The Republic of the Philippines from the Perspective of Geography of Countries

The Republic of the Philippines, which is the most populous Catholic Christian population of the Asian continent, is both a Southeast Asian country and an archipelago, a Monsoon and ASEAN country, and a Pacific state surrounded by the Pacific Ocean waters. This ocean country, which does not possess land borders, consists of 7641 islands. The islands of Luzon, Negros, Mindanao, Palawan, Cebu, Panay and Samar constitute the country's largest ones in terms of both area and population. Nevertheless, Bohol, Boracay, Siargao, Samal, Camiguin, Cebu, Siquijor, Malapascua, Bantayan, Coron, Panglao and Palawan are among the most famous sea tourism centers and the most beautiful islands of the Asian continent.

The Philippines, which has six different sea coasts, has a total coastline of 36289 kilometers and is the fourth country with the longest coastline in the world after Canada, Russia and Indonesia. Furthermore, this island country is the 13th most populous country in the world with a population exceeding 115 million and since it has a Muslim population of more than 6 million within its borders, it also constitutes one part of the Islamic world. In this study which was centered on the geography of countries, the geographical location, physical geography and human geography characteristics of the Republic of the Philippines were investigated. The agriculture, industry, energy and tourism potential of this island state were addressed, and the main national characteristics unique to this country were attempted to be emphasized. Furthermore, different geographical issues such as the country's historical and political development, economic structure and natural resources, demographic and social characteristics of the national population, ethnic and religious structure were tackled in the article. The Republic of the Philippines, when compared to other states of our planet, some features and developments unique to and seen only in this country were also addressed in the article. Besides, the most positive and negative features of the Philippine Islands as well as the main touristic advantages and disadvantages of the country were investigated in this study.

The primary purpose of this study is to promote this far east Asian state to the curious readers by investigating the geographical, demographic and economic potential of the Republic of the Philippines. The second primary purpose is to introduce the national and geographical features, tourism and natural resources, natural and cultural tourism attractions, economic and tourism potential of the Republic of the Philippines to the relevant readers. The third primary purpose of the study is to publicize the positive and negative features, weaknesses and strengths, national advantages and disadvantages of the Republic of the Philippines to the readers. The fourth primary objective is to reveal the multidimensional country identity card and geographical portrait of the Republic of the Philippines and analyze this archipelago under a magnifying glass from the perspective of the geography of the countries.

The Philippine Islands exhibit some differences from one another in terms of their geographical location and natural geographical features, socio-cultural structures and natural resources, tourism resources and tourism potential. The Philippine islands with very low tourism potential and with very few tourist centers are composed of Samar, Leyte, Marinduque, Dinagat, Tablas, Polillo, Guimaras, Masbate and Catanduanes. These islands are the least known and least popular in terms of tourism, and are also the largest Philippine islands visited by the fewest foreign tourists. Palawan, Luzon, Cebu, Boracay, Panglao, Bohol, Mindanao, Coron, Bantayan, Siargao, Panay, Negros, Siquijor, Mactan and Samal are the most popular Philippine islands as they are visited by the largest number of foreign tourists. Nevertheless, Palawan, Boracay, Coron and Bohol are among the world-famous and most popular Philippine islands, which undoubtedly comprise the country's tourism showcase and a source of national pride.

The Philippines is both home to the world's most beautiful beaches and islands, and has the most dangerous volcanoes and animals of our planet. While the Philippines, on the one hand, has architectural wonders of 50-60-story high skyscrapers and ultra-luxurious complexes with pools, it, on the other hand, possess heartbreaking poverty landscapes and ugly slums. Since the Republic of the Philippines is a very colorful and multifaceted country full of contrasts and contradictions, it is difficult to define, describe and explain its characteristics. As there are many common features among the Philippine islands, they also have some unique geographical, touristic and cultural characteristics. Different nationalities and ethnic communities live side by side on different islands, different local languages are actively spoken, different faith communities practice their faith side by side and different customs and traditions coexist. Therefore, the Philippine Islands are very similar to one another in terms of both their social and cultural characteristics and their economic, ecological, demographic, geographical and tourism characteristics; however, they are very different from each other as well.

The culture of the Philippines, which has been under the impact of different civilizations and states for centuries, has acquired and shaped its national identity under the influence of Indian, Portuguese, Arab, Chinese, American, Malay, Japanese, Korean and Spanish cultures. The Philippines, situated at the crossroads of Islamic and Christian civilizations, in the transition zone of Asia and Oceania, has turned into a bridge country where both races and nations are merged as a result of its interesting geographical location. The Philippine nation in this day and age reflects a cultural mix of ethnic minorities and religious identities, deep-rooted civilizations and colonial states, languages and colorful traditions. This interesting geographic location, this particular demographic synthesis, this unique cultural mix and this one-off hybrid population mix makes its presence evident in every region and every state of the Philippines.

Since there is very limited number of studies on the geography of the Philippines in our country, it is anticipated that the present article will contribute to the relevant geographical literature. Consequently, the Philippines is both an underdeveloped Southeast Asian country, a monsoon country with abundant rainfall, an archipelago state with no land neighbors, and the most populated Christian country in the Asian continent.