Country · Asia
Philippines
Republic of the Philippines
The Philippines is a country in South-Eastern Asia. About 106.7 million people live there, in an area of 342 353 square kilometres. Its capital city is Manila.
Picture credit: Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · Vyacheslav Argenberg (CC BY 4.0) · TheCoffee (CC BY-SA 3.0) · GinawaSaHapon (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Philippines?
The Philippines lies in South-Eastern Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 1 447 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 36 289 km long.
It has no land neighbours — every border it has is with the sea.
How big is the Philippines?
The Philippines covers 342 353 square kilometres.
That is about 8.3 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 63rd largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 311.5 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in the Philippines?
About 106.7 million people live in the Philippines.
That is the 13th biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Filipino.
They pay with the Philippine peso (₱).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 68 years.
The land of the Philippines
The land of the Philippines sits on average 442 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 36 289 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 1 814 days.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes the Philippines different?
Dishes the country is known for: Adobo and Lechon.
Websites from here often end in .ph.
The Philippines and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 14 live in the Philippines.
It takes up about 0.26 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia the country ranks 18th of 46 by size, and 7th by population.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, 15 live wild in the Philippines: Whale shark, Clownfish, King cobra, Reticulated python, Giant clam, Chambered nautilus and more. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Apo, at 2 954 metres. The longest river in the country is the Cagayan River. The largest lake in the country is Laguna de Bay.
Whale shark
Clownfish
King cobra
Reticulated python
Giant clam
Chambered nautilus
Stony coral
Pufferfish
Flying fish
Mudskipper
Water buffalo
Giant oarfish
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is the Philippines compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 27 times as big as the Philippines: 9 372 610 km² against 342 353 km². See both on one map
- The Philippines is about 1.4 times as big as the United Kingdom: 342 353 km² against 242 900 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of the Philippines?
The capital of the Philippines is Manila. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in the Philippines?
About 106.7 million people live in the Philippines, which makes it the 13th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
How big is the Philippines?
The Philippines covers 342 353 square kilometres, making it the 63rd largest country in the world. That is about 8.3 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in the Philippines?
The highest mountain in the Philippines is Mount Apo, 2 954 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in the Philippines?
The longest river in the Philippines is the Cagayan River, about 505 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in the Philippines?
The largest lake in the Philippines is Laguna de Bay. It covers about 911 km².
Which continent is the Philippines in?
The Philippines is in Asia, in the part called South-Eastern Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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