The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of the country's history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War until the Commonwealth period, American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name. During the American period the name Philippines began to appear and it has since become the country's common name. Since independence the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines.
The Philippines is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. The major groups are the majority Christian Filipinos, Muslim Filipinos who live mainly on Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago in the south, and indigenous peoples in mountainous regions. The islands have been occupied for about 30,000 years and have been part of the world economy since the beginning of Spanish colonial rule in 1571. Philippine history can be divided into six periods: ancient and precolonial, Spanish colonial period (1571–1898), Philippine revolution (1896–1902), American colonial period (1898–1946), Japanese occupation (1941–1945), independence (1946–present).
The country known today as the Republic of the Philippines lies right in the heart of Southeast Asia, between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. The Philippines has 7,107 islands extending more than 1,700 kilometers (1,056mi) in the direction of the Equator.
The island of Philippines are divided into three main Geographical areas:
* It is the largest island in the Philippines.
* Visayas
* It is a group of islands between Luzon and Mindanao.
* Mindanao
* It is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines.
Philippines is officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world.
Total Land Area: 115,600 sq. miles / 299,404 sq. kms.
No. of Islands: Approximately 7,107 islands
Capital: Manila
