Republic of the Philippines

Republika ng Pilipinas

Introduction

The Philippines is a small group of 7,000+ islands in Southeast Asia on the Pacific Ocean.

Capital: Manila (located on Luzon, the largest island)

Total population (2022): 111.74 million

Official languages: Filipino & English

Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc, (n.d.).

Demographics

Some background information

Race/Ethnicity

The entire population of the Philippines call themselves Filipinos. Many have heritage from Malaysia and Indonesia. According to the latest census in 2000, the two most prominent ethnic groups are the Tagalog and the Cebuano.

(Hernandez et al., 2022)

Religion

The largest religion followed by the Filipinos is Roman Catholicism, comprising about 4/5th of the population. Following behind this is Islam, then a small portion founded by the Filipinos called Iglesia ni Cristo.

(Hernandez et al., 2022)

Age

As of 2020, the percentage of those under age 15 consists of about 30% of the population. This aligns with the country's birth rate being one of the highest in the world. The age distribution declines when looking at increasing age groups, with only 5.5% of the population being 65 years or older (Compare this with the U.S., which is 18% under age 15, and 17% 65 years or older!).

(O'Neill, 2022)