Photo: Bahnfrend · CC BY SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Philippines
English, Filipino, Taglish · PHP · Philippine Time
How it scores for living there
- 33%Cost of livingRated 5 of 5 for living there, ideal
- 35%Income taxRated 2 of 5 for living there, poor
- AppliesCapital gainsRated 3 of 5 for living there, workable
- 21MbpsInternetRated 3 of 5 for living there, workable
- 0.79Doctors /1,000Rated 1 of 5 for living there, bad
- 22PM2.5 ug/m3Rated 2 of 5 for living there, poor
- 4.3Homicide /100kRated 3 of 5 for living there, workable
- 69.9Life expectancyRated 2 of 5 for living there, poor
- 67%People onlineRated 1 of 5 for living there, bad
- 33Corruption indexRated 2 of 5 for living there, poor
- 12of 12Mild monthsRated 5 of 5 for living there, ideal
Facts, not judgements
- UTC+8Time zone
- PHPCurrency
- English+2Language
- A, B, CPower plug
- 8.3mVisitors in 2019
Colour says whether a figure is good for someone moving in, not whether it is high: cheap is green and expensive is red. Every coloured box carries the reason for its colour, the bar under it repeats the score as a width, and boxes with no data are not drawn.
Nomads in Philippines
Loading members…
Who can help you in Philippines
Vetted partners for the move: immigration and tax lawyers, relocation services, banking and eSIM, guides and local experts. One Gold partner and up to three standard listings per country.
Climate and cost by city
Sea off Cebu: warmest August at 31°C, coolest February at 28°C.
Average monthly temperature and rainfall from Open-Meteo ERA5 (2019-2023 mean, CC BY 4.0). Sea surface temperature from Open-Meteo Marine. Price level from the World Bank ICP survey, same-year pairing, omitted where the survey does not cover the country.
Cost of living and lifestyle
Day to day, Philippines costs about 33% of the US level, on a World Bank income of $14k per person (PPP, 2025).
That percentage is measured against your country, not against ours. It follows the country picker in the header, or your account if you are signed in. With neither, it falls back to the United States, which is the 100 of the World Bank index, and the sentence says so.
World Bank ICP price level (US=100) and GNI per capita PPP, CC BY 4.0. It is a national average: a capital runs above it and a small town below it.
Getting to Philippines
Its main airport has non-stop service to 26 airports in the OpenFlights route database.
| From | Routing | Flight time | Cheapest fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | Non-stop | 8h 45m | €697 |
| Los Angeles | Non-stop | 19h 05m | €578 |
Airports and non-stop routes from OpenFlights (Open Database License). Fares and flight times are cached one-way economy prices from Travelpayouts, the cheapest seen recently rather than a live quote or an average. They move; treat them as an order of magnitude.
What to see in Philippines
Ordered by how many people looked each place up over the last twelve months, so the list is measured interest and not our taste.
island
Mindanao
26,245 readers a month look it up
island
Luzon
17,204 readers a month look it up
mountain
Mayon Volcano
16,348 readers a month look it up
volcano
Taal Volcano
13,030 readers a month look it up
mountain
Kanlaon Volcano
11,755 readers a month look it up
island
Siargao
8,839 readers a month look it up
Catholic church building
San Agustin Church
5,408 readers a month look it up
bay
Subic Bay
3,286 readers a month look it up
Photo credits
- Mindanao: Original data: ESA Copernicus Sentinel-2 Processed and compiled by EOX IT Services GmbH, ATTRIBUTION, via Wikimedia Commons
- Luzon: Wikimedia Commons, PUBLIC DOMAIN, via Wikimedia Commons
- Mayon Volcano: Marisa Mercado, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Taal Volcano: TheCoffee (Mike Gonzalez), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Kanlaon Volcano: Paolobon140, PUBLIC DOMAIN, via Wikimedia Commons
- Siargao: ChaasPrime, CC BY SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- San Agustin Church: Patrick Roque (talk) (Uploads), CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Subic Bay: PH1(Nac) David R. Sanner, U.S. Navy, PUBLIC DOMAIN, via Wikimedia Commons
The practical basics
- Local time…Philippine Time, Asia/Manila
- CurrencyPHPISO 4217
- LanguagesEnglish, Filipino, Taglish
- PlugsA, B, C230/400 V 60 Hz
- Safe tap water48%of people on a safely managed supply, World Bank 2024
- UK travel adviceAdvises against travelFCDO, reviewed 2026-07-15
- Population116.8mWorld Bank
Currency codes ISO 4217; plugs and voltage from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); time zone and flag from the countries-states-cities database (ODbL 1.0); travel advice from the UK FCDO (Open Government Licence v3).
How many people visit
Philippines logged 1.5 million international arrivals in 2020, the last year the World Bank series covers. That is a pandemic year and it is not what a normal year looks like: in 2019 the same series counted 8.3 million.
World Bank indicator ST.INT.ARVL, international tourism arrivals, CC BY 4.0. Arrivals count trips, not people: the same visitor twice in a year counts twice.
Tax in Philippines, in one line
Personal income tax runs up to 35 per cent. Capital gains: Real property (capital asset): 6% of gross selling price or zonal value (whichever higher). Unlisted domestic shares: 15% on net gain. Listed shares: 0.6% stock transaction tax on gross.
Tax figures are compiled by us and are being re-verified against primary sources. General information, not tax advice.
Data: World Bank, Open-Meteo, M-Lab, Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, under open licences. General information, not tax or legal advice.