The Philippines (Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Republika ng Pilipinas; RP), is an archipelagic country located in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. The Philippine archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, sharing maritime borders with Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam. The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country with a population approaching 90 million people.[4][6] Its national economy is the 46th largest in the world with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$154.073 billion.[6] There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the total population of the Philippines. It is a multi-ethnic country. Ecologically, The Philippines is considered to be among 17 of the most megadiverse countries in the world.[8]
Prior to the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan on March 16, 1521,[9] the Philippines was already settled by Austronesian peoples, who traded with other Asian peoples such as those from China, India, Japan, and the Malay Archipelago. The Philippines became a Spanish colony in the 16th century, and an American territory at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1896, Katipunan led the Philippine Revolution that won independence from Spain. American occupation of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War led to the outbreak of the Philippine-American War. A Commonwealth-style government was established in 1935, which allowed self-governance as well as the first national elections. The country gained its independence from the United States on July 4, 1946 after the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War. Martial law was declared in 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos, which led to the insurgencies of the New People's Army and the Moro National Liberation Front. Ninoy Aquino's assassination would soon inspire his widow, Corazon Aquino, as well as the country's then-spiritual leader Jaime Cardinal Sin to lead the People Power Revolution of 1986, which would bring the country back to democracy. Political upheavals and corruption scandals alternated with the peaceful transition of power during the period that followed the restoration of democracy.[3]
Modern Philippines has many affinities with the Western world, derived mainly from the cultures of Spain, Latin America, and the United States. Catholicism is the country's predominant religion, although pre-Hispanic indigenous religious practices still exist; there are also followers of Islam.[10] Spanish was an official language of the Philippines until 1973. Since then, the two official languages are Filipino and English.[3]
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