officially the Republic of the Philippines , is a constitutional republic located in the Southeast Asia Pacific West. Is an archipelago of 7,641islands, bordered by Taiwan to the north across the Strait of Luzon , and Vietnam to the west via the South China Sea . The Sulu Sea in the southwest is separated from the island of Borneo and the Sebel Sea to the south, separated from other islands in Indonesia . It is bordered to the east by the Philippine Sea . It is classified in three major geographical divisions: Luzon, Pisaia andMindanao . Manila is the capital while the most densely populated city is Quezon and both cities are part of the Metro Manila.
The population of the Philippines is estimated at 92 million people, ranking it 12th in the world by population . It is estimated that there are 11 million Filipino expatriates around the world. There are multiple races and cultures throughout the islands. Its climate is tropical and is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world.
Ethnic Algonreto from prehistoric times was one of the first inhabited archipelago. Followed by successive waves of Austronesian people who brought with them influences from the Malay, Hindu and Islamic cultures. China's influence has also entered the country through trade. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of an era of Spanish interests, eventually leading to its eventual conquest of the country. The Philippines became the Asian Center of the Acapulco Treasure Fleet Manila. Christianity has spread widely in the country. With the entry of the twentieth century, the events quickly followed in a short period of the Philippine Revolution to the Spanish-American War of the Philippine-American War .
In the wake of this, the United States replaced Spain as a dominant power. Regardless of the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until the end of World War II when the Philippines gained independence . The United States granted the English language to the Philippines and the tendency of Western culture. Since independence, the Philippines has lived a often turbulent democratic experience with political corruption , and movements advocating the power of the people rid themselves of dictatorship while highlighting constitutional weaknesses in the Constitution of the Republic in other cases