The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia
Philippines, island country of Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. It is an archipelago consisting of more than 7,000 islands and islets lying about 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Vietnam. Manila is the capital, but nearby Quezon City is the country’s most-populous city. Both are part of the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), located on Luzon, the largest island. The second largest island of the Philippines is Mindanao, in the southeast.
The Philippine archipelago is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, the Sulu Sea to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The islands spread out in the shape of a triangle, with those south of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao outlining (from west to east, respectively) its southern base and the Batan Islands to the north of Luzon forming its apex. Historically, the total number of islands in the archipelago was held to be 7,107, but in 2016 the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority of the Philippines announced the discovery of more than 500 previously uncharted islands. The archipelago stretches about 1,150 miles (1,850 km) from north to south, and its widest east-west extent, at its southern base, is some 700 miles (1,130 km). The island of Taiwan lies north of the Batan group, the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo is to the south of Palawan, and the eastern islands of Indonesia lie to the south and southeast of Mindanao. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets have names, and only some 350 have areas of 1 square mile (2.6 square km) or more. The large islands fall into three groups: (1) the Luzon group in the north and west, consisting of Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan, (2) the Visayas group in the centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar, and (3) Mindanao in the south.
The climate of the Philippines is tropical and strongly monsoonal (i.e., wet-dry). In general, rain-bearing winds blow from the southwest from approximately May to October, and drier winds come from the northeast from November to February. Thus, temperatures remain relatively constant from north to south during the year, and seasons consist of periods of wet and dry. Throughout the country, however, there are considerable variations in the frequency and amount of precipitation. The western shores facing the South China Sea have the most marked dry and wet seasons. The dry season generally begins in December and ends in May, the first three months being cool and the second three hot; the rest of the year constitutes the wet season. The dry season shortens progressively to the east until it ceases to occur. During the wet season, rainfall is heavy in all parts of the archipelago except for an area extending southward through the centre of the Visayan group to central Mindanao and then southwestward through the Sulu Archipelago; rain is heaviest along the eastern shores facing the Pacific Ocean.
From June to December tropical cyclones (typhoons) often strike the Philippines. Most of these storms come from the southeast, their frequency generally increasing from south to north; in some years the number of cyclones reaches 25 or more. Typhoons are heaviest in Samar, Leyte, south-central Luzon, and the Batan Islands, and, when accompanied by floods or high winds, they may cause great loss of life and property. Mindanao is generally free from such storms.
The Philippine archipelago is bounded by the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, the Sulu Sea to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the west and north. The islands spread out in the shape of a triangle, with those south of Palawan, the Sulu Archipelago, and the island of Mindanao outlining (from west to east, respectively) its southern base and the Batan Islands to the north of Luzon forming its apex. Historically, the total number of islands in the archipelago was held to be 7,107, but in 2016 the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority of the Philippines announced the discovery of more than 500 previously uncharted islands. The archipelago stretches about 1,150 miles (1,850 km) from north to south, and its widest east-west extent, at its southern base, is some 700 miles (1,130 km). The island of Taiwan lies north of the Batan group, the Malaysian portion of the island of Borneo is to the south of Palawan, and the eastern islands of Indonesia lie to the south and southeast of Mindanao. Only about two-fifths of the islands and islets have names, and only some 350 have areas of 1 square mile (2.6 square km) or more. The large islands fall into three groups: (1) the Luzon group in the north and west, consisting of Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan, (2) the Visayas group in the centre, consisting of Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, Masbate, Negros, Panay, and Samar, and (3) Mindanao in the south.
The climate of the Philippines is tropical and strongly monsoonal (i.e., wet-dry). In general, rain-bearing winds blow from the southwest from approximately May to October, and drier winds come from the northeast from November to February. Thus, temperatures remain relatively constant from north to south during the year, and seasons consist of periods of wet and dry. Throughout the country, however, there are considerable variations in the frequency and amount of precipitation. The western shores facing the South China Sea have the most marked dry and wet seasons. The dry season generally begins in December and ends in May, the first three months being cool and the second three hot; the rest of the year constitutes the wet season. The dry season shortens progressively to the east until it ceases to occur. During the wet season, rainfall is heavy in all parts of the archipelago except for an area extending southward through the centre of the Visayan group to central Mindanao and then southwestward through the Sulu Archipelago; rain is heaviest along the eastern shores facing the Pacific Ocean.
From June to December tropical cyclones (typhoons) often strike the Philippines. Most of these storms come from the southeast, their frequency generally increasing from south to north; in some years the number of cyclones reaches 25 or more. Typhoons are heaviest in Samar, Leyte, south-central Luzon, and the Batan Islands, and, when accompanied by floods or high winds, they may cause great loss of life and property. Mindanao is generally free from such storms.
21.08.2026