The population density of the Philippines is high, but the distribution of the population is uneven. Parts of Metro Manila have a population density that is more than 100 times that of some outlying areas such as the mountainous area of northern Luzon. The country’s birth rate remains significantly higher than the world average, as well as the average for the Southeast Asian region. Efforts since the mid-20th century to slow the overall growth rate have had limited success, in part because reductions in the birth rate have been offset to some degree by reductions in thedeath rate.
Especially since World War II, population has tended to move from rural areas to towns and cities. At the beginning of the 20th century, more than four-fifths of the population was rural, but by the early 21st century that proportion had dropped to roughly two-fifths. There is a considerable amount of Filipino emigration, particularly of manual labourers and professionals. Many emigrants have gone to the United States, Okinawa, Guam, and Canada; in addition, a large number of skilled and semiskilled workers have taken temporary overseas assignments, mainly in the Middle East and, increasingly, in East and Southeast Asia.
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