• World's biggest producer of coconuts, third-largest producer of bananas
  
  
• GNP US$430 billion
  
  
• Highest point Mt Apo, at 2954m
  
  
• Number of islands 7000, the world's second- largest archipelago
• Population 87.8 million
  
  
• English literacy rate 93%, the highest in Asia
• Life expectancy men 67 years, women 73 years
  
  
• Asia's first university (University of Santo Tomas, 1611); democratic nation (1896); commercial airline (Philippine Airlines, 1941)
  
  

The second-largest archipelago in the world, with over 7000 tropical islands, the Philippines is one of the great treasures of Southeast Asia. Often overlooked by travellers because of its location on the ‘wrong’ side of the South China Sea, the Philippines rewards those who go the extra distance to reach it. And because it’s off the beaten path, the Philippines is a great place to escape the hordes who descend on other parts of Southeast Asia. First and foremost, the Philippines is a place of natural wonders – a string of coral-fringed islands strewn across a vast expanse of the western Pacific. Below sea level, the Philippines boasts some of the world’s best diving and snorkelling, including wreck diving around Coron and swimming with the whale sharks off Donsol. Above sea level, it has a fantastic landscape with wonders enough to stagger even the most jaded traveller: the Chocolate Hills of Bohol, Banaue & the Rice Terraces and fascinating reminders of the islands’ history in places such as Samar & Leyte and Vigan. And if you’re after palm-fringed, white-sand beaches, try laidback Sipalay or flat-out party town Boracay.