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The Philippines
The Philippine islands were claimed as belonging to Spain by the Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. In 1556 the country was named Islas Feliipinas after the Spanish king, Phillip II. The Philippines became a fully independent republic in 1946.
Boats called vintas near Zamboanga City, Mindanao
Many
of the islands are extinct volcanoes and atolls.
Taal volcano
The largest islands are Luzon, Mindanao and Palawan. The highest mountain is Mount Apo, an active volcano on Mindanao. There are 18 active volcanoes throughout the country, the smallest and most dangerous being Taal volcano in the middle of a crater lake. Although located on an unstable part of the earth's crust, light tremors are common but earthquakes are rare.
More than half of the population
lives in country villages called barrios, working as
farmers growing rice, maize, pineapples and coconuts. Workers
in the cities process food and produce textiles, clothing and
footwear.
The
underground river on the island of Palawan
The Philippines is the only Christian Asian country, with 90 per cent of the population Christian, 80 per cent of whom are Roman Catholics. There are also Muslims and Taoists.
The climate is tropical with an average temperature of about 32°C. It is hot and humid all year round. Most of the country experiences rainfall of more than 1780 millimetres. Typhoons and monsoons are common.
Philippines eagle
Native animals include the
Philippines eagle, the smallest primate - the tarsier, cologos
or the flying lemur - and a midget deer called a mouse deer. The
national flower is the sampaguita, a fragrant star-shaped flower.
Manila, capital
city
The capital, Manila, is an enormous sprawling city, the centre of government, business and industry of the Philippines. It covers an area of 626 square kilometres, and includes eight cities and 12 municipalities. More than 12 million people live in the city. Old Manila is the oldest section. The buildings here are much older than those in the business centre of the city. The business centre of Manila is called Makati and is filled with new modern buildings, luxury hotels and shopping malls.
There are shanty towns around the city where poor people live in dwellings made of tin, cardboard and plastic scrap materials. Many workers rent small flats in the city during the week, and return at the weekend to rented houses in their country villages.
In another part of the city, large areas of Manila Bay have been filled in. On this reclaimed land, an entertainment centre, a cultural centre, parks and gardens have been established. Here people picnic or attend outdoor entertainment events. 
A
jeepney in Manila
The traffic in Manila is extremely heavy, and the street vehicles. The city is polluted, and expressways and an extended elevated light rail system have been built.
The famous and colourful jeepneys are a cheap form of public transport all over Manila. People hail a passing jeepney, and when they want to get off, they tell the driver, who charges them according to the length of their journey.
Acknowledge this
source in your bibliography like this:
The Philippines
(2006). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
Find out about The Philippines flag and some facts about the country
Find out about rural life in the Philippines
Updated June 2006