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The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is an island country located in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. The Philippines comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean, sharing maritime borders with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Palau, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China, the United States, and Vietnam. The Philippines is the world's 12th most populous country with a population of about 90 million people.[4][6] Its national economy is the 46th largest in the world with an estimated 2008 gross domestic product (GDP) of over US$154.073 billion.[6] There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, about 11% of the total population of the Philippines. It is a multi-ethnic nation. A former colony of Spain, and the United States, the Philippines is one of two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia-Pacific, the other being East Timor. European, and Indigenous cultures are found throughout the islands; there are also followers of Islam, and among others. Ecologically, the Philippines is among one of the most megadiverse countries in the world.[8][9] The name Philippines was derived from King Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos used the name Las Islas Filipinas (The Philippine Islands) in honour of the Prince of Spain during his expedition to the Philippines, originally referring to the islands of Leyte, and Samar.[10] The name itself is Greek, and can be traced to the name of the father of Alexander the Great, Philipp II of Macedon,Greek F???pp?? — f???? philos (meaning beloved, loving); ?pp?? hippos (meaning horse).[11] Despite the presence of other names, the name Filipinas (Philippines) was eventually adopted as the name of the entire archipelago. Archeological, and paleontological discoveries show that Humans existed in Palawan around 30,000 to 50,000 BC. The aboriginal people of the Philippine Islands, the Negritos, are an Australo-Melanesian people who arrived in the Philippines at least 30,000 years ago. The Austronesian (Malayo Polynesian) people, originated from populations of Taiwanese aborigines that migrated from mainland Asia approximately 6000 years ago, who settled in the islands, and eventually migrated to Indonesia, Malaysia, and soon after, to the Polynesian islands, and Madagascar.[12] The Islands were known as Lusung Dao to the Chinese, Suvarnadvipa to the Hindus, Zabag to the Arabs, and Persians[13] and Chryse to the Greeks which means island of gold, as described by the geographer Ptolemy.[14] The Philippine Islands had cultural ties with Malaysia, Indonesia, and India during ancient times, as proven by the extent of Tantric, and Hindu-Buddhist influence in the area.[15] There were also trade relations with China, and other neighboring countries as early as the 5th century.[16]
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