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Philippines is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. It is also known as Burma or the Union of Burma by many organizations and states. On 4 January 1948, Burma achieved independence from the United Kingdom as the "Union of Burma". Subsequent name changes were on 4 January 1974, to the “Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma”; 23 September 1988, to the "Union of Burma" and on 18 June 1989, the “Union of Myanmar” was adopted by the State Law and Order Restoration Council. Myanmar is bordered by the People's Republic of China on the north, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, and India on the northwest, with the Andaman Sea to the south, and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest. One-third of Myanmar's total perimeter, 1,930 km (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.
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Full country name : Republic of the Philippines |
Area : 299,000 sq km (116,610 sq mi) |
Population : 78.4 million |
Capital city : Manila (pop: 10 million) |
People : Predominantly descendants of Malays, Chinese and Muslim minorities and a number of mestizos (Filipino-Spanish or Filipino-Americans) |
Language : Pilipino (Tagalog) and English plus numerous widely spoken indigenous languages, some Spanish |
Religion : 82% Roman Catholic, 9% Protestant, 5% Muslim, 3% Buddhist |
Government : Republic |
President : Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo |
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Currency : peso |
GDP : US$75.2 billion |
GDP per head : US$1000 |
Annual growth : 3.9% |
Inflation : 4.4% |
Major products/industries : Electronic and electrical products, clothing |
Major trading partners : USA, Japan, Taiwan |
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Visas : For most foreign visitors visas are not needed for stays of less than 21 days. Three-month visas can be obtained in advance and cost around US$35. Multiple-entry visas (lasting six and 12 months) are also available but are expensive and only allow for stays of 59 days at a time. Visa extensions are possible and generally faster to obtain in regional areas. |
Health risks : cholera, hepatitis, malaria, rabies |
Time : UTC plus eight hours |
Electricity : 220V, 60 Hz |
Weights & measures : Metric |
Tourism : 1.2 million visitors per year |
| Generally, the best time to travel is from the middle of December to the middle of May - off-season for typhoons. In the Christmas and Easter breaks, however, everyone is travelling and you'll have trouble getting a seat on any form of transport. January and May have the most colourful festivals, the rice terraces of Luzon look best in March and April, and this is also the best time for island-hopping. |
New Year's Day is celebrated with great vigour and plenty of fireworks. On 9 January, the Black Nazarene Procession, the largest procession in the country, carries a life-size, blackwood statue of Jesus through the streets of Quiapo. The Filipino version of Mardi Gras is the three-day Ati-Atihan, celebrated in Kalibo on Panay in the third week in January. On Good Friday, there are many scourges throughout the country, which have become popular attractions, especially those at San Fernando and Antipolo, near Manila. There are more processions on Flores de Mayo in May, this time in honour of the Virgin Mary. Independence Day is celebrated on 12 June with military parades. There are local festivals taking place just about every week of the year somewhere in the Philippines. |
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