Demographics of the Philippines | ||
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According to the 2000 Census, the population of the Philippines was 76,504,077.[1] The Negrito, who are genetically akin to Andamanese islanders and constitute a distinct stock, are the indigenous peoples of the Philippines, number somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people (<0.03 percent). The overwhelming majority of the population (95 percent) are made up of various ethnolinguistic groups descended from later Austronesian-speaking migrants who arrived in successive waves to the archipelago from Taiwan and admixed with other sporadic migrations from the Asian mainland (what is today southern China). The most significant non-Austronesian group are the Chinese, who have played an important role in commerce since the 9th century when they first arrived in the Philippines for trade. Mestizos, those of part-non-Austronesian parentage, form a tiny but economically and politically important minority.
The most widely spoken language is Filipino, which is de facto based on Tagalog, although thirteen regional languages are spoken as vernaculars throughout the Philippines. English serves as the primary lingua franca and as the language of commerce and the professions. Christianity is the main religion in the archipelago, with Roman Catholicism making up the majority. A small but significant minority profess Islam, particularly in the southern Philippines.
The people of the Philippines are known as Filipinos. Throughout the colonial era the term "Filipino" originally referred to only the Spanish and Spanish-mestizo minority. The definition, however, later evolved to include all citizens of the Philippines regardless of ethnic origin.
The majority of the people in the Philippines are of Austronesian descent who migrated from Formosa during the Iron Age. The largest of these groups are the Visayan, Tagalog, Ilocano, Bicolano, Moro, and the Kapampangan. About 8% of all Filipinos are tribal peoples.
The indigenous people of the Philippines, called the Negritos, who are related to the Andamanese of the Andaman Islands, now constitute only 0.003% of the entire population. Other non-Austronesian groups include the Chinese, Japanese, Spaniards, Koreans, Indonesians, and Arabs. There are also Americans of a variety of ethnic backgrounds. Filipinos of Indian descent are not included in this list (see Filipino mestizo and Cainta, Rizal). The country has a tiny Greek population consisting of no more than ten families in Metro Manila and a slightly larger community in Legazpi, the latter being descended from Greek sailors who settled in the city around a century ago.[2]
Various degrees of interracial marriage between ethnic groups have resulted in the formation of a new vibrant class of peoples, collectively known as Filipino mestizos. According to a Stanford University small-n study, only about 10% of all Filipinos have European genes, most probably Spanish. On the other hand, according to a recent survey, European expatriates number about 13,661, excluding Spaniards and Basques. About 49 Russian families (867 Russians), About 86 Belarusians families (1,056 Belarusians) and 160 Ukrainian families exact (Ukranian population unknown) live in Metro Manila. Most of the Ukrainians are specialists employed in the petrochemical industry.[3]
A total of one hundred seventy-two native languages and dialects are spoken, all but one (Chavacano) belong to the Austronesian linguistic family. Since 1939, in an effort to develop national unity, the government has promoted the use of the official national language, Filipino, based on Tagalog. Visayan languages (also called Bisaya or Binisaya) are widely spoken throughout the middle islands known as the Visayans and in many areas of Mindanao.
English is the predominant non-native language. Other foreign languages spoken are Chinese (Hokkien) and Cantonese Chinese, among the Chinese and Chinese-mestizo population; Arabic and Malay among some members of the Muslim population; and Spanish preserved and spoken by some families within the Spanish-mestizo minority.
Most Filipinos speak at least two languages. Many speak three or more fluently. Most children begin studying Filipino and English when they start kindergarten, regardless of what their local language is.
According to the 2000 Census, 81.04% of all Filipinos are Roman Catholics, 5.06% are adherents of Islam, and 2.82% are Born-again Christians. The remaining 11.08% include the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ - 1.3%), Philippine Independent Church (2%), Mormon (.5%), as well as those of other religions, such as Buddhism and Hinduism (3%).
Roman Catholics and Protestants were converted during over four centuries of Western domination by Spain and the United States. Under Spanish rule, the majority of the population converted to Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism still subsists as a major religion. Often still, Catholic Filipinos mix Catholic beliefs and traditions with beliefs in ghosts and other spirits.
Many Orthodox Christians also live in Philippines, some Orthodox families having lived continuously in the country for more than 200 years. Today, the Orthodox Church in The Philippines counts among its membership 520 Filipino Members and about 40 expats.
Protestant Christianity arrived in the Philippines during the late 19th century and the early 20th century, introduced mostly by American missionaries. (See also: Protestants in the Philippines.)
Islam was brought to the Sulu Archipelago in the 9th century by Makhdum Karim, an Arab trader, and to Mindanao island by Rajah Kabungsuwan, a Malaccan nobleman. From then onwards, Muslim princes carried on expeditions to propagate Islam. While Islam was easily displaced among the peoples of Luzon and the Visayas, it gained a stronghold in Mindanao. (See also: Islam in the Philippines.)
Other religions include Mahayana Buddhism (see Buddhism in the Philippines), followed by many Filipinos of Chinese descent. It is often mixed with Taoist and Confucianist beliefs, and Hinduism and Sikhism, followed by Filipinos of Indo-Aryan descent.
Animism is still prevalent among the highland peoples of Cordillera and Mindanao.
Education in the Philippines has a similar system to that of the United States. Filipino children enter public school at about age four, starting from Nursery up to Kindergarten. At about seven years of age, children enter a 'primary school' (6 to 7 years). This is followed by secondary school (4 years). Students then sit for the College Entrance Examinations (CEE), after which they enter collegiate school (3 to 5 years). Other types of schools do exist, such as Private schools, Preparatory schools, International schools, and Science High Schools. Also, several nationalities, such as the Chinese, British, Americans,Singaporean, Korean and the Japanese also have their own schools. School year in the Philippines starts from June and ends in March with a two-month summer break from April to May, one week of semestral break (every last week of October), and a week or two of Christmas break.
The first census in the Philippines was done on 1591, based on tributes collected. Based on this tribute counting, there were about 666,712 people in the islands. In 1600, this method was revamped by the Spanish officials, who then based the counting of the population through church records. In 1799, a certain Fr. Manuel Buzeta estimated the population count as 1,502,574. However, the first official census was conducted only in 1878, when the population as of midnight on December 31, 1877 was counted. This was followed by two more censuses, namely, the 1887 census, and the 1898 census. The 1887 census yielded a count of 5,984,727, while that of 1898 yielded 5,279,955.
In 1903 the population of the Philippines was recounted by American authorities to fulfill Act 467. The survey yielded 7,635,426 people, including 56,138, who were foreign-born. In the 100 years since the 1903 census, the population has grown by a factor of eleven. This represents a much faster rate of growth than other countries in the region (e.g. Indonesia has grown fivefold over the same period).
There were 13,400 villages, nearly 75% of which had fewer than 600 inhabitants.
Note: Malay was the term that the Americans used to denote the Philippine population, reagrdless of whether they are of pure or of mixed Malay descent. The word Malay here includes those of mixed Filipino descent, including the Filipino-Spanish and the Filipino-Chinese.
1939 This census was undertaken in conformity with Section 1 of C. A. 170. It was the first taken under the Commonwealth government with Census day on January 1. The Philippine population figure was 16,000,303.
In 1941 the estimated population of the Philippines reached 17,000,000. Manila's population was 684,000.
The number of Chinese living on the island had risen to 117,000. If figures are correct, then Chinese population (including immigration) has grown significantly faster than the native population. There were also around 30,000 Japanese living in the Philippines, with some 20,000 of them residing in Davao, Mindanao, and 9,000 Americans lived in Luzon.
By then, some 27% of the population could speak English as a second language, while the number of those able to speak Spanish had further fallen to 3%. Tagalog has been the official language since 1937 until that status was given to Filipino (which de facto remains Tagalog), though more people spoke Cebuano at the time.
In 1960, the government of the Philippines conducted a survey on both population and housing. The population was pegged at 27,087,685. Successive surveys were again conducted on 1970, 1975, 1980, and 1990, which gave the population as 36,684,9486, 42,070,660, 48,098,460, and 60,703,206 respectively. On 1995, the POPCEN was launched, undertaken at the month of September, The data provided the bases for the Internal Revenue Allocation to local government units and for the creation of new legislative areas. The count was made official by then President Fidel Ramos by Proclamation No, 849 on August 14, 1995, The population was 68,616,536.
The following statistics are from the CIA World Factbook:[4]
96,061,680 (July 2008 est.)
1.991% (2008 est.)
26.42 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
5.15 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
-1.36 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
3.32 children born/woman (2008 est.)
less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
9,000 (2003 est.)
less than 500 (2003 est.)
Tagalog 28.1%, Cebuano 13.1%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon/Ilonggo 7.5%, Bikol 6%, Waray 3.4%, other 25.3% (2000 census)
Roman Catholic 81%, Protestant 11%, Islam 5% and Hinduism and Buddhism 3%. (2000 census)
Two official languages - Filipino (formerly Pilipino, official; based on Tagalog) and English (official)) ; eight major languages - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Hiligaynon or Illongo, Bikol, Waray, Kapampangan, Pangasinan
This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2006 edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.
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