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History
The Negritos are believed to be the aborigines of the Philippines. In 1911, they were described as follows:
The men are about 4 ft. 10 in. average height, the women are shorter. Their colour is black, their skull decidedly round, their hair frizzy, their legs thin, their toes prehensile. They tatoo themselves and wear only a g-string. They have no fixed abodes but roam about in groups of a few families. They are skilful with the bow and in throwing stones, and they can easily kindle a fire, even in the wet season, by rubbing together two pieces of dry bamboo. Their food consisted principally of game, roots, and wild fruits. The women, who do all the work, collect wax and wild honey, which are their principal staples in trade. Few Negritos live to be fifty years of age.

The ethnic Malay came from the south, in successive waves of immigration beginning in pre-historic times. They are composed of 23 distinct groupings, varying widely in culture, language, and appearance. Their languages however belong to one common stock. The Moros were the last of the Malays to migrate to the islands; they came after their conversion to Islam. Slavery was common among them.

Religion and Language
The vast a majority of the people are Christians (Roman Catholic 83%, Protestant 9%) and most were converted and Westernized to varying degrees during nearly 400 years of Western rule. A large Muslim minority (5%) exists predominantly on the island of Mindanao and Buddhism and other faiths make up the remainder.

A total of one hundred seventy-two native languages and dialects are spoken, all belonging to the Austronesian linguistic family. The eight most spoken native languages are Tagalog (dialects: Lubang, Manila, Marinduque, Bataan, Batangas, Bulacan, Tanay-Paete, Tayabas) Cebuano (Visayan or Sugbuhanon; dialects: Cebu, Boholano, Leyte, Mindanao Visayan), Ilocano, Ilonggo (Hiligaynon; dialects: Hiligaynon, Kawayan, Bantayan), Ilongot (dialects: Abaka, Egongot, Ibalao, Italon, Iyongut), Waray (Samarnon or Samar-Leyte), Bicolano, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense. These are spoken natively by more than 85% of the population.

English is the predominant non-native language, and is now spoken by many Filipinos. Other foreign languages spoken include Chinese (Mandarin and Hokkien), Arabic (among some members of the Muslim population), and Spanish (with its local creole, Chavacano). It is estimated that even at the height of Spanish domination, less than 10% of Filipinos could speak it as a second language. It finally ceased to be an official language in 1987 and is now spoken by less than 0.5% of the population mostly among some members of the Spanish-mestizo minority where its use is confined to the family home even fewer Filipinos speak it as an acquired language.

Since 1939, in an effort to develop national unity, the government has promoted the use of the official national language, Filipino, which is based on Tagalog. Filipino is taught in all schools and is gaining acceptance, particularly as a second language for a linguistically diverse population. While Filipino is the national language, both Filipino and English are considered official languages of the country according to the constitution. Both are used extensively in government, education, and commerce.

Despite this multiplicity of languages, the Philippines has one of the highest literacy rates in the East Asian and Pacific area. About 90% of the population 10 years of age and older are literate.
1903 census
In 1903 the population of the Philippines was 7,635,426, including 56,138 foreign-born.

By city or towns exceeding 10,000:
Manila 219,928
Loag, north Luzon 19,699
Iloilo, Panay 19,054
Cebu 18,330
Neuvo Caceres, south Luzon 10,021 There were 13,400 villages, nearly 75% of which had fewer than 600 inhabitants.

By race or ethnicity:
Malay: 7,539,632
Chinese: 42,097
Mestizo: 15,419
Negrito: 23,511
Caucasian: 14,271 (over half were US Servicemen who later returned to the US)
Negro: 505 By language, the ethnic Malay population was:
Christian
Visayan: 3,219,030
Tagalog: 1,460,695
Illocano: 803,942
Bicol: 566,635
Pangasinan: 343,686
Pampangan: 280,984
Cagayan: 159,648
Igorot: 211,520
Muslim
Moro: 277,547