FACTS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines, in southeastern Asia, consists of 7,107 islands lying between the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

The islands of Luzon and Mindanao account for two-thirds of the land area.

Even though the Philippines lies just north of the world's largest Muslim state, Indonesia, it is about 94 percent Christian—mostly Roman Catholic.

About five percent of Filipinos are Muslim, mostly living on the islands of Mindanao and Palawan—islands closest to the Muslim countries of Malaysia and Indonesia.

ECONOMY

Industry: textiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, wood products. Agriculture: rice, coconuts, corn, sugarcane; pork; fish.

Exports: electronic equipment, machinery and transport equipment, garments, coconut products.

Population

84,765,000

Capital

Manila; 10,677,000

Area

300,000 square kilometers (115,831 square miles)

Languages

Two official languages: Filipino and English.

Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education.

Eight (8) major dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinense.

Filipino is that native language which is used nationally as the language of communication among ethnic groups.

Like any living language, Filipino is in a process of development through loans from Philippine languages and non-native languages for various situations, among speakers of different social backgrounds, and for topics for conversation and scholarly discourse.

There are about 76 to 78 major language groups, with more than 500 dialects.

Religions

Roman Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Buddhist

Currency

The Philippines' monetary unit is the peso, divided into 100 centavos.

Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most large department stores, banks, and authorized money changing shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines.

International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank Americard, Master Card, and American Express are accepted in major establishments.

Life Expectancy

70

Literacy Percent

96