The Philippines Situated in the heart of South East Asia but heavily influenced by such non-Asian forces as Spain (and Mexico), the United States and the Catholic Church. These various factors have been brought together to form what is, truly, a unique Asian country.
The Philippines has a large population of around 92 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are of ethnic Malay stock but, unlike neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, the influence of Islam has been limited. Many western values have been assimilated through the auspices of the predominant Roman Catholic Church