Did you know? Short fact-based information about the Philippines
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Depending on how they are counted, between 170 and 186 languages are spoken in the Philippines. This makes the country one of the most linguistically diverse states on Earth. Many of these languages are spoken only in individual regions or even on a single island.
Filipino and English are the Philippines' two official languages. English is taught intensively at school and is ubiquitous in administration, business and higher education. Many visitors can therefore communicate in English without difficulty.
Although Tagalog forms the basis of the national language Filipino, Cebuano has even more native speakers. The language is used in everyday life especially in the Visayas and large parts of Mindanao. Many Filipinos therefore grow up multilingual.
The Philippines are among the world's largest English-speaking countries. English is the language of instruction, the courts and business, and is used daily by millions of people. This is one reason for the success of the call-centre and outsourcing industry.
Spanish was an official language of the Philippines until 1987. Today, only a few thousand people still speak it fluently, yet countless Spanish words can still be found in Filipino and many regional languages.
Chavacano is one of Asia's few Spanish-based creole languages. Although it is predominantly based on Spanish, it contains numerous words and grammatical influences from Philippine languages. It is still spoken above all in Zamboanga.
Baybayin is a pre-colonial Tagalog script and has experienced a revival in recent years. More and more Filipinos have their names tattooed in Baybayin or use the script in logos and artworks. This makes an almost forgotten cultural heritage visible again.
José Rizal had his novel 'Noli Me Tángere' printed in Berlin in 1887. When he ran out of money, friends helped with the printing costs. The book was later banned in the Philippines, but made its author immortal.
Francisco Balagtas is regarded as the most important poet of Tagalog literature. His verse epic 'Florante at Laura' remains required reading in Philippine schools today. In Tagalog literature, the work has a status similar to that of Goethe's classics in the German-speaking world.
The Ilocano epic 'Biag ni Lam-ang' tells the story of a hero who could speak immediately after his birth. Such supernatural figures are typical of many old folk epics. The story continues to be told in northern Luzon today.
Nick Joaquin is one of the Philippines' most important English-language writers. His works combine history, religion and social issues in a unique way. He was awarded the title of National Artist in 1976.
F. Sionil José was repeatedly discussed as a possible candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His multi-volume Rosales Saga in particular portrays the Philippines' social transformation over several generations. His books have been translated into many languages.
Carlos P. Romulo won a Pulitzer Prize in 1942 as the first Filipino to do so. Later, he made further history when he became President of the UN General Assembly. To this day, he remains one of Asia's best-known diplomats.
In 1949, Carlos P. Romulo was elected President of the United Nations General Assembly as the first Asian. At a time when many Asian states were only just becoming independent, this was a powerful international signal.
Jessica Hagedorn's novel 'Dogeaters' tells of life during the Marcos era and brought Philippine literature to international attention. The book was nominated for the National Book Award and is now one of the most important works of Filipino-American literature.
In 2008, Miguel Syjuco won the prestigious Man Asian Literary Prize with his debut novel 'Ilustrado'. The novel combines a detective story, satire and contemporary history, and made the author known around the world.
Lualhati Bautista's novel 'Dekada '70' depicts the life of a family during martial law under Ferdinand Marcos. The book remains one of the Philippines' most widely read political novels and was successfully adapted for film.
The poet José García Villa developed his very own writing style with the famous 'comma poems'. By placing punctuation in unusual ways, he wanted to change the rhythm of his poems. His works even received great attention in New York's literary scene.
'Ibong Adarna' tells the story of a magical bird with healing powers. The epic has been required school reading for generations and is one of the best-known childhood tales for many Filipinos.
As early as the 16th century, Manila was one of Asia's most important printing centres. Soon after the arrival of the Spanish, some of Southeast Asia's oldest printing presses were established there. This allowed books to spread much faster throughout the archipelago.
As many as 186 languages are spoken in the Philippines. Four of them are now considered extinct because there are no native speakers left. At the same time, 19 regional languages have official status in their respective regions.
Since 2018, Filipino Sign Language has officially been the national sign language of the Philippines. For the first time, the law established that deaf people have the right to education and communication with authorities in their own language.
The 'Doctrina Christiana' of 1593 is the first printed book of the Philippines. Particularly noteworthy is that, alongside Spanish, it was also published in Baybayin, the ancient Tagalog script. The book is among the country's most important cultural treasures.
José Rizal wrote his famous farewell poem 'Mi último adiós' shortly before his execution. He hid the manuscript in a small oil lamp so that it could be smuggled out of prison unnoticed. Today, the poem is among the best-known literary works of the Philippines.
José Rizal's novels were banned during the Spanish colonial era. Anyone who possessed or distributed them risked arrest. Yet that very ban made the books even better known.
With 'America Is in the Heart', Carlos Bulosan wrote one of the most significant novels in Filipino-American literature. In it, he portrays the experiences of Filipino immigrants in the United States. The work remains a classic of migration literature today.
'Without Seeing the Dawn' by Stevan Javellana was one of the first major English-language post-war novels of the Philippines. The book powerfully tells of life during the Japanese occupation. It is still read at many universities today.
The Silliman University Writers Workshop has been held since 1962 and is considered Asia's oldest writers' programme. Numerous later bestselling authors and National Artists took part in it. For many writers, it was the beginning of their careers.
With Alejandro Roces, Bienvenido Lumbera and Virgilio Almario, the Philippines produced several National Artists for Literature. Their works shaped the country's literature for decades and are now an integral part of many curricula.
In 1950, Mars Ravelo created Darna, the first Philippine superheroine. Long before strong heroines became a trend in Hollywood, Darna was already fighting monsters and criminals. She remains one of the country's best-known comic characters today.
The Philippine illustrator Tony DeZuniga co-created the comic-book character Jonah Hex for DC Comics. He was also one of the first Filipino artists to make a name for himself in the American comics industry. This paved the way to Hollywood for many of his compatriots.
Whilce Portacio, who was born in the Philippines, later worked on world-renowned comic series such as the X-Men and co-founded Image Comics. His work had a lasting influence on the modern comics world. Today, he is among the most successful comic artists of Asian descent.
In 2021, 'Trese' became the first Philippine comic series to be released as a Netflix original anime. The stories combine modern criminal cases with figures from Philippine mythology. This also made the country's traditional world of legends known to an international audience.
The original Abakada alphabet consisted of only 20 letters. Today's Filipino alphabet comprises 28 letters in order to represent foreign words and the sounds of other Philippine languages better. This development reflects the country's linguistic diversity.
The first opera in Tagalog premiered in Manila as early as 1902. 'Sandugong Panaginip' demonstrated that European operatic traditions and the Philippine language could be successfully combined. This began a new chapter in the country's musical history.