Total population went up by 8.6 million persons

• As of 1 August 2015, the Philippines had a total population of 100,981,437 persons based on the 2015 Census of Population (POPCEN 2015).

• The total population based on the POPCEN 2015 is higher by 8,643,585 persons compared with the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) count of 92,337,852 persons. Based on the 2007 Census of Population (POPCEN 2007), the total population was 88,548,366 persons.

Population increased by 17 persons per year for every 1,000 persons

• The increase in the Philippine population translated into an average population growth rate (PGR) of 1.7 percent annually during the period 2010 to 2015.  This means that there were about 17 persons added per year for every 1,000 persons in the population.

• The annual PGR was higher at 1.9 percent during the period 2000 to 2010 and at 2.3 percent during the period 1990 to 2000. 

More than half of the total population resided in Luzon

• Luzon, which is composed of eight regions, comprised more than half (56.9 percent) of the country’s total population.  It was followed by Mindanao (23.9 percent), which has six regions and Visayas  (19.2 percent), which has four regions.

• Among the 18 administrative regions in the Philippines, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) had the biggest population size in 2015, totalling to 14,414,774 persons or 14.3 percent of the country’s total population. The least populated region was the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 1,722,006 persons or 1.7 percent of the country’s total population.

Twenty-seven provinces reached more than one million population

• Twenty-seven out of 81 provinces reached more than one million population in 2015.  More than half or 14 of these 27 provinces were in Luzon, six in the Visayas, and seven in Mindanao.   Cavite (3.68 million persons) of Region IV-A, Bulacan (3.29 million persons) of Region III, Laguna (3.04 million persons) also of Region IV-A, Pangasinan (2.96 million persons) of Region I, and Cebu (excluding its three highly urbanized cities) (2.94 million persons) of Region VII were the top five most populous provinces in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the provinces with less than a hundred thousand population were Siquijor (96.0 thousand persons), Camiguin (88.5 thousand persons), and Batanes (17.2 thousand persons).

• Among the 33 highly urbanized cities (HUCs), Quezon City (2.94 million persons), City of Manila (1.78 million persons), Davao City (1.63 million persons), and Caloocan City (1.58 million persons), led in terms of population size. The three least populous HUCs, on the other hand, were Tacloban City (242.1 thousand persons). Olongapo City (233.0 thousand persons), and the City of San Juan (122.2 thousand persons).

Males outnumbered females

• Of the total population, 50.6 percent was male while 49.4 percent was female.  This resulted in a sex ratio of 102 males for every 100 females. The same sex ratio was reported in 2010.

• Regions VIII, XI, and XIII posted the highest sex ratio of 106 each.  Moreover, NCR and ARMM were the only regions which reported more females than males, that is, with sex ratios of less than 100.

Median age increased to 24.3 years

• In 2015, the median age of the country’s total population was 24.3 years, which means that half of the total population was below 24.3 years old.  Median age was highest in the NCR (26.2 years) and lowest in ARMM (18.3 years). The median age in 2010 was 23.3 years.

Average household size in 2015 was 4.4 persons

• The household population of the country in 2015 was 100,573,715 persons, higher by 8,475,737 persons from the household population of 92,097,978 persons in 2010.

• The number of households, meanwhile, increased by 13.9 percent from 20,171,899 in 2010 to 22,975,630 in 2015.

• The average household size in 2015 was 4.4 persons, lower than the average household size of  4.6 persons in 2010.

Children aged 0 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years comprised the largest age groups

• The age-sex distribution of the population showed that children aged 0 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years, comprised the largest age groups, with each making up 10.7 percent of the household population, followed by those in the age groups 10 to 14 years (10.4 percent) and 15 to 19 years (10.1 percent).

• Males outnumbered females in the age groups 0 to 54 years.  Females, on the other hand, outnumbered their male counterparts in the older age groups (55 years old and over).

Dependency ratio decreased to 58 dependents per 100 persons in the working-age group

• Of the total population, 63.4 percent belonged to the working-age population (15 to 64 years).  Children below 15 years of age comprised 31.8 percent while older persons (65 years and over) accounted for 4.7 percent.

• The overall dependency ratio of the Philippines in 2015 was 58 dependents for every 100 persons in the working age group, down from 60 dependents in 2010. Of the 58 dependents,  50 were young dependents while eight were old dependents.

Three fifths of the total population was of voting age

•  At the national level, the voting-age population or persons 18 years old and over accounted for 62.0 percent (62,615,419 persons) of the total population in 2015. The size of the voting-age population recorded in 2010 was 55.72 million or 60.3 percent of the total population.

•  The five regions with the highest proportion of voting-age population are NCR (67.2 percent), Region III (64.2 percent), Region IV-A (64.1 percent), Region I (64.0 percent), and Region VI (63.9 percent).  ARMM had the lowest proportion of voting-age population with 50.7 percent.

More males than females among the never-married persons

• Of the total population 10 years old and over, 43.9 percent was never married while 40.9 percent was married.  The rest of the total population was categorized as follows: in common law/live-in marital arrangement (9.1 percent), widowed (4.5 percent), divorced/separated (1.5 percent), and had unknown marital status (less than 0.1 percent).

• Among the never-married persons, a higher proportion of males (54.1 percent) than females (45.9 percent) was reported in 2015.  Meanwhile, the proportion of females was higher than males among those who were widowed (77.0 percent), divorced/separated (61.4 percent), in common law/live-in marital arrangement (50.5 percent), and married (50.2 percent).

• Across regions, ARMM (48.2 percent) had the highest proportion of never-married persons while Region II (50.7 percent) had the highest proportion of married individuals.  Moreover, it is observed that Region I (5.6 percent) reported the largest proportion of widowed, Region VIII had the largest proportion of those in common law/live-in marital arrangement  (13.9 percent), and NCR had the largest proportion of divorced/separated (2.1 percent) persons.

Females outnumbered males among baccalaureate degree holders

• Of the total population 5 years old and over,  33.5 percent had attended or completed elementary education, 36.4 percent had reached or finished high school, 10.5 percent was college undergraduate, and 11.1 percent was baccalaureate/college graduate.

• Among those with baccalaureate degree, there were more females (56.0 percent) than males (44.0 percent).  Similarly, among those with post baccalaureate courses, females (59.9 percent) outnumbered males (40.1 percent).

School attendance rate was higher among females than among males

• Of the 40,835,754 household population aged 5 to 24 years, 69.0 percent was attending school in School Year (SY) 2015-2016.  In 2010, the rate of school attendance in SY 2009-2010 was lower at 64.5 percent.

• By sex, the school attendance rate in 2015 was higher among females (69.4 percent) than among males (68.6 percent). The same trend was observed in 2010.

Simple literacy rate was recorded at 98.3 percent

• The Philippines posted a literacy rate of 98.3 percent among the 78,918,842 household population aged 10 years and over. This is higher than the 97.1 percent literacy rate that was recorded in 2010.  In the 2010 Census of Population and Housing and POPCEN 2015, a person is considered literate if he/she is able to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect.

• Literacy rate in 2015 was slightly higher among females (98.4 percent) than among males (98.2 percent). Similarly, literacy rate was slightly higher among females (97.2 percent) than among males (97.0 percent) in 2010.

Roman Catholics accounted for 80 percent of the total population

• Almost four fifths (79.5 percent or 80,304,061 persons) of the total population of the Philippines in 2015 reported Roman Catholic as their religious affiliation. The corresponding figure in 2010 was 80.6 percent (74,407,708 persons).

• The next largest religious affiliation in the country was Islam, comprising 6.0 percent of the total population. It was followed by those who were affiliated with the Iglesia ni Cristo, with         2.6 percent share.

Almost three in every five persons were engaged in a gainful activity

• In 2015, the country had 68,438,430 household population aged 15 years and over. Of this total, approximately three in every five persons (58.5 percent) were engaged in a gainful activity during the 12 months preceding the census.

• By major occupation group, workers engaged in elementary occupations comprised the largest group (22.2 percent of all persons with gainful activity). Skilled agricultural, forestry, and fishery workers came in next (16.6 percent), followed by service and sales workers (15.9 percent).

About 3.2 percent of the household population was overseas workers

• Of the household population 15 years old and over, 2,196,423 persons or 3.2 percent were overseas workers. Overseas workers aged 45 years and over made up the largest age group, comprising 22.1 percent of the total overseas workers, followed by those in the age groups 30 to 34 years (19.4 percent), 25 to 29 years (18.6 percent), and 35 to 39 years (17.6 percent).

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.   Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Region: 1960 – 2015

Table 2.   Total Population by Single-Year Age and Sex: 2015

Table 3.   Household Population by Single-Year Age and Sex: 2015

Table 4.   Total Population by Age Group, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 5.   Household Population by Age Group, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 6.   Total Population 10 Years Old and Over by Age Group, Marital Status, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 7.   Household Population 10 Years Old and Over by Age Group, Marital Status, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 8.  Total Population by Religious Affiliation and Sex: 2015

Table 9.   Household Population 5 to 24 Years Old Who Were Currently Attending   School by Age Group, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 10. Literacy of the Household Population 10 Years Old and Over by Age Group, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 11. Total Population 5 Years Old and Over by Highest Grade/Year Completed, Sex, Age, and Region: 2015

Table 12. Overseas Workers 15 Years Old and Over by Highest Grade/Year Completed, Sex, and Age Group: 2015

Table 13. Gainful Workers 15 Years Old and Over by Major Occupation Group, Age Group, Sex, and Region: 2015

Table 14. Household Population by Relationship to the Household Head and Household Size: 2015

Table 15. Number of Households by Age Group, Sex of the Household Head,  Household Size, and Region: 2015