Population of Manila

Manila is by far the largest metropolitan area in the Philippines, and the second largest in Southeast Asia after Jakarta, Indonesia.

About 12 percent of the population of the Philippines is concentrated in the Manila metropolitan area; by comparison, the population of the nation's second largest metropolitan area, Cebu, is only about one-eighth that of Manila.

The metropolitan area has experienced rapid population growth through heavy rates of migration from rural areas, especially since the end of World War II (1939-1945).

During the 1960s and 1970s annual rates of population growth in metropolitan Manila approached 5 percent, compared to national growth rates of less than 3 percent.

While the overall growth rate slowed to 2.8 percent during the 1980s (compared to the national rate of 2.3 percent), most of the outlying suburban areas of metropolitan Manila grew much more rapidly.

Manila proper actually lost population to the suburbs during this period. Such rapid population growth has led to overcrowding, traffic congestion, pollution, and housing shortages.

By some estimates, for example, between one-quarter and one-third of the city's population lives in slums and squatter housing.

In 2000, Manila proper had a population of 1,673,000, and the metropolitan area registered 10.4 million people (2003).

Almost all of Manila's population is Roman Catholic. Tagalog, the indigenous language of central Luzon, is spoken in 93 percent of the city's households. English is used in businesses, schools, and by the national media.