The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islandsPhilippines : General Information, Government of the Philippines in the western Pacific Ocean.
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The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islandsPhilippines : General Information, Government of the Philippines in the western Pacific Ocean.
The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country, with a population of about 90 million people. Its national economy is the 47th largest in the world, with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$ 168.6 billion (nominal). There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the total population of the Philippines.
A former colony of Spain, and the United States, the Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, the other being East Timor. There are also a number of minority religious groups, including Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Multiple ethnicities, and cultures are found throughout the islands. Ecologically, the Philippines is one of the most diverse countries in the world.
Etymology
main: Name of the Philippines 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 honor of the Prince of Asturias (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 adopted as the name of the entire archipelago.
The official name of the Philippines, however, changed throughout the course of Philippine history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Philippines was officially called República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish-American War, and the Philippine-American War, until the Commonwealth period, United States colonial authorities referred to the Philippines as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the original Spanish name. It was during the American period that the name Philippines began to appear, a name that was adopted as its current official name.
History
main: History of the Philippines
Prehistory
Archeological, and paleontological discoveries show that humans existed in Palawan around 30,000 to 50,000 BC. An aboriginal people of the Philippine Islands known as the Negritos, are a Melanesian ethnic group who arrived in the Philippines at least 30,000 years ago. Another ethnic group called the Austronesian people, a group of Malayo-Polynesian speaking people, originated from the populations of Taiwanese aborigines who migrated from mainland Asia approximately 6,000 years ago. This ethnic group settled in the Philippines, and soon after, migrated to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Polynesian Islands, and Madagascar. The Malayo-Polynesian traded with other Asian countries during the Prehistoric period. Before the arrival of Islam; Animism syncretized with Hinduism, and Vajrayna Buddhism. Those were the religions practiced by various Philippine indigenous kingdoms.
