Religious affiliation in the Philippines, as measured by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), is collected through a single household-level census question and reported for the full household population of 108,667,043 recorded in the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH). Roman Catholic is the top affiliation nationally at 78.8 percent, but the figure that matters for research, planning, or content built on official data is rarely the national one. It is the regional and provincial breakdown, where the pattern changes considerably from one part of the country to another.
This guide covers the PSA's official national ranking of religious affiliations, how Roman Catholic share varies by region and province, where Islam is concentrated, and how the data was collected.
The Official PSA Ranking: Top Religious Affiliations Nationally
Of the 108,667,043 household population counted in the 2020 CPH, 85,645,362 persons, or 78.8 percent, reported Roman Catholic as their religious affiliation. Islam was second at 6,981,710 persons, or 6.4 percent, and Iglesia ni Cristo, a Philippine founded Christian denomination, was third at 2,806,524 persons, or 2.6 percent. These same three affiliations held the top three positions in the prior 2015 census as well.
| Rank | Religious Affiliation | Number | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roman Catholic | 85,645,362 | 78.8% |
| 2 | Islam | 6,981,710 | 6.4% |
| 3 | Iglesia ni Cristo | 2,806,524 | 2.6% |
| 4 | Seventh Day Adventist | 862,725 | 0.8% |
| 5 | Aglipay | 818,916 | 0.8% |
| 6 | Iglesia Filipina Independiente | 640,076 | 0.6% |
| 7 | Bible Baptist Church | 540,364 | 0.5% |
| 8 | United Church of Christ in the Philippines | 470,792 | 0.4% |
| 9 | Jehovah's Witness | 457,245 | 0.4% |
| 10 | Church of Christ | 429,921 | 0.4% |
| Other religious affiliations | 8,954,291 | 8.2% | |
| None / Not reported | 59,117 | 0.1% |
"Except for BARMM, which posted the lowest proportion of Roman Catholics at 5.3 percent, the proportion of Roman Catholics in the rest of the regions exceeded 50.0 percent."
Roman Catholic Share by Region
Region V (Bicol Region) posted the highest Roman Catholic share of any region at 93.5 percent, followed by Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) at 92.3 percent and Region VII (Central Visayas) at 90.5 percent. Every region outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded a Catholic majority above 50 percent, ranging from 54.1 percent in Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN) to 89.2 percent in Region IV-A (CALABARZON).
| Region | Roman Catholic Share |
|---|---|
| Bicol Region | 93.5% |
| Eastern Visayas | 92.3% |
| Central Visayas | 90.5% |
| CALABARZON | 89.2% |
| National Capital Region | 88.4% |
| Central Luzon | 85.0% |
| Western Visayas | 85.7% |
| Ilocos Region | 82.0% |
| Cagayan Valley | 74.2% |
| MIMAROPA | 72.5% |
| Northern Mindanao | 71.9% |
| Caraga | 69.7% |
| Davao Region | 73.3% |
| Cordillera Administrative Region | 61.8% |
| Zamboanga Peninsula | 63.5% |
| SOCCSKSARGEN | 54.1% |
| BARMM | 5.3% |
Among highly urbanized cities, the City of Mandaue posted the highest Roman Catholic share at 95.2 percent, followed by the City of Cebu at 94.7 percent, the City of Tacloban at 93.5 percent, and the City of Lapu-Lapu at 93.2 percent. Four cities in the National Capital Region (Navotas, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Malabon) round out the top ten, alongside Lucena City and Iloilo City.
At the provincial level, Albay recorded the highest Roman Catholic share nationwide, at 96.2 percent, or 1.32 million of its 1.37 million household population. Catanduanes followed at 95.6 percent and Eastern Samar at 95.3 percent, with fourteen other provinces also exceeding 90 percent.
Where Islam Is Concentrated
Islam is overwhelmingly concentrated in BARMM, where it accounts for 90.9 percent of the region's 4.94 million household population, or roughly 91 in every 100 residents. Outside BARMM, the largest Muslim share by region is in Zamboanga Peninsula at 18.2 percent, followed by SOCCSKSARGEN at 15.8 percent, Northern Mindanao at 8.5 percent, and Davao Region and MIMAROPA at 3.5 percent each. Region XIII (Caraga), also in Mindanao, registered only 0.5 percent.
| Province | Household Population | Islam Share |
|---|---|---|
| Tawi-Tawi | 438,545 | 97.2% |
| Sulu | 998,675 | 95.2% |
| Lanao del Sur | 1,194,507 | 94.7% |
| Basilan | 425,111 | 89.9% |
| Maguindanao | 1,666,353 | 83.5% |
| Lanao del Norte | 721,716 | 45.5% |
| Sultan Kudarat | 851,554 | 30.3% |
| Cotabato (North Cotabato) | 1,273,594 | 19.3% |
| Zamboanga Sibugay | 668,648 | 15.9% |
| Sarangani | 558,069 | 11.0% |
| Palawan | 934,669 | 10.8% |
Palawan is worth noting specifically: it is the only province outside Mindanao to register a double digit Islam share, at 10.8 percent, alongside a 60.4 percent Roman Catholic majority. Islam reached the Philippine archipelago in the 14th century through regional trade networks, more than two centuries before Spanish colonization introduced Catholicism in 1565.
Cordillera: Where Catholic Share Drops Without Islam Rising
The Cordillera Administrative Region shows a different pattern than Mindanao: Roman Catholic share falls well below the national average, but not because Islam fills the gap. Kalinga recorded 62.6 percent Catholic, Apayao 56.9 percent, Benguet 56.6 percent, Ifugao 49.2 percent, and Mountain Province 41.9 percent, the lowest of any province outside BARMM. In each case, Islam registers under 1 percent, and "tribal religion" as a distinct formal census category remains small even here. The remainder is distributed across other Christian denominations, reflecting the region's broader pattern of denominational diversity alongside folk and syncretic practice.
How the PSA Collects Religious Affiliation Data
In the 2020 Census of Population and Housing, data on the religious affiliation of every household member was collected by asking the respondent a single question: "What is [name]'s religious affiliation?" The response was recorded for each individual and aggregated at the barangay, city, province, region, and national level, the same geographic hierarchy used across all PSA census outputs.
Religious affiliation is asked in the Census of Population and Housing rather than in every intercensal count, which is why the most recent official breakdown remains the 2020 CPH figures rather than the 2024 Census of Population (2024 POPCEN), whose released tables to date have focused on total and household population counts rather than religious affiliation.
"About 91 in every 100 residents in BARMM have Islam as their religion, the exact inverse of the national pattern where about 79 in every 100 residents are Roman Catholic."
Why Regional Religious Data Matters More Than the National Figure
A single national statistic, Roman Catholic at 78.8 percent, obscures the fact that BARMM is a Muslim-majority region within a Catholic-majority country, that Cordillera has the lowest Catholic concentration outside BARMM without a corresponding Muslim majority, and that Palawan carries a meaningful Muslim minority unlike any other province outside Mindanao. For researchers, journalists, and local planners, the region and province level breakdown is the figure that actually describes the community in question, not the national average.
All 2020 CPH press releases and statistical tables on religious affiliation, including full tables by region, province, and highly urbanized city, are publicly available at the PSA website: psa.gov.ph.