The Bicol Region has a population of 6,064,426 as of 2024 census, decreasing at an average annual rate of −0.07% percent between 2020 and 2024. The region's population density increased to 320 persons per square kilometer in 2015. In 1970, Camarines Sur was the only province with close to a million population. Albay, which was next in rank, reached the 1970 population level of Camarines Sur only 20 years later. Masbate and Sorsogon were in the same level every census year from 1970 to 1980. It is noteworthy that distribution and growth of the 1970 population were towards areas that were sparsely populated but agriculturally rich and/or endowed with fishery resources. The island province of Catanduanes and its municipalities have exhibited very low population growth from 1970 to 1980. In 1980, the pattern was towards urbanization. This was due to the pull of newly installed infrastructures, particularly roads, and the sporadic growth of trade in strategically situated municipalities that have better economic opportunities. The 1990 growth originated from the strong attraction of employment opportunities in established urban centers, which have become a source of growth of adjacent municipalities. This situation was highly evident in Naga and Legazpi areas, whose surrounding municipalities exhibited high growth rates. Unmistakably, the spill-over effects of development permeated those initial high growth areas. Population spill-over happened in the Legazpi, Naga and Daet areas. Due to more population and more opportunities, Naga, Daet and Legazpi spilled their population to their neighboring and adjacent towns. The Bicolanos are descended from the Austronesian-speaking people who came during the
Iron Age. Many of Bicolanos also have
Chinese,
Arab, and Spanish admixtures. Most of the townsfolk have Spanish Mixtures and their language is referred to as
Bikol or Bikolano. Bicolanos have a high percentage of Spanish introgression with a government sponsored study showing 2 out of 10 Bicolanos or 2/10ths of the population being of Spanish descent. Only the
Chavacanos among the Philippine ethnic groups, have a higher Spanish percentage at 4/10ths of the population, compared to Bicolano's 2/10ths, while the average percentage of Spanish descent among other Filipino Lowland Christian Ethnic groups are 6% out of 100%. The Bicolano language is very fragmented, and its dialects are mutually incomprehensible to speakers of other Bicolano dialects. The majority of the Bicolano people are devout Roman Catholics due to the Spanish conquering the country and converting them to their religion. Catholic Mass is celebrated daily in many churches in the Bicol Region.
Language The people of the Bicol Region, called
Bicolanos, speak any of the several languages of the
Bikol language subgroup, called Bikol macrolanguages,
Austronesian languages closely grouped under the
Central Philippine languages family such as the
Visayan languages and
Tagalog. The four major groups of language in Bikol are Coastal Bikol (with four sub-languages), Inland Bikol (with six sub-languages), Pandan Bikol (lone language) and Bisakol (with three sub-languages). The majority of Bicolanos understand and speak
Central Bikol language (a member of Coastal Bikol group of languages), since it is the language used in literature and mass media, but with varying degrees. A known misconception of many Bicolanos is that Central Bikol, used in the cities of Legazpi and Naga, is the standard Bikol. Central Bikol, though spoken by the majority and with speakers represented in all provinces in the region, is not a standard Bikol, since other forms of Bikol used in the region are separate languages and usually unintelligible. However, the standard form of Central Bikol language is the Canaman dialect. Other Bikol languages are
Rinconada Bikol, spoken in southern part of Camarines Sur province,
Pandan Bikol spoken in northern part of Catanduanes island and the Albay Bikol group of languages that include Buhinon, Libon, West Miraya and East Miraya. Albay Bikol speakers can be found in Buhi, Camarines Sur, central and eastern parts of Albay and in Donsol, Sorsogon. The standard form of Rinconada Bikol both in pronunciation and writing is the Sinabukid (Highland) dialect of Iriga variant. On the other hand, Buhinon of
Buhi, Camarines Sur and Libon of
Libon, Albay are the languages that are only used in their respective municipalities. Rinconada Bikol and Albay Bikol group of languages are members of Inland Bikol, while Pandan Bikol is the only language with no sub-languages or division. The majority of the population in Masbate and Sorsogon speaks
Masbateño,
Waray Sorsoganon and
Northern Sorsoganon. The three are Visayan languages but influenced by Bikol languages (especially the latter), thus tagged and collectively referred to as
Bisakol (Being Visayan languages spoken in Bicol), a portmanteau of
Bisaya (Visayan) and Bi
kol (Bicolano). Aside from
Masbateño, three more Visayan languages are spoken in Masbate, including
Hiligaynon/Ilonggo are spoken in the southwestern tip, while
Cebuano and
Waray-Waray are spoken in the southern part of the island province respectively.
Tagalog is the dominant and native language of Bicolanos living in the municipalities in the northern half of
Camarines Norte and the town of
Del Gallego in
Camarines Sur. Bicolanos also speak and understand Filipino, the national language of the Philippines, aside from native Tagalog-speaking Bicolanos in northern half of Camarines Norte and Del Gallego. The Bicolano languages are unique in the world for being the only ones with an angry register or a coded slang for forceful informal use.
Religion The region retains
Roman Catholicism as the overwhelming religion of the great majority. The Catholic religion has the highest number of followers than any other area in the Philippines. The Catholic church grew in the Bicol Region through the efforts of the bishops from
Nueva Caceres (
Naga City) from the 17th century until the
Philippine Revolution in 1898.
Naga City is the religious center of the Bicol Region and is the seat of one of the oldest dioceses in the
Philippines, the ecclesiastical
Archdiocese of Caceres. Other dioceses include are the Dioceses of Legazpi, Sorsogon, Daet, Masbate, Libmanan and
Virac.
Fiestas (
Feast day of saints) are annual celebrations of parishes, from a simple barrio fiesta honoring a patron associated for good harvest, to a town fiesta honoring a miraculous saint, a
diocesan fiesta like the feast of
Our Lady of Salvation, or a regional one such as the
Our Lady of Peñafrancia Fiesta, the largest Marian devotion in Asia, a week-long celebration to honor the
Virgin Mary, dubbed as the "Patroness of Bicolandia". In Luzon, the Bicol Region holds the most men entering the
seminary for
Catholic priesthood, or women entering the religious life to become
Catholic nuns. This can be accredited to the
Holy Rosary Minor Seminary,
Daughters of Mary, and
Daughters of Charity Convents in
Naga City. The largest minority religion in the region is
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) known for its magnificent worship buildings, commonly called chapels or
kapilya, with towering spires that dot the Bicol landscape. Each province represents one ecclesiastical district (E.D.) with the exception of Camarines Sur which is divided into two – Camarines Southwest E.D. in Naga, and Camarines Southeast E.D. in Iriga City. In total, INC has seven ecclesiastical districts in the Bicol region. The chapel of local congregation of Legazpi, Albay is the biggest. Other religions are also well represented in Bicol such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants denominations of Seventh-Day Adventist church, Baptist Church, Pentecostal, Islam, and indigenous religions. Prior to colonization, the region had a complex religious system which involved various deities. Among these deities include: Gugurang, the supreme god who dwells inside of
Mount Mayon where he guards and protects the sacred fire in which Aswang, his brother was trying to steal. Whenever people disobey his orders, wishes and commit numerous sins, he would cause Mount Mayon to burst lava as a sign of warning for people to mend their crooked ways. Ancient Bikolanos had a rite performed for him called Atang; Asuang, the evil god who always try to steal the sacred fire of Mount Mayon from his brother, Gugurang. Addressed sometimes as Aswang, he dwells mainly inside Mount Malinao. As an evil god, he would cause the people to suffer misfortunes and commit sins.
Bulan, the god of the pale moon, he is depicted as a pubescent boy with uncommon comeliness that made savage beast and the vicious mermaids (Magindara) tame. He has deep affection towards Magindang, but plays with him by running away so that Magindang would never catch him. The reason for this is because he is shy to the man that he loves. If Magindang manages to catch Bulan, Haliya always comes to free him from Magindang's grip;
Magindang, the god of the sea and all its creatures. He has deep affection to the lunar god Bulan and pursues him despite never catching him. Due to this, the Bicolanos reasoned that it is to why the waves rise to reach the Moon when seen from the distant horizon. Whenever he does catch up to Bulan, Haliya comes to rescue Bulan and free him immediately;
Okot, god of forest and hunting; and
Bakunawa, a gigantic sea serpent deity who is often considered as the cause of eclipses, the devourer of the sun and the moon, and an adversary of Haliya as Bakunawa's main aim is to swallow Bulan, who Haliya swore to protect for all of eternity.
Culture and traits The Bicolano cuisine is primarily noted for the prominent use of
chili peppers and
gata (
coconut milk) in its food. A classic example is the
gulay na lada, known outside the region as
Bicol express, a well-loved dish using
siling labuyo (native small chillies) and the aforementioned
gata. Like their other neighboring regions, Bicolanas are also expected to lend a hand in household work. They are even anticipated to offer assistance after being married. On the other hand, Bicolano men are expected to assume the role of becoming the primary source of income and financial support of his family. Bicolanos are also known for being very religious, the place is known for Señora De Peñafrancia. Bicolanos are often sweet, regionalistic, friendly, adventurous, puts high importance on education and social status. Contrary to what is believed, not all Bicolanos are fond of chili. Men often know how to cook. ==Infrastructure==