The Republic of the Philippines is nation consisting of more than 7,000 islands in Southeast Asia. It is located in the Pacific north of Indonesia, east of Vietnam and south of China. The archipelago has been inhabited by people for more than 50,000 years.

The ancestors of most Filipino, the Malayo-Polynesian speaking people arrived some 5,000 years ago. Since the 9th Century, The Philippines had cultural and trade relations with India, China, and Islamic merchants. The explorer Ferdinand Magellan was the first European to arrive in the Phillipines in 1521. Some 44 years later the islands were settled by the Spanish and colonial rule lasted more than 300 years. However, in 1898 the Spanish-American war began and resulted in Spanish defeat, where upon the Philippines were ceded to the Americans.

The following 10 years were rife with Philippine uprisings and revolutions. The Philippines, however, were first granted full independence in 1946, after the Philippines had been liberated from the Japanese occupation in World War II. The country saw rapid economical growth throughout the 60s and the early 70s, but political instability and authoritarian rule halted that growth in the late 70s and 80s. Democracy was reinstalled in 1986, but problems with coups, a Muslim separatist movement and corruption has plagued the country since.

Inhabitants: 87,000,000
Area: 300,000 km2
Capital: Manilla (1,600,000 inhabitants, largest city is Quezon City with 2,100,000 inhabitants)
Languages: Fillipino, English
Religion: Roman Catholics (81%), Independent Christian church (11%), Muslims (5%), Protestants (2%), others (1%)
GBD per capita: $5,400
Government: Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Climate: The local climate is hot, humid, and tropical.