Spaniards in the Philippines
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- This article deals with Spanish citizens in the Philippines. For Philippine citizens of Spanish descent, see Spanish-Filipino.
According to a recent survey, the number of Spanish citizens in the Philippines regardless of ethnolinguistic affiliation was about 16,300, excluding Filipino citizens of Spanish descent. Spaniards are referred to as Kastila from the name Castile. The vast majority are of Andalusian descent. While a minority are of Catalan or Basque origin. The number of Filipino citizens of Spanish origin, however, is unknown, as many of them had intermarried or integrated with the general Filipino society.
Most Spanish mestizos and Spaniards living in the Philippines emigrated to Spain, Latin America, or the United States, following World War II and during the Marcos regime.
[edit] Population according to Ethnic Affinity
Castilians and Catalans combined account for 9,000 of the Spaniards in the Philippines, while the Basques number about 7,300. Other Spanish ethnicities such as Galician were not distinguished from the Castilian and the Catalan, since all three speak the same language family, the Romance language family.
