|
It is believed that the first aboriginal inhabitants in the Philippines arrived in approximately 25,000 BC.
|
|
Malaysian and Indonesian settlers began arriving in the Philippines from approximately 3000 BC.
|
|
Inhabitants of the Philippines were trading extensively with Japanese, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese traders by the 14th century AD and onward.
|
|
The Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in 1521 but it wasn't until 1542 that a Spanish explorer named Ruy Lopez de Villalobos gave the name the Felipinas to a few of the islands.
|
|
Spain had possession of the Philippines from 1542 until 1899 when the Treaty of Paris was signed following the Spanish-American War, and it was ceded to the United States.
|
|
It wasn't until July 4th, 1946, that the Philippines became a sovereign nation and gained its independence from the United States.
|
|
The name Felipinas was originally used to name a couple of islands but later became the name of the entire region (or archipelago).
|
|
Following World War II the Philippines was the first of the Southeast Asian countries to gain its independence.
|
|
The Philippines cover a land area of 115,124 square miles, and a total area of 115, 830 square miles.
|
|
The estimated population of the Philippines in 2014 was 107,668,231.
|
|
The capital city of the Philippines is Manila, with a population of more than 11.8 million.
|
|
The monetary unit in the Philippines is the Peso.
|
|
The majority of the islands in the Philippines are less than one square mile in size. Only 7% are larger.
|
|
Only approximately 333% of the islands in the Philippines have names. There are 7,107 islands in total.
|
|
The Philippines produce more coconuts than any other country each year.
|
|
There are more than 52 million people in the Philippines that can speak English.
|
|
Three of the ten largest shopping malls in the world are located in the Philippines, including SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, and SM Megamall.
|
|
There is a subterranean river in the Philippines that is 8.2 kilometers in length, called the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River. It was once believed to be the longest subterranean river in the world but a 10 kilometer long subterranean river was later found in Mexico.
|
|
Wildlife in the Philippines is very diverse and new species are discovered all the time. There are 100 mammal and 170 bird species that don't exist anywhere else but in the Philippines.
|
|
The Philippines are home to the palm civet cat, the cloud rat, and a small primate called a Philippine tarsier.
|
|
Millions of tourists visit the Philippines each year to see the mountains, rainforests, islands, and beaches.
|
