Philippines
Brief description
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic nation located in Southeast Asia, with Manila as its capital city. The Philippine Archipelago comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
Filipinos are mostly of Austronesian descent, but there are significant American, Arab, Chinese, Hispanic and Indian minorities. There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the total population of the Philippines.
The Philippines became a Spanish colony in the 16th century, and then a U.S. colony after the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. The Philippines has many affinities with the Western world, derived mainly from the cultures of Spain, Latin America, and the United States. Roman Catholicism became the predominant religion, although the pre-Hispanic indigenous religious practices and Islam still exist. The two official languages of the Philippines are Filipino, which is based on Tagalog, and English.
Economy
Philippines recorded an average GDP growth of 5% between 2002 and 2006, recovering strongly from the '90s recession. Tourism is expanding very fast with new arrivals growing at 20% per annum. Most foreign visitors arrive from the USA, but the domestic market is taking off as well, making Boracay attractive to investors as well as a unique tropical location.
Interesting locations
Boracay - Paradise Island of the Philippines
Boracay is one of 7,000 islands in the Philippines, positioned just of the northwestern tip of the larger Panay island. It is reachable by 20min boat ride from Panay, where the local airport at Caticlan is served by regular daily 30-min flights from Manilla or Cebu.
Boracay is a true tropical paradise built around turism: this 4-mile long island features white, talcum-fine beaches, balmy weather and warm, crystal-clear, azzure sea. It is famous for its 2.5-mile long White Beach, regularly voted as one of the best beaches in the world by international travel surveys.
Boracay's tourist industry is well developed and features a range of activities one might expect: golf, water sports, diving, boardsailing, trekking, guided eco-tours, whitewater rafting and others. In addition, the island has extensive choice of restaurants, shopping centres, night clubs and bars.
Links
- BBC Country Profile on the Philippines
- CIA World Factbook: Philippines
- Philippines travel guide from Wikitravel
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