The Philippines is
made up of 7,107 islands covering a land area of 115,739 square miles (299,764 square kilometers). Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao. Capital is Manila. Time Zone is GMT + 8 hours.
CLIMATE
March to May is hot and dry. June to October is rainy, November
to February is cool. Average temperatures: 78°F / 25°C to 90°F /
32°C; humidity is 77%.
POPULATION
There are a total of 88.57 million Filipinos as of the latest
national census in August 2007. Population growth is estimated
at 2.36 percent annually. Luzon, the largest island group,
accounts for more than half of the entire population.
LANGUAGES
Two official languages --- Filipino and English. Filipino which
is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also
widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher
education.
Eight (8) major
dialects spoken by majority of the Filipinos: Tagalog, Cebuano,
Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and
Pangasinense.
RELIGIONS
Some 83% of Filipinos are Catholic. About 5% are Moslem. The
rest are made up of smaller Christian denominations and
Buddhist.
GEOGRAPHY
The Philippines is an archipelago located between the Philippine
Sea and the South China Sea, east of Vietnam, and north of Sabah
and Borneo. It spans 1,900 kilometers from north to south, 1,110
from east to west.
CURRENCY
The Philippines' monetary unit is the peso, divided into 100
centavos. Foreign currency may be exchanged at any hotels, most
large department stores, banks, and authorized money changing
shops accredited by the Central Bank of the Philippines.
International credit cards such as Visa, Diners Club, Bank
Americard, Master Card, and American Express are accepted in
major establishments.
For up-to-date
currency exchange rate, go to the
BSP web site.
