Pinas

Pinas is a colloquial shorthand for Pilipinas, the Philippines, used in Filipino and other languages to refer informally to the country. It is common in everyday speech, social media, and popular culture, but not used in official documents.

Geography and demographics: The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia, located in the western Pacific Ocean. It comprises about 7,641 islands, grouped into three main island arcs: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital is Manila, and the largest urban area is Metro Manila. The terrain ranges from mountainous interiors to extensive coastlines and coral reefs. The population is around 115 million, with Filipino and English as official languages; hundreds of regional languages are spoken, including Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon, and Tagalog. The majority religion is Roman Catholicism, with significant Muslim communities in parts of Mindanao and other faiths.

Government and economy: The Philippines is a unitary presidential constitutional republic. The president serves as both head of state and head of government, with a bicameral Congress (Senate and House of Representatives). The economy is an emerging market, with services (notably business process outsourcing), remittances from overseas Filipino workers, manufacturing, and agriculture as major sectors.

Culture and history: Historically, the archipelago was inhabited by diverse indigenous groups before Spanish colonization began in the 16th century; it gained independence in 1946 after a period under American sovereignty. Filipino culture blends Malay, Spanish, and American influences, reflected in language, religion, arts, festivals, and cuisine.