The Philippines is an island country in Southeast Asia in the Pacific Ocean. It has 7,641 islands. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila.
Spain (1521–1898), and the United States (1898–1946), colonized (controlled) the country and Palau, which is on the eastern side of the Philippine Sea. The Philippines and East Timor are the only nations in East Asia where most people are Christians. The Philippines got independence when the United States left in 1946.
The Philippine Islands are surrounded on the east by the Philippine Sea, on the west by the South China Sea, and on the south by the Celebes Sea. Borneo island is a few hundred kilometers to the southwest, Vietnam is to the west, and Taiwan is directly north.