1. It is the 64th largest country in the world with approximately 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq. mi.).
2. It is composed of 7,107 islands.
3. The most populated city in the country is Quezon City.
4. It has around 100 million population.
5. It ranks 12th among the most populous countries in the world, while it is 7th in Asia.
6. Three of the top 10 biggest malls in the world are found in the Philippines. These are the SM Mall of Asia, SM North Edsa, and SM Megamall.
7. The Philippines is considered to be the world’s top producer of coconuts.
8. Before the 10 kilometer Mexico underground river was discovered, the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River (located in Palawan) was the world’s longest underground waterway.
9. Based on the 2000 census, the Philippines is the 5th largest English-speaking country in the world.
10. There are more than 200 volcanoes in the Philippines, but not all are active.
11. The Rice Terraces in the Cordillera Region is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
12. 80% of the population in the country is Roman Catholic.
13. The highest peak in the Philippines is Mt. Apo (2,954 meters) which is located in Mindanao.
14. The first Spanish to be the governor-general of the Philippines is Miguel Lopez de Legaspi.
15. The Philippines was named after King Phillip II of Spain.
16. The country was a colony of Spain for more than 300 years (1565-1898).
17. The Philippines is considered to be the “text capital of the world”. Around 450 million of text messages are sent daily by the 35 million mobile users in the country.
18. Mindanao Trench, which is located near the Philippines, is one of the deepest ocean trenches in the world, with depth reaching 6.5 miles.
19. The first Filipino who received a heart transplant is Rainier Lagman.
20. The University of San Carlos in Cebu (founded in 1595) and the University of Santo Tomas in Manila (founded in 1611) are older than the Harvard University (founded in 1636).
21. Eugenio Torre, a Filipino, is the first International Grandmaster from Asia. He won the Chess Olympiad in Nice, France in 1974.
22. Three Filipina beauty queens won the Miss Universe Title: Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Morgan (1973) and Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (2015)
23. Abelardo Aguilar, a Filipino doctor, discovered the antibiotic erythromycin.
24. The highest court in the Philippines is the Supreme Court. It is headed by the Chief Justice.
25. The official Filipino language is based on the Tagalog language.
26. 5% of the Philippine population is Muslim. Most of them occupy the Mindanao islands.
27. The first people to migrate to the Philippines are the Negritos (around 30,000 years ago).
28. Jose Rizal is considered widely as the national hero of the Philippines. However, the Philippine government has not yet explicitly proclaimed Rizal as the official national hero of the Philippines. The term national hero can also be used to refer to Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Aguinaldo, Apolinario Mabini, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat, Juan Luna, Melchora Aquino and Gabriela Silang, and others.
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