PHILIPPINES IS AN ARCHIPELAGIC COUNTRY IN SOUTHEAST ASIA,  SITUATED IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC OCEAN, IT CONSISTS OF ABOUT 7,641 ISLANDS THAT ARE BROADLY CATEGORIZED UNDER THREE MAIN GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH: LUZON, VISAYAS, AND MINDANAO. THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE PHILIPPINES IS MANILA AND THE MOST POPULOUS CITY IS QUEZON CITY, BOTH WITHIN THE SINGLE URBAN AREA OF METRO MANILA. BOUNDED BY THE SOUTH CHINA SEA TO THE WEST, THE PHILIPPINE SEA TO THE EAST, AND THE CELEBES SEA TO THE SOUTHWEST, THE PHILIPPINES SHARES MARITIME BORDERS WITH TAIWAN TO THE NORTH, JAPAN TO THE NORTHEAST, PALAU TO THE EAST, INDONESIA TO THE SOUTH, MALAYSIA AND BRUNEI TO THE SOUTHWEST, VIETNAM TO THE WEST, AND CHINA TO THE NORTHWEST. THE COUNTRY HAS A VARIETY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND A GLOBALLY SIGNIFICANT LEVEL OF BIODIVERSITY. MULTIPLE ETHNICITIES AND CULTURES ARE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE ISLANDS.