The state received its name in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The Philippines used to be a Spanish colony, then, after the 18th century, England began to fight with Spain for control of the islands. In 1898, after the Spanish-American War, the Philippines, among other territories, passed to the United States and remained under its rule until World War II. It gained independence only in 1946.

The country's official languages are Tagalog and English, and Spanish is also popular. The Philippines is the only country in the region where the vast majority of the population, about 92%, professes Christianity.

The capital of the Philippines is Manila, 1.7 million people. with the human population. The city was named after a tree with white flowers called Maynilad.

   The country is an archipelago consisting of more than 7,107 large and small islands. The largest of them is the island of Luzon, on which the capital Manila is located.

There are about 200 volcanoes in the Philippines, but only a few of them are active.

In fact, karaoke was invented in the Philippines and not in Japan, as many believe, although the word "karaoke" is of Japanese origin.

The University of San Carlos in Cebu was founded in 1595. Spanish and is considered the oldest university in Asia. The University of Santo Tomas in Manila was founded in 1611.

The world's largest pearl was found in the Philippines in 1934, weighing 6.5 kg.

The first European in the Philippines was the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan.

   Filipino beauties Gloria Diaz and Maria Moran won the prestigious Miss Universe beauty pageant in 1969 and 1973.
Over the past few years, two more Filipinos have received this prestigious title: Pia Wurtzbach in 2015 and Catriona Gray in 2019. 
Megan Young, a representative from the Philippines, was declared the winner of the Miss World beauty pageant.

27 May 2024, Monday | 1561