Sharon DeYoung, age 13, of Keen, N.H., for her question:
HOW MANY ISLANDS ARE THERE IN THE PHILIPPINES?
Located in the western Pacific Ocean about 750 miles east of the coast of Vietnam is the Republic of the Philippines. It is a country that is made up of about 7,000 islands, of which only about 460 are more than one square mile in area.
Eleven of the Philippine's islands have an area of more than 1,000 square miles each and it is these that hold the bulk of the country's population. These island are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawa, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Masbate.
Extending about 1,150 miles almost due north and south between Borneo and Taiwan, the Philippines extend almost 700 miles from east to west.
Manila, with a population nearing 2 million , is the nation's largest city, its chief port, most important commercial center and its capital. It is located on Luzon, the country's largest island. The second largest city is Quezon City with a population over 1 million. It is a suburb of Manila and was the country's capital from 1948 to 1976.
The third largest city, with a population of a bit less than 1 million, is Davao, a provincial capital and important seaport located on the nation's second largest island, Mindanao.
The term Filipino, which originally denoted a person of Spanish descent born in the Philippines and was comparable to the term Creole in the Spanish American colonies, has been applied since the 19th century to the Christianized Malays who constitute the bulk of the Philippine population.
About 85 percent of the Philippine population is Roman Catholic, about 10 percent is Protestant or other religious denominations and about four percent is Muslim.
The official language of the Philippines is Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. The country lacks a common language, however, and English and Spanish are commonly used for government purposes. About 80 languages and dialects are spoken in then the islands.
Spain gained control of the Philippines during the 1500s and ruled the islands as a colony until 1898. That year, the United States took possession of the Philippines under terms of the treaty that ended the Spanish American War.
Japan conquered the Philippines in 1942, during World War II. The United States regained control of the islands in 1945 and on July 4, . 1946, the Philippines became an independent republic.
Family life in the Philippines is more like that in the U.S. and Canada than that of other Asian lands. It is the only Christian country in Asia.
In many Asian countries, the man is the absolute head of the household and makes all important family decision. The Filipino husband, on the other hand, usually treats his wife as an equal. Ties are very strong among family members including grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.