LIST: The most common nationalities of expats you’ll meet in the Philippines
The next time you take a walk from your comfy Makati or BGC office space to the restaurant, take a good look around. There’s a good chance (three in ten, to be exact) that you’ll come across an expat.
There are other parts of the country you’ll meet expats, but they are more common in Central Luzon, CALABARZON, Central Visayas, and ARMM (which has the highest concentration of expats outside of Metro Manila).
Today, we’ll list down the five nations whose citizens you’d most likely meet when you take a walk on the streets of the Philippines based on the most recent data available to the public: the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) 2010 Census of Population and Housing, done during May 1, 2010.
- India
Indian nationals have had a good presence in the country, especially in the BPO industry. Most of the companies that used to be run by Americans are now in the hands of Indians. The latest numbers have them at 9,007.
- Korea
Filipinos have a thing for everything that comes from Korea. The country is currently abuzz about one of the latest hit Korean dramas Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo; everyone is still into KPOP, and Korean restaurants are just about as big a hit as Japanese. There are about 10,668 Koreans in the country, divided into 5,822 South Koreans and 4,846 North Koreans.
- Japan
Japan never ceases to amaze Filipinos, and the Japanese still love to be in the Philippines… no matter how horrible our sense of time may seem to be. They’ve been instrumental in helping the country go towards the right direction, especially when we look at the country’s traffic situation. As of May 2010, there are about 11,584 Japanese nationals residing in the Philippines.
- China
The closest superpower to the Philippines in terms of distance, Chinese nationals have had a longstanding relationship with Filipinos. We have one of the oldest Chinatowns in the world (Binondo), and most of our successful businessmen are either Chinese or of Chinese descent. The PSA puts their numbers at 28,705, not including those from Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China).
- United States of America
There may be Italians, Brits, Canadians, etc., but most of the Caucasians you see on our streets are from the U.S.A. Good old Uncle Sam has always been a great partner to the Philippines, and it can be seen in both our businesses and our culture. They’ve helped us protect our borders, advance our technology, and even reached out a hand whenever we get hit by a big storm or a devastating earthquake. They are still the most numerous of the country’s expats at 29,972.
All of the data used comes from PSA’s 2010 Census of Population and Housing, which puts the expat population at 177,365 or almost 0.2% of the country’s total population in 2010, which was at 92,097,978.
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority Census Data, Philippine Statistics Authority Press Release
