawit on 12 June 1898, when the flag was formally unfurled and the Marcha Nacional Filipina was played.
• Mount Pinatubo's 15 June 1991 eruption sent about 20 million tonnes of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, temporarily cooling global temperatures by roughly 0.5°C.

• José Rizal published Noli Me Tángere in Berlin in 1887 and its sequel El Filibusterismo in Ghent in 1891, writing both novels in Spanish.
• Juan Luna's immense Spoliarium received a gold medal at Madrid's 1884 National Exhibition of Fine Arts and now hangs in the National Museum in Manila.
• Lea Salonga won the 1991 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Miss Saigon after making her Broadway debut that same year.
• Hidilyn Diaz lifted a 224-kilogram total in Tokyo's 55-kilogram event in 2021, securing the Philippines' first Olympic gold medal.

• UNESCO's Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras comprise five Ifugao clusters, each maintained through inherited irrigation, farming knowledge and collective work.
• Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park contains an 8.2-kilometre underground river whose brackish lower section flows directly into the sea and responds to tides.
• Bohol's Chocolate Hills consist of about 1,776 similarly shaped limestone mounds, whose grass turns brown during the dry season and gives the formation its name.
• Manila's San Agustin Church was rebuilt in stone from 1587 to 1607 and is one of four Philippine Baroque churches inscribed by UNESCO in 1993.

• After World War II, Filipinos converted surplus military jeeps into public transport by adding roofs, extending bodies and installing two facing rows of seats.
• The 1593 Doctrina Christiana, the first book printed in the Philippines, presented Tagalog in both Roman letters and the indigenous Baybayin script.
• Republic Act 9850 declared arnis the national martial art and sport in 2009, describing techniques using one or two sticks as well as empty hands.
• The Ifugao Hudhud tradition contains more than 200 narrative chants of 40 episodes each, and a complete performance can last several days.

What is the capital of Philippines?

The capital of Philippines is Manila.

What is the population of Philippines?

Philippines has about 116.8M people — the 14th most populous country in the world.

How big is Philippines?

Philippines covers 342,353 km², making it the 63rd largest country by area.

Which region is Philippines in?

Philippines is in South-Eastern Asia, Asia.