The Philippine islands are inhabited by a number of different ethnic groups. The majority of the population is composed of ethno-linguistic groups whose languages are
AustronesianThe Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. It is on par with Bantu, Indo-European, Afro-Asiatic and Uralic as one of the best-established ancient language families...
(
Malayo-PolynesianThe Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 351 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia...
) in origin, that converted to
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
, and adopted European, and American culture. These ethnic groups include the
IlocanoThe Ilocano or Ilokano people are the third largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Aside from being referred to as Ilocanos, from "i"-from, and "looc"-bay, they also refer to themselves as Samtoy, from the Ilocano phrase "sao mi ditoy", meaning 'our language here.' The word "Ilocano" came from...
,
PangasinenseThe Pangasinan are the eighth largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. They are the residents or indigenous peoples of the Province of Pangasinan, one of the provinces of the Republic of the Philippines, located on the west central area in the island of Luzon along Lingayen Gulf...
,
KapampanganThe Kapampangans or Capampan͠gans are the sixth largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group, numbering at about 2,890,000. The original Kapampangans may have descended from Austronesian-speaking immigrants to Luzon during the Iron Age.The province of Pampanga is traditional homeland of the Kapampangan...
,
TagalogThe Tagalog people is an ethnic group in the Philippines. The name Tagalog comes from either the native term tagá-ilog, meaning 'people living along the river', or another native term, tagá-alog, meaning 'people living along the ford', a ford being a shallow part of a river or stream where people,...
,
BicolanoThe Bicolanos are the the fifth-largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group.-Area:Bicolanos live in the southeastern peninsula of Luzon, now containing the provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon. Many Bicolanos also live in the province of...
, and Visayan.
In
MindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also one of the three island groups in the country, along with Luzon and Visayas...
, there are people who practice
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
. The Spanish called them Moros after the
MoorsThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim people of Berber, Black African and Arab descent from North Africa, some of whom came to conquer and occupy the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. The North Africans termed it Al Andalus, comprising most...
. In the province of
BukidnonBukidnon is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital is Malaybalay City...
there is an ethnic group of mountain dwelling people called Binukid who speak the Binukid language. However these individuals do not practice Islam.
The
NegritoThe term Negrito refers to several ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia.Their current populations include the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Pygmies, Ita, Baluga, Ati, Dumagat and at least 25 other tribes of the Philippines, the Semang of the Malay peninsula, the Mani of Thailand and 12 Andamanese...
are a pre-Mongoloid people that migrated from mainland
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
, were the first human beings to settle the Philippines around 30,000 years ago. The Negrito population are estimated to be numbering around 30,000 in the Philippine population. The tribal groups of the Philippines include the
AtiThe Ati is a Negrito ethnic group in Panay, which is located in the Visayas , the central portion of the Philippine archipelago...
,
IgorotIgorot name for the people of the Cordillera region, in the Philippines island of Luzon. The Igorot form two subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north...
, and the T'boli. Their ways of life remains free from Western, and Islamic influence. They are said to be the best basis for the study of pre-Hispanic culture.
Filipinos are an
AsianAsian people or Asiatic people is a demonym for people from Asia. However, the use of the term varies by country and person, often referring to people from a particular region or subregion of Asia...
ethnic group, a Mongoloid people part of the Austronesian group, a group of Malay/Malayo-Polynesian speaking people. Non-Malay/Malayo Polynesian ethnic groups also form a part of the Philippine population. These include Europeans (Spanish, and other European people), Chinese, American, and other ethnic groups. There are also mixed blood individuals known as
mestizoMestizos in the Philippines are of Malay, European and/or Chinese ancestry.The word mestizo is of Spanish origin and was used only to denote those of European and Amerindian descent.-Chinese immigration:...
. Mestizo refer to those of mixed Spanish/Latin American, and Malay/Malayo-Polynesian descent, but may also refer to those of other European ancestry. Mestizos may also refer to other foreign descent.
Filipinos of Spanish descent speak their respective regional languages and considered them to belong to Ethnic groups in the Philippines as, they speak their respective regional languages. They also use English in the public sphere, and may also speak Filipino and other Philippine languages. Spanish language was official in the Philippines since the Spanish Colonial Period until the end of the colonial period and until it was defuncted year 1987.
Ethnic identity
There are many ethnic individuals of different languages, cultures, ancestries, and among other ethnic groups living in the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos descended from a group of
Taiwanese aboriginesTaiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan...
, and Negrito who settled in the islands about 6,000, and 30,000 years ago.
Population history
The first human remains discovered by Anthropologist in the Philippines was that of the Prehistoric
Tabon ManTabon man refers to fossilized human remains discovered on the island of Palawan in the Philippines on May 28, 1962 by Dr. Robert B. Fox, an American anthropologist of the National Museum. These remains, the fossilized fragments of a skull and jawbone of three individuals, were and are the earliest...
found in Palawan. The archaeological evidences indicate similarities of the two early human fossils also found in Indonesia, and China called the
Java ManJava Man is the name given to fossils discovered in 1891 at Trinil - Ngawi Regency on the banks of the Solo River in East Java, Indonesia, one of the first known specimens of Homo erectus...
, and
Peking ManPeking Man , also called Sinanthropus pekinensis , is an example of Homo erectus. A group of fossil specimens was discovered in 1923-27 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing , China...
.
The following group that arrived were the Negritos who occupied several scattered areas throughout the islands. Recent archaeological evidences describe by scientist
Peter BellwoodPeter Bellwood is a Professor of Archaeology at the School of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Australian National University in Canberra...
, claimed that the ancestors of Filipinos, Malaysians, Indonesians, and Polynesians first cross the Taiwan Strait during the Prehistoric period. These early mariners are thought to be the
Austronesian peopleAustronesian peoples are a population in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speak languages of the Austronesian languages family. Austronesian peoples include: Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and...
(Malayo-Polynesian). They used boats to cross the oceans, and settled in regions now known as the Malay Archipelago, the Polynesian Islands, and Madagascar.
By the 14th century the Malayo-Polynesian ethnic group had gradually over populated the Negrito population. Traders from southern China, Malaysia, and Indonesia, also contributed to the ethnic, and cultural development of the islands. By the 16th century,
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
colonization brought two new groups of people to the Philippines. These are the European, and the Native American. Europeans settled in the Philippines, and some of them intermarried with the Malayo-Polynesian population. These gave rise to the
Filipino MestizoMestizos in the Philippines are of Malay, European and/or Chinese ancestry.The word mestizo is of Spanish origin and was used only to denote those of European and Amerindian descent.-Chinese immigration:...
or individuals of mixed Malayo-Polynesian, and Spanish descent. The Native Americans that were brought to the Philippines, according to author
Austin CraigAustin C. Craig was an American historian born in Eddyton, New York. Being one of the first biographers of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal, he has a street named after him in Sampaloc, Manila....
, nearly numbered similar to the Malayo-Polynesian population. Most of them are of Nahuatl (Aztec) or
YaquiThe "Yoeme" or Yaqui are a Native American tribe who originally lived in the valley of the Río Yaqui in the northern Mexican state of Sonora and throughout the Sonoran Desert region into the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona. The Yaqui call themselves "Yoeme," the Yaqui word for person...
descent, or are Mexican
mestizoMestizo is a Spanish and Portuguese term that was used in the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire to refer to Latin people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in the Americas....
s themselves. Some of them intermarried with the Malayo-Polynesian population. By the opening of the Suez Canal in the 1800s, the Philippines was opened for foreign trade, and there are some Europeans such as the British, Germans, and French, who have settled in the islands. By the end of Spanish colonial period, the native ethnic groups of the Philippines began calling themselves Filipinos, a term that began with persons of pure Spanish descent born in the Philippines.
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
colonization in 1898 also brought in new ethnic groups,
English AmericanEnglish Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. According to 2000 U.S census data, Americans reporting English ancestry made up an estimated 9.4% of the total U.S...
, and other ethnic groups, after the Philippines came under American control following the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898, over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. The war began after American demands for the resolution of the Cuban fight for independence were rejected by Spain...
. There had been attempts by some American government officials to alter the Philippine ethnic landscape, such as by resettlement of African Americans to the Philippines, although this has not materialized.
The Philippines has over 180 indigenous ethnic groups, over half of which also represent unique linguistic groups. There have been some intermarriages between indigenous peoples, and foreigners migrating to the Philippines as colonizers, and immigrants.
Bicolano
The Bicolanos originated in
BicolBikol or Bicol may refer to:*Bicol Region, the administrative region in the Philippines*Bikol languages, the languages spoken in the Bicol region*Bikol language, the standard language....
,
LuzonLuzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two...
. There are several
Bicolano languagesCentral Bicolano , is one of the individual languages of the Bikol language , which in is part of the group of Bikol languages. It belongs to Coastal Bikol...
, of which there is a total of about 3.5 million speakers. Their language is referred to as Bikol or Bicolano.
Ibanag
The Ibanags are an ethnic group numbering around half a million people, who inhabit the provinces of
CagayanCagayan is a province of the Philippines in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Tuguegarao City and is located at the northeastern corner of the island of Luzon. Cagayan also includes the Babuyan Islands to the north. The province borders Ilocos Norte and Apayao to the west, and...
,
IsabelaIsabela is the second largest province of the Philippines next to Palawan. It is located in the Cagayan Valley Region in Luzon. Its capital is Ilagan and borders, clockwise from the south, Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Ifugao, Mountain Province, Kalinga, and Cagayan...
, and
Nueva VizcayaNueva Vizcaya is a province of the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Bayombong. It is bordered by, clockwise from the north, Ifugao, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Benguet....
.
Ilocano
The Ibanag,
IvatanIvatan can refer to either:*the Ivatan people; or,*the Ivatan language....
, the
Ilocano peopleThe Ilocano or Ilokano people are the third largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. Aside from being referred to as Ilocanos, from "i"-from, and "looc"-bay, they also refer to themselves as Samtoy, from the Ilocano phrase "sao mi ditoy", meaning 'our language here.' The word "Ilocano" came from...
are the inhabitants of the lowlands, and coastal areas of northern Luzon. Ilocano are also found in central Luzon, Manila, and some towns in the Visayas, and Mindanao.
There are about 8 million speakers of Ilocano, and most of these individuals are Christians.
Ivatan
The Ivatan are predominant in the
BatanesThe Province of Batanes is the northernmost and the smallest province of the Philippine Republic, both in terms of population and land area. The provincial capital is Basco....
Islands of the Philippines.
Kapampangan
+ The Kapampangan or Capampañgan (
EnglishPhilippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino, an official and liberalized form of Tagalog.English is used in...
:
Pampangan; Spanish:
Pampangueño or
Pampango) people originate from the central plains of
LuzonLuzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two...
, starting from
BataanBataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
up to
Nueva EcijaNueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
. The
Kapampangan languageKapampangan, also spelled Capampangan, is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barrios of Bulacan...
is spoken by more than two million people, and has been shown to be related to some Indonesian dialects. Most Kapampangans are Catholics.
- The Kapampangan or Capampañgan (
EnglishPhilippine English is the variety of English used in the Philippines by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country, the other being Filipino, an official and liberalized form of Tagalog.English is used in...
:
Pampangan; Spanish:
Pampangueño or
Pampango) people originate from the central plains of
LuzonLuzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two...
, starting from
BataanBataan is a province of the Philippines occupying the whole of Bataan Peninsula on Luzon. The province is part of the Central Luzon region. The capital of Bataan is Balanga City and is bordered by the provinces of Zambales and Pampanga to the north...
up to
Nueva EcijaNueva Ecija is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Palayan City...
. The
Kapampangan languageKapampangan, also spelled Capampangan, is one of the major languages of the Philippines. It is the language spoken in the province of Pampanga, the southern half of the province of Tarlac and the northern portion of the province of Bataan. Kapampangan is also understood in some barrios of Bulacan...
is spoken by more than two million people, and has been shown to be related to some Indonesian dialects. + In the Spanish colonial era, Pampanga was known to be a source of valiant soldiers. There was a Kapampangan contingent in the colonial army who helped defend Manila against the Chinese Pirate Limahon. They also helped in battles against the
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, the
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Muslim raiders. Kapampangans, along with the Tagalogs, played a major role in the
Philippine RevolutionThe Philippine Revolution was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire....
.
Moro
The Moros comprise of various ethnolinguistic groups in southern, and western
MindanaoMindanao is the second largest and easternmost island in the Philippines. It is also one of the three island groups in the country, along with Luzon and Visayas...
who are the same as other Filipinos, but whose religion is Islam. The largest of these are the
TausugThe Tausūg or Suluk people are an ethnic group of Sulu, the Island country of Southeast Asia, and Malaysia. The term Tausūg was derived from two words tau and sūg meaning "people of the current", referring to their homelands in the Sulu Archipelago...
, the
MaguindanaoMaguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south.-Geography:...
, the
MaranaoMaranao is the term used for the people of Lanao, a predominantly Muslim region in the Philippine island of Mindanao. They are famous for their artwork, sophisticated weaving, wood and metal craft, and their epic literature...
, the
SamalSamal may refer to:*cultures**The Sama languages of the Sulu Archipelago in island Southeast Asia**The ethnic groups that speak this language *places**In Turkey...
, the
YakanThe Yakan are one of the 13 Moro groups in the Philippines. They mainly reside in Basilan.The Yakans are the traditional settlers of Basilan Island in the Southern Philippines, situated to the west of Zamboanga in Mindanao...
, and the
BanguinguiBanguingui, also known as Sama Banguingui, Sama Bangingi’, Bangingi, and Samal Banguingui, is a distinct ethno-linguistic group dispersed throughout the Greater Sulu Archipelago and southern and western coastal regions of the Zamboanga Peninsula in Mindanao.-People:The Banguingui are not officially...
. These ethnolinguistic groups are different in terms of culture, religion, and have been politically independent. Muslim Filipinos have an independent justice, and education system based in
Cotabato CityThe City of Cotabato is one of the cities of the Philippines located in Mindanao. Cotabato City is an exclave of the SOCCSKSARGEN region found within the boundaries of Maguindanao province, but is independent of that province...
. They form about 5% of the Philippine population, making them the sixth largest ethnic group in the country.
Pangasinense
Pangasinense are the ninth largest Filipino ethnic group. They originated from the northwestern seaboard of Luzon.
Sambal
The Sambal are the inhabitants of the province of
ZambalesZambales is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is Iba. Zambales borders Pangasinan to the north, Tarlac and Pampanga to the east, and Bataan to the south. The province lies between the South China Sea and the Zambales Mountains. With a land area of...
, and the city of Olongapo in the Philippines. Sambals currently make up a large proportion of the population in the municipalities of Zambales province north of
IbaIba is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Zambales. According to the latest census, it has a population of 44,344 people in 7,260 households....
.
Tagalog
The Tagalogs were the first settlers of Manila they inhabited the surrounding provinces of
ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
,in
CALABARZONCALABARZON is one of the regions of the Philippines. It is also designated as Region IV-A and its regional capital is Calamba City in Laguna. The region is composed of five provinces, namely: CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal, and QueZON...
and MIMAROPA. The Tagalogs are one of the most widespread groups of people in the Philippines. . The
Tagalog languageTagalog is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 22 million people.It is related to Austronesian languages such as Chamorro , Indonesian, Malay, Javanese and Paiwan , Cham , and Tetum...
was chosen as an official language of the Philippines in the 1930s. Today,
FilipinoFilipino is the national language of the Philippines and, along with English, is an official language; designated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Filipino is an Austronesian language that is based on various existing native languages in the Philippines, with a significant number of Spanish...
, a
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
version of Tagalog, is taught throughout the islands. There are about 22 million native speakers of Tagalog.
Visayan
The term Visayans refer to several ethnolinguistic groups living in the
VisayasVisayas is one of the three island groups in the Philippines, along with Mindanao and Luzon. It consists of several islands, primarily surrounding the Visayan Sea. Its population are referred to as the Visayans....
region. Some of these individuals are also found in some parts of Mindanao. There are various
Visayan languagesThe Visayan languages of the Philippines, along with Tagalog and Bikol, are part of the Central Philippine language family. Most Visayan languages are spoken in the Visayas region but they are also spoken in the Bicol Region , islands south of Luzon such as those that make up Romblon, most of the...
spoken in the Central Philippine region. They include
CebuanoCebuano is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people. It is the most widely spoken member of the Visayan languages. Its name comes from the island of Cebu, the site of the second-largest metropolitan area in the country...
,
IlonggoHiligaynon is an Austronesian language spoken in Western Visayas in the Philippines. Hiligaynon is concentrated in the provinces of Iloilo and Negros Occidental...
, and Waray-Waray.
There are some ethnolinguistic groups that have languages which are classified as Visayan, but do not identify themselves as Visayan, such as the
TausugThe Tausūg or Suluk people are an ethnic group of Sulu, the Island country of Southeast Asia, and Malaysia. The term Tausūg was derived from two words tau and sūg meaning "people of the current", referring to their homelands in the Sulu Archipelago...
, which speak a Visayan language yet are predominantly Muslim. Some of these only use the Visayan identity to refer to those who are Christian.
Ethnic groups include the
HiligaynonThe Hiligaynon are the indigenous inhabitants of the large coastal plain of East Panay island. Over the years, intermigrations and intramigrations have contributed to the diaspora of the Hiligaynon to different parts of the country. Now, the Hiligaynon form the majority in Iloilo province, Capiz...
,
CebuanoCebuano people are an ethnic group in Cebu and form the largest Visayan ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines.- Demography :The Cebuano language is spoken by about 20 million people in the country. Most speakers are found in the Central Visayas and in certain parts of Mindanao. Other languages...
,
WarayThe Waray-Waray are an ethnoliguistic group located in Samar and Leyte. Geographically, they are located in the Visayas, although they are not Bisaya....
,
RomblomanonRomblomanon is a Visayan language spoken, along with the Asi and Onhan languages, in the province of Romblon in the Philippines. The language is also called Ini, Tiyad Ini, Basi, Niromblon, Sibuyanon, and Bisaya....
, Masbateño,
Karay-aThe Karay-a, are part of the wider Visayan ethnolinguistic group, which constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group. The name of this group was derived from the word iraya, which means "upstream". Karay-a people speak Kinaray-a language...
, Aklanon, Cuyonon, etc.
Tribal group
There are more than 100 highland, lowland, and coastland tribal groups in the Philippines. These include:
Igorot
The
IgorotIgorot name for the people of the Cordillera region, in the Philippines island of Luzon. The Igorot form two subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north...
(Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga, Kankana-ey), live in the highlands of
LuzonLuzon is the largest and most economically and politically important island in the Philippines and one of the three island groups in the country, with Visayas and Mindanao being the other two...
. They are primarily located in the
Cordillera Administrative RegionThe Cordillera Administrative Region is the Philippines' only land-locked region. It is consisted of the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Baguio City . The Cordillera region encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera Central mountain range of...
.
Ilongots
The Ilongot are a headhunting ethnic group found in the
Caraballo MountainsCaraballo Mountains is a mountain range in the central part of Luzon, Philippines. It is located between Cordillera Central and Sierra Madre mountain ranges, at ....
.
Lumad
The
LumadThe Lumad is a term being used to denote a group of indigenous peoples of the southern Philippines. It is a Cebuano term meaning "native" or "indigenous"...
of Mindanao includes several tribes such as the Manobo, the Tasaday, the Mamanwa, the Mandaya, and the Kalagan. They primarily inhabit the eastern parts of Mindanao such as the
CaragaCaraga is an administrative region of the Philippines, on the northeastern portion of the island of Mindanao. It is the newest region in the Philippines, and is also called Region XIII. The Caraga Region was created through Republic Act No. 7901 on February 25 1995...
, and
Davao RegionDavao Region, designated as Region XI, is one of the regions of the Philippines, located on the southeastern portion of Mindanao. Davao Region consists of four provinces, namely: Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Sur. The region encloses the Davao Gulf and its...
s.
Negrito groups
The
NegritoThe term Negrito refers to several ethnic groups in isolated parts of Southeast Asia.Their current populations include the Aeta, Agta, Ayta, Pygmies, Ita, Baluga, Ati, Dumagat and at least 25 other tribes of the Philippines, the Semang of the Malay peninsula, the Mani of Thailand and 12 Andamanese...
,
AetaThe Aeta , Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines...
,
BatakThe Batak are one of about 70 indigenous peoples of the Philippines. They are located in the northeastern portions of Palawan, a relatively large island in the southwest of the archipelago. There are only about 500 Batak remaining. Also called Tinitianes, the Batak are considered by anthropologists...
, and Mamanwa lived in remote areas throughout the islands.
Palawan tribes
The
tribes of PalawanPalawan, the largest province in the Philippines, is home to several indigenous ethnolinguistic groups namely, the Tagbanua, Palawanon, Tau't Bato, and the Batak tribes...
are a diverse group of tribes primarily located in the island of
PalawanPalawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the southwest. It...
.
Spanish
- The Philippine Statistics Department does not account for the racial background or ancestry of an individual. The official population of all types of Filipino mestizos that reside inside and outside of the Philippines remains unknown.
Filipinos of Spanish ancestry form a minority in the Philippine population. Most of these mestizos are descendants from the Spanish and Mexican settlers who settled in the islands during the Spanish colonial period. The official population of Filipinos mixed with Spanish ancestry is unknown, however according to recent research study by
Stanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university located in Stanford, California, United States...
, stated that about 3.6% of the Philippine population has varied mixtures of European ancestry.
Mexican
Filipinos of Mexican descent form a minority of population. Their official population are unknown. Mexicans were a sub group that sailed from Mexico with Legazpi to conquer the Philippines islands - most were of either pure Spanish ancestry, or Amerindian-Spanish ancestry (For whom the term
MestizoMestizo is a Spanish and Portuguese term that was used in the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire to refer to Latin people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in the Americas....
originated).
Chinese
Filipinos of Chinese ancestry form a minority in the Philippine population. Most migrations of Chinese to the Philippines started during the Spanish colonial period, when foreign trade with other countries were opened to the Philippines. The ethnically Chinese Filipinos comprise 1.3% (1.1 million) of the population.
American
Filipinos of American ancestry form a minority in the Philippine population. Some of these
multiracialThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races.-Definitions of multiraciality:While defining race is controversial and rejected by some specialists in human genetics,...
individuals are descended from Americans who settled in the Philippines during the United States colonial period, and others from tourists who have settled in the Philippines in the contemporary period. , the U.S, State Department estimated that there are an estimated four million Americans of Philippine ancestry in the United States, and more than 250,000 American citizens in the Philippines.
Arab
Arabs form a minority in the Philippine population. Their official population is unknown.
Indian
East Indians form a minority in the Philippine population with an estimated population of 38,000 people, the majority settling in
ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
.
Japanese
People of Japanese descent form a minority in the Philippine population. According to the Ministry of Foreign affairs of
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, there are 12,913 Japanese nationals residing in the Philippines as of October 2005. However, some estimates put the number of Japanese residing in the Philippines at around 120,000.
Jewish
Jews form a minority in the Philippine population. Their official population is unknown.
Korean
As of 2007, approximately 72,000 Koreans are living in the Philippines. Most are tourist or students studying in the Philippines.
Other
Other ethnic groups include British,
BelgianThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
,
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
, Italian, German, Polish, French,
ScandinavianScandinavian refers to a resident of or something associated with Scandinavia, including:* Scandinavian Airlines , an aviation corporation* Scandinavian Defense, a chess opening* Scandinavian Design, a design movement of the 1950's...
,
BrazilianBrazilians are all people born in Brazil. A Brazilian can be also a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or a foreigner living in Brazil who applied for the Brazilian citizenship...
, Australian, New Zealander, Belgian,
RussianThe Russian people are an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
,
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n,
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
n,
ThaiThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
,
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
ese and other ethnic groups.
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