In 2020, there were approximately 20.9 million inhabitants living in cities with less than 300 thousand people in the Philippines. In comparison, the population of cities with 10 million or more people amounted to 13.9 million inhabitants.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Philippines was reported at 26.53 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Philippines - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Based on the 2020 census, Quezon City was the most populous city in Metro Manila in the Philippines, with about 2.96 million inhabitants. The capital city of Manila, on the other hand, registered about 1.85 million people in the same year. In contrast, the municipality of Pateros, which is the only remaining municipality in the region, had a population of about 65 thousand.

Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Manila data was reported at 71,263.000 Person/sq km in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 66,140.000 Person/sq km for 2010. Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Manila data is updated yearly, averaging 65,706.000 Person/sq km from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2015, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 71,263.000 Person/sq km in 2015 and a record low of 59,164.640 Person/sq km in 1975. Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Manila data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G005: Population Density.

This dataset is about cities in Philippines. It has 3,752 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and population.

Based on the 2020 census, the capital city of Manila had the highest population density among other cities and municipalities in Metro Manila in the Philippines, with about ****** people per square kilometer. In contrast, the municipality of Pateros, which is the only remaining municipality in the region, had a population density of about ***** per square kilometers.

Population in largest city in Philippines was reported at 14941953 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Philippines - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Philippines PH: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 27.097 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 27.207 % for 2016. Philippines PH: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 28.598 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 34.045 % in 1975 and a record low of 27.097 % in 2017. Philippines PH: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

Philippines Population: NCR: Quezon City data was reported at 2,936.116 Person th in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,761.720 Person th for 2010. Philippines Population: NCR: Quezon City data is updated yearly, averaging 2,081.625 Person th from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2015, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,936.116 Person th in 2015 and a record low of 956.864 Person th in 1975. Philippines Population: NCR: Quezon City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G001: Population: Census 2010.

This horizontal bar chart displays population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Philippines. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays male population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Philippines. The data is about countries per year.

Philippines Population Density: NCR: Pasay City data was reported at 29,815.000 Person/sq km in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 28,122.000 Person/sq km for 2010. Philippines Population Density: NCR: Pasay City data is updated yearly, averaging 27,245.000 Person/sq km from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2015, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 29,815.000 Person/sq km in 2015 and a record low of 18,214.214 Person/sq km in 1975. Philippines Population Density: NCR: Pasay City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G005: Population Density.

This horizontal bar chart displays urban population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Philippines. The data is about countries per year.

This horizontal bar chart displays rural population (people) by capital city using the aggregation sum in Philippines. The data is about countries per year.

This dataset is about countries per year in Philippines. It has 64 rows. It features 4 columns: country, capital city, and population.

The share of urban population in the Philippines saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 48.29 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in the Philippines. A population may be defined as urban depending on the size (population or area) or population density of the village, town, or city. The urbanization rate then refers to the share of the total population who live in an urban setting. International comparisons may be inconsistent due to differing parameters for what constitutes an urban center.Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like Timor-Leste and Laos.

Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Pasig data was reported at 15,586.000 Person/sq km in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 13,821.000 Person/sq km for 2010. Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Pasig data is updated yearly, averaging 10,071.500 Person/sq km from Dec 1975 (Median) to 2015, with 8 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15,586.000 Person/sq km in 2015 and a record low of 4,328.144 Person/sq km in 1975. Philippines Population Density: NCR: City of Pasig data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G005: Population Density.

Abstract

Census of Population and Housing (CPH) refers to the entire process of collecting, compiling, evaluating, analyzing, publishing, and disseminating data about the population and the living quarters in a country. It entails the listing and recording of the characteristics of each individual and each living quarter as of a specified time and within a specified territory. In other words, the CPH offers a “snapshot” of the entire population on a specific date, that is, how many people reside within the national borders, who they are, and where they live during such specified date. Also, included are the characteristics of the housing units where they reside.

The 2010 CPH is designed to take an inventory of the total population and housing units in the Philippines and collect information about their characteristics. The census of population is the source of information on the size and distribution of the population, as well as their demographic, social, economic, and cultural characteristics. The census of housing, on the other hand, provides information on the stock of housing units and their structural characteristics and facilities which have bearing on the maintenance of privacy and health, and the development of normal family living conditions. These information are vital for making rational plans and programs for local and national development.

Specifically, the 2010 CPH aims to: - obtain comprehensive data on the size, composition, and distribution of the population of the Philippines; - gather data on birth registration, literacy, school attendance, place of school, highest grade/year completed, residence 5 years ago, overseas worker, usual occupation, kind of business or industry, class of worker, place of work, fertility, religion, citizenship, ethnic group, disability, and functional difficulty, and determine their geographic distribution; - take stock of the housing units existing in the country and to get information about their geographic location, structural characteristics, and facilities, among others; - obtain information on the characteristics of the barangay, which will be used as basis for urban-rural classification; and - serve as sampling frame for use in household-based surveys.

Data collected in this census were compiled, evaluated, analyzed, published, and disseminated for the use of government, business, industry, social scientists, other research and academic institutions, and the general public. Among the important uses of census data are the following:

In government: - redistricting and apportionment of congressional seats; - allocation of resources and revenues; - creation of political and administrative units; - formulation of policies concerning population and housing; and - formulation of programs relative to the delivery of basic services for health, education, housing, and others

In business and industry: - determination of sites for establishing businesses; - determination of consumer demands for various goods and services; and - determination of supply of labor for the production of goods and services

In research and academic institutions: - conduct of researches on population and other disciplines; and - study of population growth and distribution as basis in preparing projections

Geographic coverage

National coverage Regions Provinces Cities and Municipalities Barangays

Analysis unit

household questionnaire: individuals (household members), households, housing units institutional questionnaire: individuals (institutional population), institutional living quarters barangay questionnaire: barangay

Universe

Census-taking in the Philippines follows a de-jure concept wherein a person is counted in the usual place of residence or the place where the person usually resides. Information on the count of the population and living quarters were collected with 12:01 a.m. of May 1, 2010 as the census reference time and date.

The following individuals were enumerated:

• Those who were present at the time of visit and whose usual place of residence is the housing unit where the household lives.

• Those whose usual place of residence is the place where the household lives but are temporarily away at the time of the census.

• Boarders/lodgers of the household or employees of household-operated businesses who do not usually return/go to their respective homes weekly.

• Overseas workers and who have been away at the time of the census for not more than five years from the date of departure and are expected to be back within five years from the date of last departure.

• Filipino "balikbayans" with usual place of residence in a foreign country but have resided or are expected to reside in the Philippines for at least a year from their arrival.

• Citizens of foreign countries who have resided or are expected to reside in the Philippines for at least a year from their arrival, except members of diplomatic missions and non-Filipino members of international organizations.

• Persons temporarily staying with the household who have no usual place of residence or who are not certain to be enumerated elsewhere.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

In the 2010 CPH, there are basically two types of questionnaires used for the enumeration of household members. These are CPH Form 2 or the Common Household Questionnaire and CPH Form 3 or the Sample Household Questionnaire. CPH Form 3 contains more questions than CPH Form 2.

The 2010 CPH was carried out through a combination of complete enumeration and sampling. For this census, systematic cluster sampling was adopted. This sampling method is designed in such a way that efficient and accurate estimates will be obtained at the city/municipality level.

The sampling rate or the proportion of households to be selected as samples depends on the size of the city/municipality where the Enumeration Area (EA) is located. For the cities/municipalities with estimated number of households of 500 and below, 100 percent sampling rate was used. While for those cities/municipalities with estimated number of households of 501 and above, a sampling rate of 20 percent was implemented.

In this sampling scheme, each city/municipality was treated as a domain. For city/municipality with 100 percent sampling rate, all households in all the EAs within this city/municipality were selected as samples. For those with a 20 percent sampling rate, systematic cluster sampling was adopted. That is, sample selection of one in five clusters with the first cluster selected at random. Thus in effect, the EAs belonging to the city/municipality with 20 percent sampling rate are divided into clusters of size 5. Random start is pre-determined for each EA.

If the sampling rate applied to a city/municipality is 100 percent, it means that all households in that municipality were administered with CPH Form 3. If it is 20 percent, it means that 20 percent of all households used CPH Form 3 while 80 percent used CPH Form 2.

The random start used by EA is a number from 1 to 5 which was used to select the cluster where the first sample households in an EA, and subsequently the other sample households, were included.

Clusters are formed by grouping together households that have been assigned consecutive serial numbers as they were listed in the Listing Booklet. For a 20 percent sampling rate, clusters were formed by grouping together five households.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

CPH Form 1 - Listing Booklet This form is a booklet used to list the buildings, housing units, households, and the Institutional Living Quarters (ILQs) within an EA. This form also records other important information such as the name of household heads and name and type of institutions and their addresses, population totals, and counts of males and females.

CPH Form 2 - Common Household Questionnaire This is the basic census questionnaire, which was used to interview and record information about the common or nonsample households. This questionnaire gathered information on the following demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population: relationship to household head, sex, date of birth, age, birth registration, marital status, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, disability, functional difficulty, highest grade/year completed, residence 5 years ago, and overseas worker. It also contains questions on the type of building/house, construction materials of the roof and outer walls, state of repair of the building/house, year the building/house was built, floor area of the housing unit, and tenure status of the lot.

CPH Form 3 - Sample Household Questionnaire This is the basic census questionnaire, which was used to interview and record information about the sample households. This questionnaire contains ALL questions asked in CPH Form 2 PLUS additional population questions: literacy, school attendance, place of school, usual occupation, kind of business or industry, class of worker, place of work, and some items on fertility. Moreover, there are additional questions on household characteristics: fuel for lighting and cooking, source of water supply for drinking and/or cooking and for laundry, and bathing, tenure status of the housing unit, acquisition of the housing unit, source of financing of the housing unit, monthly rental of the housing unit, tenure status of the lot, usual manner of garbage disposal, kind of toilet facility, and land ownership. It also asked questions on the language/dialect generally spoken at home, residence five years from now, and presence of household conveniences/devices, and access to internet.

CPH Form 4 -

Abstract

Philippines Population Census 2015 was designed to take an inventory of the total population in the country and collect information about its characteristics. The census of population is the source of information on the size, distribution, and composition of the population in each barangay, city/municipality, province, and region in the country, as well as information about its demographic, social, and economic characteristics. These indicators are vital in the formulation of rational plans and programs towards national and local development.

Specifically, POPCEN 2015 gathered data on: - size and geographic distribution of the population; - population composition in terms of age, sex, and marital status; - religious affiliation; - school attendance, literacy, highest grade/year completed, and technical/vocational course obtained; - usual activity/occupation, and whether overseas worker for members 15 years old and over; - registration of birth and death; - household-level characteristics such as fuel used for lighting and source of water supply for drinking and cooking; - housing characteristics such as the type of building, construction materials of the roof of the building, construction materials of the outer walls of the building/housing unit, and tenure status of the housing unit/lot; and - barangay characteristics such as the presence of selected facilities and establishments; and presence of informal settlers, relocation areas, and in-movers in the barangay due to natural and man-made disasters.

August 1, 2015 was designated as Census Day for the POPCEN 2015, on which date the enumeration of the population in the Philippines was referred. For the purpose of this census, all information collected about the population were as of 12:01 a.m., Saturday, August 1, 2015.

Enumeration lasted for about 25 days, from 10 August to 6 September 2015. In some areas, enumeration was extended until 15 September 2015 for large provinces.

Geographic coverage

The population count is available at the barangay, city/municipal, provincial, regional, and national levels. Demographic, social, and economic characteristics are tabulated at the city/municipal, provincial, regional, and national levels.

Analysis unit

The following are the units of analysis in POPCEN 2015: 1. Individual person 2. Household 3. Housing unit 4. Institutional Population 5. Barangay

Universe

The POPCEN 2015 covered all persons who were alive as of 12:01 a.m. August 1, 2015, and who were members of the household and institution as follows:

Persons Enumerated as Members of the Household:

1. Those who were present at the time of visit and whose usual place of residence was the housing unit where the household lived;

2. Family members who were overseas workers and who were away at the time of the census and were expected to be back within five years from the date of last departure. These included household members who may or may not have had a specific work contract or had been presently at home on vacation but had an existing overseas employment to return to. Undocumented overseas workers were still considered as members of the household for as long as they had been away for not more than five years. Immigrants, however, were excluded from the census.

3. Those whose usual place of residence was the place where the household lived but were temporarily away at the time of the census for any of the following reasons: a. on vacation, business/pleasure trip, or training somewhere in the Philippines and was expected to be back within six months from the date of departure. An example was a person on training with the Armed Forces of the Philippines for not more than six months; b. on vacation, business/pleasure trip, on study/training abroad and was expected to be back within a year from the date of departure; c. working or attending school outside their usual place of residence but usually came home at least once a week; d. confined in hospitals for a period of not more than six months as of the time of enumeration, except when they were confined as patients in mental hospitals, leprosaria/leper colonies or drug rehabilitation centers, regardless of the duration of their confinement; e. detained in national/provincial/city/municipal jails or in military camps for a period of not more than six months as of the time of enumeration, except when their sentence or detentionwas expected to exceed six months; f. on board coastal, interisland, or fishing vessels within Philippine territories; and g. on board oceangoing vessels but expected to be back within five years from the date of departure.

4. Boarders/lodgers of the household or employees of household-operated businesses who did not return/go home to their respective households weekly;

5. Citizens of foreign countries who resided or were expected to reside in the Philippines for at least a year from their arrival, except members of diplomatic missions and non-Filipino members of international organizations;

6. Filipino balikbayans with usual place of residence in a foreign country but resided or were expected to reside in the Philippines for at least a year from their arrival; and

7. Persons temporarily staying with the household who had no usual place of residence or who were not certain to be enumerated elsewhere.

Persons Enumerated as Members of the Institutional Population:

1. Permanent lodgers in boarding houses;

2. Dormitory residents who did not usually go home to their respective households at least once a week;

3. Hotel residents who stayed in the hotel for more than six months at the time of the census;

4. Boarders in residential houses, provided that their number was 10 or more. However, if the number of boarders in a house was less than 10, they were considered as members of regular households, not of institutions;

5. Patients in hospitals who were confined for more than six months;

6. Patients confined in mental hospitals, leprosaria or leper colonies, and drug rehabilitation centers, regardless of the length of their confinement;

7. Wards in orphanages, homes for the aged, and other welfare institutions;

8. Prisoners of corrective and penal institutions;

9. Seminarians, nuns in convents, monks, and postulants;

10. Soldiers residing in military camps; and

11. Workers in mining and similar camps.

All Filipinos in Philippine embassies, missions, and consulates abroad were also included in the enumeration.

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Sampling procedure

The POPCEN 2015 is a complete enumeration of all persons, households and institutional population in the country. No sampling was done.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face interview [f2f] and self-administered; Paper and Pencil

Research instrument

Listed below are the basic census forms that were used during the field enumeration:

• CP Form 1 - Listing Booklet This booklet was used to list the buildings, housing units, households, and ILQs within an EA. It was also used to record other information such as the address of the household head or ILQ, total population, and number of males and females corresponding to each household and ILQ listed.

• CP Form 2 - Household Questionnaire This four-page questionnaire was used to record information about the households. Specifically, this form was used to gather information on selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population and some information on housing characteristics.

• CP Form 4 - Institutional Population Questionnaire This four-page questionnaire was used to record information on selected demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population residing in ILQs.

• CP Form 5 - Barangay Schedule This four-page questionnaire was used to record the physical characteristics (e.g. street pattern) and the presence of service facilities and establishments by kind and emplyment size in the barangay. It was also used to record the presence of informal settlers, relocation areas, and in-movers in the barangay due to natural and man-made disasters.

• CP Form 7 - Household Self-Administered Questionnaire Instructions This form contains specific and detailed instructions on how to fill out/accomplish each item in CP Form 2. It was used as guide/reference by respondents who were not, for some reasons, personally interviewed by the EN.

• CP Form 8 - Institutional Population Self-Administered Questionnaire Instructions This form contains specific and detailed instructions for the managers/administrators to guide them in accomplishing each item in CP Form 4. It was used as guide/reference by managers or administrators of an ILQ.

Listed below are the major administrative and accomplishment forms that were also used to facilitate data collection and supervision, and monitoring of enumeration and personnel:

• Mapping Form This form was used to plot buildings, either occupied by households or vacant, ILQs and important physical landmarks in the area. It was also used to enlarge a map or a block of an EA/barangay if the area being enumerated is too large or congested. CP Form 1 - Listing Booklet

• CP Form 6 - Notice of Listing/Enumeration This form is a sticker. After listing and interviewing a household or ILQ, this sticker was posted in a very conspicuous place, preferably in front of the house or at the gate of the building. This form was used for control and monitoring purposes as its presence indicates that a particular housing unit or ILQ had already been listed/interviewed.

• CP Form 9 - Appointment Slip to the Household/Institution/Barangay Official This form was used to set an appointment with the

This dataset is about cities in Philippines. It has 3,752 rows. It features 7 columns including country, population, latitude, and longitude.