Identity card
- Official name: The Philippines
- Type of regime: Multi-party presidential republic
- Head of State: Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
- Capital city: Manila
- Main cities: the ‘Metro Manila’ agglomeration (12.8 million inhabitants) includes 17 cities, including Manila Caloocan Makati, and Quezon City (3M), Cebu (2.8M) and Davao (2.5M)
- Official language(s): Filipino (based on Tagalog), English
- Spoken language (s): Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligainon
- Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP) 1 euro = ± 55 PHP
- Population: 108.1 million inhabitants
- Literacy rate: 98%
- Religion(s ): Catholics (84%), Muslims (7%), Evangelical Protestants (4%), Buddhists (1.5%), numerous Christian churches (Iglesia ni Christo, El Shaddai)
(Sources: demographic data: World Bank)
General presentation
Discovered on 16 March 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer travelling for the Spanish crown, the archipelago was named the Philippines in 1543, in honour of the Spanish infant, the future Philip IV. It remained under Spanish tutelage until 10 December 1896, when Spain ceded it to the United States for $20 million.
The country gained independence in 1946, as promised by the United States during World War II. A well-known Filipino expression describes these colonial periods as follows: ‘400 years in the convent, 50 in Hollywood’.