Based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH), the population of the Philippines as of 01 May 2020 is 109,035,343, representing the total number of persons living in the 17 administrative regions of the country, including Filipinos in Philippine embassies, consulates, and missions abroad.
The 2020 population is higher by 8.05 million from the population of 100.98 million in 2015. This is also more than 16.70 million compared with the population of 92.34 million in 2010. (Tables 1 and A)
The Philippine population increased by 1.63 percent annually from 2015 to 2020. By comparison, the rate at which the country’s population grew from 2010 to 2015 was higher at 1.72 percent. (Tables 2 and A)
Of the 17 administrative regions, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) had the biggest population in 2020 with 16.20 million, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 13.48 million, and Region III (Central Luzon) with 12.42 million. The combined population of these three regions accounted for about 38.6 percent of the Philippine population in 2020. Also included in the top five most populous regions were Region VII (Central Visayas) with 8.08 million, and Region VI (Western Visayas) with 7.95 million. The least populated region was the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 1.80 million or about 1.6 percent of the total population of the country. (Tables 3, A, and B)
From 2015 to 2020, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was the fastest growing region with an annual population growth rate (PGR) of 3.26 percent. It was followed by Region IV-A (CALABARZON) with 2.48 percent, Region III (Central Luzon) with 2.17 percent, Region VII (Central Visayas) with 1.88 percent, and MIMAROPA Region with 1.82 percent. Region VIII (Eastern Visayas), meanwhile, posted the lowest PGR of 0.50 percent. (Tables 4, A, and B)
Of the 81 provinces, Cavite was the most populous in 2020 with 4.34 million persons, followed by Bulacan (3.71 million), and Laguna (3.38 million). There were 25 other provinces that surpassed the one million population mark in 2020. (Tables 5, A, and B)
Batanes was the smallest province in terms of population size with 18,831 persons. Camiguin, with 92,808 persons also posted a population size of less than 100,000. (Tables 6, A, and B)
As of 2020, the Philippines has 33 highly urbanized cities (HUCs), 16 of which are in the National Capital Region (NCR), while 17 are outside the NCR. Four of the HUCs had surpassed the one million population mark, namely, Quezon City (2.96 million persons), City of Manila (1.85 million persons), City of Davao (1.78 million persons), and City of Caloocan (1.66 million persons). The City of San Juan posted the smallest population with 126,347 persons, followed by the City of Navotas (247,543 persons), and the City of Tacloban (251,881 persons). (Tables 7, A, and B)
The Philippines has 108 component cities and five independent component cities. The City of Antipolo in Rizal was the largest component city with 887,399 persons, followed by the City of Dasmariñas (703,141 persons) and the City of Bacoor (664,625 persons) in Cavite, the City of San Jose del Monte (651,813 persons) in Bulacan, and the City of Calamba (539,671 persons) in Laguna. (Tables 8 and B)
Moreover, the City of Palayan in Nueva Ecija was the smallest component city with 45,383 persons, followed by the City of Vigan (53,935) in Ilocos Sur, the City of Batac (55,484) in Ilocos Norte, the City of El Salvador (58,771) in Misamis Oriental, and the City of Canlaon (58,822) in Negros Oriental. (Tables 9 and B)
Among the five independent component cities, the City of Catabato in Maguindanao was the most populous with 325,079 persons, followed by Ormoc City (230,998 persons) in Leyte and City of Naga (209,170 persons) in Camarines Sur. (Tables 10 and B)
The country has 1,488 municipalities as of 2020. The three largest municipalities in terms of population size were all located in the province of Rizal. The largest one was the municipality of Rodriguez (Montalban) with 443,954 persons, followed by Taytay (386,451 persons), and Cainta (376,933 persons). There were 22 other municipalities with a population size of more than 150,000 (Tables 11 and B)
In 2020, the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan was the smallest municipality in terms of population size, with 193 persons. It was followed by Uyugan (1,380 persons) and Ivana (1,407 persons) in Batanes, Carasi (1,607 persons) in Ilocos Norte, and Sabtang (1,696 persons) in Batanes. (Tables 12 and B)
There are 42,046 barangays in the country as of 2020. The most populated barangay was Barangay 176 in Caloocan City with 261,729 persons. It was followed by Commonwealth (213,229 persons), and Batasan Hills (166,572 persons) in Quezon City. There were 18 other barangays, which posted a population size of more than a hundred thousand persons. (Table 13)
Tables A and B of this Special Release provide statistical summaries on the population count and annual population growth rate for the Philippines and its regions, provinces, cities, and municipalities based on various censuses. The latest population data as of 01 May 2020 are available at https://psa.gov.ph/population-and-housing.
The 2020 CPH was undertaken by the Philippine Statistics Authority pursuant to Republic Act No. 10625, also known as the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013, Executive Order No. 352 – Designation of Statistical Activities That Will Generate Critical Data for Decision-Making of the Government and the Private Sector, and Batas Pambansa (BP) Bilang 72, which provide the basis for the decennial conduct of the integrated census of population and housing.
May 2020 was declared as the National Census Month pursuant to Proclamation No. 928, s. 2020, which provided that the 2020 CPH be conducted in May 2020, with 01 May 2020 as the census reference date. However, in light of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the census enumeration was moved to September 2020. Information on the count of the population was collected with 12:01 AM of 01 May 2020 as the reference time and date, in accordance with the provisions indicated under BP 72.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has declared official for all purposes the population counts by province, city/municipality, and barangay based on the 2020 CPH under Proclamation No. 1179 dated 06 July 2021. The population counts were based on census questionnaires administered by about 112,000 enumerators deployed during the nationwide census taking.
The successful completion of the census-taking amidst the COVID-19 pandemic would not have been possible without the cooperation and support of the census respondents and barangay officials nationwide. The PSA would also like to thank the members of the national and local census coordinating boards, officials of national government agencies and local government units, media practitioners, private agencies, non-government organizations, homeowners’ associations, building administrators, and all other census stakeholders. Credits also go to the hundreds of enumerators, supervisors, and other census workers hired by the PSA for the 2020 CPH.
DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General
