Stretching 1,840 kms north-to-south off the southeast coast of Asia, the Philippines has a total land area of 300,000 sq kms or 115,600 sq miles, slightly larger than the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The 7,000 islands that comprise the Philippines are the forgotten islands of Southeast Asia. The Philippines has developed a mixed culture from the blending of foreign influences with native elements. Today some of the isolated tribes are the only people whose culture remains unadulterated by earlier Muslim and later Spanish and American influences.

About 10% of Filipinos (the so-called cultural minority groups or tribal Filipinos) retain their traditional culture. There are some 60 ethnological groups, ranging from the Badjao of the Sulu archipelago, who are sea gypsies, to the head-hunting Kalinga in the north of Bontoc.

The Philippines is the only Christian country in Asia. Over 90% of the population claim to follow Christian faiths. The largest of the minority religious groups is the Muslims, who live chiefly on Mindanao and in the Sulu archipelago. There is also a Philippine Independence Church, some Buddhists, and a small number of animists.

The geography and history of the Philippines have conspired to produce a multiplicity of languages, some 80 dialects in total. The concept of a national language developed after the Spanish-American War in 1898 and Tagalog was declared the national language in 1936. There were several other contenders for this role, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Ilocano. A compromise reached in 1973 confirmed Pilipino as the national language. This is based on Tagalog, but has linguistic elements of other Philippine languages. Despite this, English remains the language of commerce and politics in the Philippines.

Most of the Philippines is laid back, stable and relatively safe. The country likes to promote itself as the place where 'Asia wears a smile' and the locals are, by and large, an exceptionally friendly and helpful bunch. On top of this, transport is cheap, the food is good, accommodation is plentiful and (for the monolinguistic) English is widely spoken.