Did you know? Short fact-based information about the Philippines
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The Philippines officially consist of 7,641 islands. This figure was confirmed only after a new official survey in 2016 and 2017. For decades, the accepted total was 7,107 islands—but modern satellite and mapping technology brought more than 500 additional islands to light.
Until 2016, the official figure was 7,107 islands. Only a new survey recorded numerous small islands, increasing the total to 7,641. This shows that even today, not every corner of this vast archipelago had been fully documented.
Of the 7,641 islands, only around 2,000 are permanently inhabited. About 5,000 still have no official name, and many are so small that they emerge fully from the sea only at low tide. A large part of the Philippine archipelago therefore remains almost untouched.
After Indonesia, the Philippines are the world's second-largest island nation. By comparison, the archipelago includes even more islands than Greece, which is often regarded as the classic island paradise. Nature, languages and cultures are correspondingly varied within the country.
The Philippines are divided into three major island groups: Luzon in the north, the Visayas in the centre and Mindanao in the south. This division is so fundamental that it is even reflected in the national flag—the three stars each represent one of these island groups.
At around 110,000 square kilometres, Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is therefore almost as large as Bulgaria and more than twice the size of Switzerland. Almost half of all Filipinos also live there.
At 2,954 metres, Mount Apo is the highest mountain in the Philippines. It is only eight metres lower than the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain. Despite its volcanic origin, it is not currently considered an active volcano.
At around 505 kilometres, the Cagayan River is the Philippines' longest river. Its length is roughly equivalent to the distance between Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main. For centuries, it has supplied northern Luzon with water and made the fertile region one of the country's most important agricultural areas.
At around 900 square kilometres, Laguna de Bay is the largest lake in the Philippines. By comparison, it is about one and a half times as large as Lake Constance. Millions of people depend directly or indirectly on the lake as a source of water and fish.
The Puerto-Princesa Underground River is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and ranks among the world's longest navigable underground rivers. Visitors can travel several kilometres by boat through a natural cave system—an experience possible in only a few places worldwide.
The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995. They were built into the mountain slopes almost entirely by hand by the Ifugao around 2,000 years ago. One of the world's largest agricultural structures was thus created without modern machinery.
The Chocolate Hills on Bohol consist of at least 1,260 almost evenly shaped hills. During the dry season, the grass turns brown, making the landscape resemble huge balls of chocolate. Exactly how this extraordinary formation arose is still being studied.
Taal Volcano is one of the most unusual volcanoes on Earth. It lies on an island in a lake—and its crater, in turn, contains another lake with a small island. Such nested landscapes are extremely rare worldwide.
Mayon Volcano is regarded as one of the world's most beautiful volcanoes because of its almost perfect cone shape. Its nearly symmetrical silhouette makes it one of the Philippines' most photographed landmarks. At the same time, it is one of the country's most active volcanoes.
The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo was the second-largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Its eruption cloud reached heights of more than 30 kilometres and slightly cooled the global climate for several years. Even sunsets displayed unusually intense colours around the world.
There are 24 active volcanoes in the Philippines. This is one reason why the country is regarded as one of the world's most volcanically active regions. Many fertile soils owe their nutrients precisely to this volcanic past.
The Philippines lie on the Pacific Ring of Fire—a zone where around 75 percent of the world's active volcanoes are located. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are therefore a natural part of everyday life there. The authorities record thousands of seismic events every year, although most are barely noticeable.
With around 36,000 kilometres of coastline, the Philippines are among the countries with the world's longest coastlines. By comparison, that is almost the circumference of the Earth at the equator. No place in the country is particularly far from the sea.
The Philippines lie in the middle of the so-called Coral Triangle—the most species-rich marine area on Earth. Nowhere else do so many different coral, fish and marine species live in such a small area. The waters are therefore considered one of the world's most important diving destinations.
The Tubbataha Reefs are a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site and can be reached by boat only for a few months each year. The remote reef system is entirely protected and is among the world's most species-rich coral reefs. Many rare species of shark, turtle and ray find an important habitat there.
The Philippine eagle is among the largest and rarest eagles in the world. With a wingspan of up to two metres, it mainly hunts monkeys, flying foxes and other larger animals. Because its habitat is becoming ever smaller through the clearing of rainforests, only a few hundred breeding pairs now live in the wild.
The tarsier weighs only around 120 grams and is therefore one of the smallest primates on Earth. Its eyes are so large that each one weighs more than its brain. Because its eyes cannot move, the tarsier turns its head almost 180 degrees in either direction.
At 42.2 °C, the highest temperature ever measured in the Philippines was recorded in Tuguegarao. That is about the same as the maximum temperatures otherwise associated with the Sahara or Death Valley. Such temperatures remain the exception on the islands, however.
The Philippines' lowest temperature ever measured was only 6.3 °C, in Baguio. That is surprisingly cool for a tropical country. It is made possible by the city's elevation of around 1,500 metres above sea level.
On average, around 20 tropical cyclones pass over the Philippines every year. This makes the country one of the regions most frequently affected by typhoons in the world. Many of these storms form over the Pacific and first strike the Philippine archipelago.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, was one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever recorded at landfall in 2013. Entire coastal towns were destroyed by storm surges several metres high. The disaster prompted one of the largest international relief operations of its time.
The 1976 Moro Gulf earthquake is regarded as the gravest earthquake disaster in Philippine history. The undersea earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck numerous coastal towns and claimed thousands of lives. The event later led to an expansion of Philippine tsunami early-warning systems.
Palawan is the Philippines' largest province by area. It extends for more than 400 kilometres and consists of hundreds of islands. Because of its extraordinary natural environment, Palawan is regularly counted among the world's most beautiful island regions.
Batanes is the Philippines' smallest province and consists of only a few inhabited islands in the country's far north. The island group lies closer to Taiwan than to Manila. It is known above all for its stone houses, which withstand even strong typhoons.
Davao City is among the world's largest cities by area. At around 2,444 square kilometres, its urban area is more than three times the size of Hamburg. Large parts of that area, however, consist of mountains, forests and agricultural land.
Apo Reef off Mindoro is regarded as the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef. It extends over around 34 square kilometres and is home to hundreds of coral and fish species. Because of its remoteness, the reef remains comparatively well preserved to this day.
The Philippine Trench reaches a depth of around 10,540 metres at the Galathea Depth. If Mount Everest were placed inside it, its summit would still be more than 1,600 metres below the sea surface. This makes it one of the deepest places in the world's oceans.
The Philippine Rise is a huge underwater plateau east of Luzon. At around 13 million hectares, it is approximately the size of Greece. The area is considered particularly rich in fish and may also contain valuable mineral resources.
At more than 500 kilometres, the Sierra Madre is the Philippines' longest mountain range. It also forms a natural protective barrier against many typhoons that strike Luzon from the Pacific. Without this mountain range, the damage caused by tropical cyclones would often be significantly greater.
The famous 'Pearl of Lao Tzu' was discovered off Palawan in 1934 and weighed around 6.4 kilograms. It remains one of the world's largest naturally formed pearls. By comparison, ordinary jewellery pearls usually weigh only a few grams.
With more than 40,000 inhabitants per square kilometre, Manila is among the world's most densely populated cities. That is more than four times as dense as Paris and many times denser than major German cities. Despite the enormous crowding, many people live there in extremely cramped conditions.
The Philippines are one of only 17 so-called megadiverse countries on Earth. A large proportion of their animal and plant species occur exclusively there. The country therefore plays a role in global species conservation that is similarly important to that of Brazil or Madagascar.
The reticulated python, the world's longest snake, also occurs in the Philippines. Individual animals can reach lengths of up to nine metres — roughly the height of a three-storey house. Despite their size, reticulated pythons are non-venomous and kill their prey by constriction.
The king cobra also lives in the Philippines. At up to five and a half metres long, it is the world's longest venomous snake and can raise its upper body far off the ground. Despite its fearsome reputation, it normally avoids people.
More than 500 bird species live in the Philippine rainforests. More than a third of them occur exclusively in the Philippines. This makes the country one of the world's most important hotspots for birdwatchers.
More than 100 mammal species in the Philippines are endemic, meaning that they occur nowhere else on Earth. They include rare flying foxes, deer and rodents. Over the course of evolution, each remote island gave rise to its own distinctive animal species.
Seven of the world's eight known giant clam species live in Philippine waters. Some specimens reach more than one metre in diameter and weigh several hundred kilograms. This makes them among the largest clams on Earth.
Previously unknown animal species have repeatedly been discovered in the Philippines over recent decades. Scientists regularly find new frogs, reptiles, plants or mammals there. This shows how little some regions of the archipelago have been explored to this day.
In the middle of Taal Volcano's crater lake lies the small island of Vulcan Point. It forms an island in a lake that lies on an island in a lake on an island. This geographical curiosity is almost unique worldwide.
Around 20 earthquakes are recorded in the Philippines every day. Most are so weak that the population does not notice them at all. The country's location on the Pacific Ring of Fire is responsible for this.
Taal is one of only 16 so-called "Decade Volcanoes" in the world. Scientists monitor these volcanoes particularly closely because they are considered dangerous and are located in densely populated regions.
Although the Philippines consists of 7,641 islands, most of the population lives on only eleven of them. Thousands of smaller islands are uninhabited or only sparsely populated. This explains why many regions can still be reached only by boat.
Off the coast of Moalboal on Cebu, a huge school of sardines passes by every day. Millions of fish move like a single living organism, constantly changing shape. This natural spectacle can often be observed directly from the beach.
A 34-kilogram giant pearl was presented on Palawan in 2016. The fisherman who found it had kept it under his bed for ten years as a lucky charm, unaware of its potential value. Only later was its extraordinary significance recognised.
Puerto Princesa is regarded as the cleanest and greenest major city in the Philippines. For many years, the city has relied on strict environmental regulations and sustainable tourism. As a result, it differs markedly from many other rapidly growing cities in Southeast Asia.
The Philippines has vast deposits of gold, copper, nickel and other mineral resources. Their estimated total value is around US$1 trillion, but only a small part has been developed so far. At the same time, mining is one of the country's most controversial industries.
The sampaguita has been the national flower of the Philippines since 1934. Its small white blossoms give off an intense fragrance and are often made into garlands. By contrast, the national tree, narra, produces one of Southeast Asia's most valuable hardwoods.
The Zambales mango is one of the world's sweetest mango varieties. Philippine mangoes have even been served at the White House and Buckingham Palace. Many gourmets consider them more aromatic than most other mango varieties.
Vigan is regarded as Asia's best-preserved Spanish colonial city. Cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages and centuries-old mansions still convey an impression of what many cities looked like during the Spanish colonial period.
Four Baroque churches in the Philippines together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They were built to withstand even strong earthquakes as well as possible. Over time, this gave rise to a distinct architectural style known as "Earthquake Baroque".
The Philippines has a total of six UNESCO World Heritage Sites—three cultural sites and three natural sites. Despite its relatively small area, this makes the country one of Southeast Asia's most significant in terms of both culture and natural history.
Mount Hamiguitan National Park is best known for its so-called bonsai forest. On nutrient-poor soils, centuries-old trees grow there that often barely reach one metre in height. Such a natural dwarf forest is extremely rare worldwide.
The small island of Camiguin has seven volcanoes but only five municipalities. Locals therefore jokingly say that the island has more volcanoes than towns. An extraordinarily high density of volcanoes is found in an area of only around 240 square kilometres.
Siargao is regarded as the surfing capital of the Philippines. The famous "Cloud 9" wave has attracted surfers from all over the world since the 1980s and made the island internationally known. International competitions are now held there regularly.
The "Hundred Islands" National Park has a somewhat misleading name. In fact, it now comprises 124 islands and islets. Originally, only some of the rocky islands were counted.
At 2,928 metres, Mount Pulag is the Philippines' third-highest mountain. It became famous for its spectacular "sea of clouds", which often forms below the summit on clear mornings. This natural spectacle attracts thousands of hikers every year.
Marine biologists describe the Verde Island Passage as the "centre of the centre of marine biodiversity". Nowhere else have more different marine species been documented in such a small area. For divers, the area is therefore one of the world's most important sites.
Whale sharks can be observed off Donsol between November and June. At up to 18 metres long, the whale shark is the largest fish on Earth. Despite its size, it feeds almost exclusively on plankton.
Thresher sharks live off Malapascua and stand out for their extremely long tail fins. There are only a few places worldwide where divers can regularly observe these shy animals in the wild. The island therefore has cult status among divers.
Lake Lanao is the Philippines' second-largest lake. It lies around 700 metres above sea level and is therefore one of Southeast Asia's highest major lakes. It is an important source of water and energy for Mindanao.
After the Cagayan River, the Rio Grande de Mindanao is the country's second-longest river. For centuries, it served as the most important transport and trade route in the south of the Philippines. Many settlements developed along its banks.
Kanlaon is the most active volcano in the Visayas. Since record-keeping began, eruptions have repeatedly occurred there, which is why the area is constantly monitored. At the same time, the volcano is one of the region's most popular hiking destinations.
Since 2022, the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway has been the Philippines' longest bridge at 8.9 kilometres. It thereby replaced the San Juanico Bridge as the record holder. The structure directly connects Cebu City with Mactan Island.
The planned Bataan-Cavite Bridge is expected to be around 32 kilometres long. It would make it Southeast Asia's longest sea bridge and almost four times as long as the current Philippine record holder. It would substantially shorten driving time around Manila Bay.
In 2018, Boracay was completely closed to tourists for six months. The reason was massive environmental problems caused by uncontrolled tourism. After extensive rehabilitation measures, significantly stricter environmental requirements now apply to visitors and hotels.
Romblon is often referred to as the marble capital of the Philippines. The marble quarried there is considered particularly high quality and is compared with Italian Carrara marble. Many sculptures and buildings in the country are made of Romblon marble.
For decades, Subic Bay Naval Base was the largest US naval base outside the United States. After the withdrawal of US forces, the site developed into a successful special economic zone. Today, thousands of people work there in industry and logistics.
Clark Air Base was also once one of the largest American air force bases outside the United States. After the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, the base was abandoned. Today, it is home to an international airport and a modern economic centre.
In 2016, international arbitrators in The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines in the dispute over territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea. The ruling is regarded as a milestone in international maritime law. However, China still does not recognise the decision.
Apo Island is regarded as a model for modern marine conservation. In the early 1980s, residents worked with scientists to establish one of the world's first community-based marine protected areas. The concept was later adopted in many other countries.
Siquijor is known as the "Island of Fire". In the past, millions of fireflies lit up the forests at night, allowing seafarers to recognise the island from far away. Today, Siquijor is also known for its healers and old folk legends.
The inhabitants of the Batanes Islands build their traditional houses with thick stone walls and lime. This construction allows the houses to withstand even typhoons with wind speeds well above 200 km/h. This building method has been used almost unchanged for centuries.
Several Japanese warships from the Second World War lie on the seabed off the coast of Coron. They were sunk in 1944 in an American air raid. Today, the wrecks are among the world's best-known wreck-diving sites.
Because of its pleasantly cool climate, Baguio is also called the "summer capital of the Philippines". While temperatures in Manila often rise above 30 °C, they are often ten degrees lower there. This is why even the American governors spent the hot months in Baguio.
In 2014, Vigan was chosen as one of the "New7Wonders Cities". Its historic old town prevailed over numerous famous cities from around the world. For the Philippines, this was a significant international honour.
The Puerto Princesa Underground River is not only a UNESCO World Heritage Site; in 2012, it was also chosen as one of the "New7Wonders of Nature". This makes it one of the world's best-known natural attractions. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the cave system every year.
Palawan has repeatedly been voted the world's most beautiful island by international travel magazines. Its limestone cliffs, turquoise lagoons and species-rich coral reefs in particular regularly secure top places in worldwide rankings.
The new 1,000-peso banknote features nature motifs exclusively. It depicts, among other things, the Philippine eagle, the South Sea pearl and the Tubbataha Reef. For the first time, the country's unique fauna and flora were given greater prominence than historical figures.
In 2024, the Philippine central bank introduced a complete series of polymer banknotes for the first time. The plastic material is considerably more durable than paper and is better protected against dirt and moisture. Australia had already successfully adopted this technology decades earlier.
The Hinatuan Enchanted River impresses with its intensely turquoise-blue water. For a long time, locals believed the river was bottomless because its source was unknown. Only modern diving expeditions have been able to explore parts of the extensive cave system.