10 Interesting Facts About The Philippines

The nation of the Philippines extends for about 120,000 square miles, All of the nation's land is located within islands. The precise number of islands that make up the Philippines is 7,641, and due to their sheer number, more than 5,000 remain unnamed on most international maps. The largest island that makes up the Philippines is referred to as Luzon, and it covers an area of about 42,458 square miles. Besides being the largest island in the Philippines, Luzon also has a higher population than any other island within the country. Due to its large size, the Philippines ranks as the world's second largest archipelago.

The residents of the Philippines speak multiple languages

Within the border of the Philippines, more than 170 languages are spoken. The languages present within the Philippines vary greatly in the number of speakers with four languages having no known individual who can speak them. Due to a large number of languages being spoken within the country, the government selected Filipino and English as the official languages as most people could communicate in either. The Philippines has one of the highest numbers of English speakers in the world which eases the interaction between locals and tourists.

Many skilled Filipinos work outside of the Philippines

A large number of high-skilled, as well as low-skilled Filipinos, choose to pursue their careers outside their nation's borders. The phenomenon of vast numbers of Filipinos choosing to migrate to foreign nations is generally thought to be because of a belief that jobs outside the Philippines pay more. Filipino nurses account for a quarter of all the nurses working overseas which is more than any other nation globally. The huge number of citizens working abroad has a generally positive impact on the Philippine’s economy as they send back vast quantities of money to residents back in the Philippines.

Sports are a major part of Filipino culture

Residents of the Philippines are passionate about sports with boxing and basketball having a great number of supporters. Playing basketball is one of the most common leisure activities that Filipinos engage in and the nation has a vibrant basketball league. Apart from supporting their national basketball leagues, the American National Basketball Association (NBA) is also popular in the country. The country's national men basketball team is one of the most successful basketball teams in the world. Another major sport within the Philippines is boxing with one of the nation's major stars being Manny Pacquiao. The government of the Philippines supports some sports programs aimed at reducing the rate of crime in the nation.

Christianity is the nation's major religion

The leading religion within most Southeast Asian nations is either Islam or Buddhism which makes the Philippines one of the unique countries in the region due to having a predominantly Christian population. The most dominant Christian denomination within the Philippines is Roman Catholic as it accounts for close to 80% of the country's population. The Roman Catholic Church undertakes a large number of social projects within the country such as setting up schools with some of the most prominent examples being the Dominican University of Santo Tomas.

The residents are exceptionally social

The citizens of the Philippines spend long periods with their family and friends, and when they are separated, they keep in touch by using social media. The most prevalent form of communication within the Philippines is the use of text messages as the citizens of the country are estimated to send close to 400 million text messages daily which is significantly more than any other nation. The prevalence of text messages within the Philippines has resulted in a vast array of social changes within the nation as it has allowed people to organize protests quickly and easily.

The nation is home to more than 100,000,000 people

In 2014, the Philippines became one of the few nations in the world with a population greater than 100,000,000. According to the most recent estimates carried out in 2018, the Philippines was home to around 106,192,000 which at the time was the seventh highest population globally. The population of the Philippines grows at a staggering rate of nearly 2% per year which is one of the highest growth rates in the world.

One of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in the world occurred in the Philippines

In 1991, Mt. Pinatubo, which at the time was 5,725 feet high, erupted and released a large mushroom cloud into the sky. Due to the mountain's proximity to Manila, as it is 54 miles northwest of the city, the impacts of the eruption were greatly felt within the city. The eruption wreaked great havoc within the Philippines as it resulted in nearly 850 fatalities as well as injuring close to 200 people. One of the most devastating results of the eruption was the destruction of homes for close to 1,000,000 Filipinos. The effects of the eruption were not only limited to the Philippines as it reduced global temperatures by 1 degree Fahrenheit due to the ash cloud that was ejected during the eruption.

Public transport in the nation is reliant on Jeepneys

One of the most frequently utilized means of transport within the Philippines is the Jeepney. The Jeepneys are some of the most easily recognizable vehicles within the Philippines mainly due to their creative designs which normally includes drawings of basketball players as well as popular cartoon characters. The origin of the Jeepneys dates back to the end of the Second World War when the US military left large numbers of Jeeps within the nation. The Jeepneys are some of the most flexible modes of transport within the Philippines as they do not have a set route allowing passengers to move from one area to another easily.

The Philippines is home to one of the world's unique geographical features

The Taal Volcano is one of the most unique volcanoes in the world. The volcano is situated on Luzon Island, and due to the significant number of eruptions, it has earned the ranking of the second most violent volcano within the Philippines. Taal volcano is unique due to its continuous chain of islands within lakes beginning with the Luzon Island that is home to the Taal Lake and ending with Volcano Island which is situated within a crater lake on Taal Volcano's main crater.