Many countries, including the Philippines, are still not open for tourists, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare for a future trip. Below are some interesting facts about the Philippines you probably didn’t know. If you did know about them already, let us know!
175 Languages
There are around 175 languages spoken in the country. 171 of them are considered “living” and four are the tribal dialects nobody speaks anymore. The official languages are Filipino and English. This is the fifth largest English-speaking country in the world, right behind the U.S., India, Pakistan, and the U.K.
Basketball
Basketball is extremely popular in the Philippines. Hoops are everywhere, men often wear NBA jerseys, and many young people train. They have the second oldest professional league in the world, younger only than the NBA.
Coconut
The Philippines is the number one producer of coconut. Their coconut is exported around the world, which is about 19.5 million tons every year!
Manila
The country’s capital, Manila, is officially the city with the highest population density on the planet. It’s insane when you think about it, but over 1.6 million residents live on 24 square miles! The metropolitan area of Manila, which consists of several other cities, counts nearly 13 million residents.