Profile of the Philippines

Official name: Republic of the Philippines

Independent since: 1946

Former colonial rulers: Spain; United States

Location: Southeast Asia, north of Indonesia

Area: 115,830 square miles

Capital: Manila

Population: 84.5 million (2002 est.)

Official languages: Pilipino (Tagalog); English Major religions: Roman Catholicism; Protestantism Gross domestic product: US$335 billion (2001 est.)

Major exports: electronics; garments; food and livestock; basic manufactures Military expenditures: US$995 million (1998)

Aeta, a small, dark-skinned people who probably arrived on the islands about 30,000 years ago. The descendants of these people still live in the islands, mainly in the mountainous regions.

Malay people from the lands that now make up Indonesia and Malaysia sailed to the islands over the course of centuries. They settled in small villages or tribes, to which each person owed allegiance rather than to any larger political unit. Settlements in the mountainous islands often had few connections with one another, and the people developed many different languages and dialects. Chinese traders visited and often stayed, teaching the local people mining, metalworking, and the use of gunpowder.

Islam, a religion founded by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the seventh century, began to reach the islands that became the Philippines during the 1500's. By 1565 Islam had reached Manila and a Muslim chief, Suleiman, ruled Manila. Most of the people, however, continued to worship a variety of gods. Although the Muslims brought with them the concept of political units larger than the village, the people of the islands did not regard themselves as a single nation. A central government was created by the Spanish, and local loyalties would continue to be a problem for the Philippines throughout the country's history.