Demographic History of the

Philippines
Demographics of the Philippines. The people of the Philippines are
called Filipinos. Majority of them are of Malay ethnicity who migrated to the islands
long before the Christian era. The most significant ethnic minority group is
the Chinese, who have played an important role in commerce since the ninth
century, when they first came to the islands to trade. As a result of intermarriage,
many Filipinos have some Chinese and Spanish ancestry. Americans and Spaniards
constitute the next largest alien minorities in the country. Small forest tribes live in
the more remote areas of Luzon and Mindanao.

The vast majority of the people are Christians (Roman

Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%) and most were converted and Westernised to varying
degrees during nearly 400 years of Western rule. A large Muslimminority (5%)
exists predominantly on the island of Mindanao and Buddhism and other faiths
make up the remainder.

A total of one hundred seventy-two native languages and dialects are spoken, all
belonging to theAustronesian linguistic family. The eight most spoken native
languages are Tagalog (dialects: Lubang, Manila,Marinduque, Bataan, Batangas,
Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, Tayabas) Cebuano (also known as Visayan or Sugbuhanon;
dialects: Cebu, Boholano, Leyte, Mindanao Visayan), Ilocano, Ilonggo (also known
as Hiligaynon; dialects:(Hiligaynon, Kawayan, Bantayan), Ilongot (dialects:Abaka,
Egongot, Ibalao, Italon, Iyongut), Waray (also known as Samarnon or Samar-
Leyte), Bicolano, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense. These are spoken natively by
more than 85% of the population.

Foreign languages spoken by Filipinos

include English, Chinese (Mandarin and Hokkien), Arabic(especially among the
Muslim population), and Spanish (with its local creole, Chavacano). English is the
predominant non-native language and is spoken to a great degree by majority of
Filipinos. Spanish, which ceased to be an official language, is now only used by a
very small number of Filipino families.

Since 1939, in an effort to develop national unity, the government has promoted
the use of the official national language, Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. Filipino
is taught in all schools and is gaining acceptance, particularly as a second language
for a diverse population. While Filipino is the national languages, both Filipino and
English are considered the official languages of the country according to
itsconstitution and are used extensively in government, education, and commerce.

Despite this multiplicity of languages, the Philippines has one of the

highest literacy rates in the East Asian and Pacific area. About 90% of the
population 10 years of age and older are literate.
History
The Negritos are believed to be the aborigines of the Philippines. In 1911, they
were described as follows:

• The men are about 4 ft. 10 in. average height, the women are shorter. Their
colour is black, their skull decidedly round, their hair frizzy, their legs thin,
their toes prehensile. They tatoo themselves and wear only a geestring. They
have no fixed abodes but roam about in groups of a few families. They are
skilful with the bow and in throwing stones, and they can easily kindle a fire,
even in the wet season, by rubbing together two pieces of dry bamboo. Their
food consisted principally of game, roots, and wild fruits. The women, who do
all the work, collect wax and wild honey, which are their principal staples in
trade. Few Negritos live to be fifty years of age.

The ethnic Malay came from the south, in successive waves of immigration
beginning in pre-historic times. They are composed of 23 distinct groupings,
varying widely in culture, language, and appearance. Their languages however
belong to one common stock. The Moros were the last of the Malays to migrate to
the islands; they came after their conversion to Islam. Slavery was common among
them.

Malay people
The Malays are the dominant race which live in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and
the Philippines which, together with Singapore, make up what is called the Malay
archipelago. The Malays are traditionally classified as a member of the Mongoloid
race, along with other Asiatic peoples,
including Chinese, Mongols, Japanese, Koreans, Thais, Vietnamese and Burmese.

The term "Malay" is both generic and specific.

Generally, the name "Malay" is used to describe all the numerous related groups
including the Acehnese, Minangs, Bataks and Mandailings who live in Sumatra ;
Javanese and Sundanese in Java ; Banjars, Ibans, Kadazans and Melanaus
in Borneo ; Bugis and Torajans in Sulawesi; and the various dominant ethnic groups
in the Philippines such as the Tagalogs, the Maguindanaoans, the Tausug, the
Ilocanos, and the Visayans.

Specifically, this name is also the proper name of the subgroup which is native to
the eastern part of Sumatra but migrated to the Malay Peninsula and the Riau
Archipelago over the past thousand years or so. Sometimes, but very rarely, this
subgroup is called "Riau Malays" to distinguish it as a specific group.
Other groups classified as Malays which live outside what is called the Malay
archipelago include the Cham who live in Cambodiaand Vietnam and the Utsuls who
live on the island of Hainan. Descendants of the Malays could be found today in Sri
Lanka, South Africa (the "Cape Malays") and Madagascar. In the latter, they are
known as the Merina and one of the dominant ethnic groups in that country.

The languages spoken by the Malays were classified in the Malayo-Polynesian family
of langauges which is now known asAustronesian family of languages which
includes the language spoken by the Merinas in Madagascar, the Maori
language in New Zealand and the Polynesian languages such
as Samoan and Hawaiian.

In terms of religion, most of the Malays are Muslims; they form the dominant
religious group in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Their conversion
to Islam from Hinduism and Theravada Buddhism began in the 1400s. Most Malays
in Singapore and Thailand are also Muslims. Most Malays in the Philippines have
been Christians since the colonization by Spain. Hinduism is the dominant religion
in the island of Bali while small groups in other parts of the archipelago p
Philippines
Demographic trends

The population density of the Philippines is high, but the distribution of the
population is uneven. Parts of Metro Manila have a population density that is more than 100
times that of some outlying areas such as the mountainous area of northern Luzon. The
country’s birth rate remains significantly higher than the world average, as well as the average
for the Southeast Asian region. Efforts since the mid-20th century to slow the overall growth rate
have had limited success, in part because reductions in the birth rate have been offset to some
degree by reductions in the death rate.

Especially since World War II, population has tended to move from rural areas to towns and
cities. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than four-fifths of the population was rural, but
by the early 21st century that proportion had dropped to roughly two-fifths. There is a
considerable amount of Filipino emigration, particularly of manual labourers and professionals.
Many emigrants have gone to the United States, Okinawa, Guam, and Canada; in addition, a
large number of skilled and semiskilled workers have taken temporary overseas assignments,
mainly in the Middle East and, increasingly, in East and Southeast Asia.

Economy
The Philippines is largely an agricultural country. Its economy is based on free enterprise;
individuals and nongovernmental entities are free to participate in its development and
management, sometimes with the aid of government credit.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing

The agricultural sector is a major component of the Philippine economy, although it contributes
only about one-seventh of gross domestic product (GDP). Crops can be grown throughout the
year in the country’s rich and fertile soils, and the sector employs nearly one-third of the total
workforce. The principal farm products are sugarcane, rice, coconuts, bananas, corn (maize),
and pineapples. Additional products include mangoes, citrus, papayas, and other tropical fruits;
coffee and tobacco; and various fibres such as abaca(Manila hemp) and maguey, which are
used mainly to make rope. A wide variety of vegetables are raised for domestic consumption.

Rice, the principal staple crop, is grown especially in central and north-central
Luzon, south-central Mindanao, western Negros, and eastern and central Panay. About one-
fourth of the total farmland is used for rice growing. Since the early 1970s rice production in the
Philippines has improved considerably, and in some years there has been enough of a surplus
that rice can be exported. Factors contributing to this increase in output include the
development and use of higher-yielding strains of rice, the construction of feeder roads and
irrigation canals, and the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides. Use of scientific farming
techniques in the Philippines has had its drawbacks, however. The newer strains of rice have
required the application of expensive chemicals that generally must be imported, and improper
application of those substances has caused serious soil degradation in some areas.

The Philippines is one of the world’s largest producers of coconuts and coconut products, and
these are important export commodities. The area devoted to coconut production rivals that
used for rice and corn. Sugarcane is cultivated widely in central and north-central Luzon,
western Negros, and on Panay. Abaca is grown extensively in eastern Mindanao, southeastern
Luzon, and on Leyte and Samar. Both sugarcane and abaca are important agricultural exports.

Fish provides a significant proportion of the protein in the Filipino diet, andfisheries have been
growing slowly but steadily since the early 1990s. Canned tuna is the principal fish exported.
Commercial fishing is carried on primarily off Palawan, Negros, Mindanao, and Panay. Among
the most important commercial fishes are milkfish (a herringlike fish), sardines, anchovies, tuna,
scad, and mackerel. Fish are raised in ponds in some provinces of Luzon, the Visayas, and
Mindanao. The Sulu Archipelago is known for its pearl farms.

At one time about half of the Philippines’ total land area was covered with forests. Of this area, a
large part abounded with trees of commercial value, especially lauan, narra (a species
of Pterocarpus used in cabinetmaking), and other tropical hardwoods and pines. Heavy
logging and inadequate reforestation measures, however, have reduced considerably the
amount of forested land. A ban on the export of hardwoods has been in effect since the mid-
1980s, but there is evidence that much hardwood timber continues to leave the country illegally.
Trees from Philippine forests continue to provide wood for lumber, veneer, plywood, furniture,
wallboard, pulp and paper, and light building materials, both for domestic and international
consumption. Other notable forest products include rattan, gutta-percha, various resins, and
bamboo.