Manila is the capital and largest city of the Philippines, with a population of 1.5 million in a small land area, making it the most densely populated city in the world. It is part of the National Capital Region, which is the cultural, educational, and financial center of the country. Manila is a melting pot of various Philippine cultures, Spanish colonization, American occupation, and Japanese invasion. The temperature range is small due to its tropical location near the equator. English and Filipino are the official languages.
The city of Manila is the official capital of the Philippines. It is also the largest city in the country and has a population of approximately 1.5 million crammed into a land area of 23.95 square miles (38.55 square km), making it the most densely populated city in the world. It is a major city in Southeast Asia. The official languages are Filipino and English.
The Philippines is a tropical country and, given its position with respect to the equator, the temperature range of Manila is very small. It rarely gets much colder than 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius) and not much hotter than 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius). Manila is located on Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, and is bordered by Manila Bay to the west and Laguna de Bay to the southeast.
The city of Manila is part of the Metropolitan Manila area, also called Metropolitan Manila or Metro Manila, otherwise known as the National Capital Region. However, while the city of Manila might be the capital of the Philippines on paper, Metro Manila has long since taken over the role in practice. Some of the nation’s government seats are located outside the city itself, but within the greater Manila area: the upper house of the legislature (the Senate) is in Pasay City and the lower house (House of Representatives) is located in Quezon City.
Interestingly, when Filipinos say they are from Manila, they usually mean they are from Metro Manila and can be a resident of any of its sixteen cities. Metro Manila is the cultural, educational and financial center of the country. All the best schools and universities, the best companies, multinationals, publishing, television and cinema are based in this region. Thousands of applicants continually make the journey from various rural provinces to the capital in an attempt to make something of themselves and usually to lift their families out of poverty.
Manila, then, is the proverbial melting pot of the Philippines. Various Philippine cultures are distilled and blended with centuries of Spanish colonization, decades of American occupation and a few years of Japanese invasion. It is home to descendants of early Malay settlers, ethnic Chinese merchants, Spanish mestizo families left over from colonial times, and an influx of Korean and Western expatriates, all living together in relative harmony.
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