Americans in the Philippines
American settlement in the Philippines (Filipino: paninirahan sa Pilipinas ng mga Amerikano) began during the Spanish colonial period. The period of American colonialization of the Philippines was 48 years. It began with the cession of the Philippines to the U.S. by Spain in 1898 and lasted until the U.S. recognition of Philippine independence in 1946.
Filipino-American family, Philippines | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| · Calamba · Tuguegarao · Calapan · Legazpi · Iloilo · Olongapo · Pagadian · Cagayan de Oro · Davao · Koronadal · Butuan · Cotabato · Antipolo · Metro Cebu · Metro Manila | |
| Languages | |
| · and Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Filipino Americans |
In 2015, the U.S. State Department estimated in 2016 that more than 220,000 U.S. citizens lived in the Philippines and more than 650,000 visited per year. They noted there was a significant mixed population of Amerasians born here since World War II, as well as descendants of Americans from the colonial era.
The United States invaded the Philippines, then governed by Spain as the Spanish East Indies, during the Spanish–American War. During that war, Philippine revolutionaries declared independence.
But the US imposed its own control, holding the Philippines until granting full independence on July 4, 1946.