The Archipelago of Seven Thousand Islands

The Philippines is an enormous puzzle of 7,641 islands scattered across the Pacific. While many nations are defined by their landmass, this country is essentially a vast marine territory with over 114 million people.

This massive collection of islands is grouped into three distinct regions known as Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Despite its size and population density, the nation covers a relatively small land area of 300,000 square kilometers. Most of these thousands of islands remain tiny, creating a unique geography that has shaped the diverse local cultures and languages found across the country. It is a stunning example of how a nation can be defined more by its surrounding ocean than its solid ground.