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Philippines hotels - About Philippines
The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas), is an island country located in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. The Philippines comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, sharing maritime borders with Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, the People's Republic of China, and Vietnam. The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country with a population of 90 million people. Its national economy is the 46th largest in the world with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$154.073 billion. There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the total population of the Philippines. It is a multi-ethnic country. Ecologically, The Philippines is considered to be among 17 of the most megadiverse countries in the world.
Before the arrival of Europeans in 1521, the Philippines was settled by Austronesian (Malayo Polynesian) peoples. The Philippines became a Spanish colony in the 16th century, as an extension of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The Philippines were ceded to the United States in 1898 at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. A Commonwealth were established in 1935, which allowed self-governance. The United States granted the Philippines independence on July 4, 1946. Martial law were declared in 1972, which led to the insurgencies of the New People's Army, and the Moro National Liberation Front. The Roman Catholic Church led the People Power Revolution of 1986, which would bring the Philippines back to democracy.
The Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. Pre-Hispanic indigenous rituals still exist; and there are also followers of Islam. Spanish was an official language of the Philippines until 1987. Since then, the two official languages are Filipino, and English.
The name Philippines was derived from King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos used the name "Las Islas Filipinas" (The Philippine Islands) in honour of the Prince of Spain during his expedition to the Philippines, originally referring to the islands of Leyte, and Samar. Despite the presence of other names, the name Filipinas (Philippines) was eventually adopted as the name of the entire archipelago.
Source: CIA Factbook, Wikipedia
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