Is Philippines a good place to live for remote workers?

Philippines scores 73/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 144.8 Mbps, safety 74, healthcare 69, air quality 74, english 92) — rank 51 of 167. English near-universal and costs low; Manila traffic and typhoon season are the trade.

How fast is the internet in Philippines?

Median fixed broadband is around 144.8 Mbps. English near-universal and costs low; Manila traffic and typhoon season are the trade.

What does $3,000/month get you in Philippines?

Single-person essentials run about $637/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (4.7× essentials).

Livability · rank 51/167

Is 🇵🇭 Philippines (Manila) a good place to live?

Quality score 73/100 against essentials of $637/month. English near-universal and costs low; Manila traffic and typhoon season are the trade.

The five metrics

Internet 58 144.8 Mbps median broadband, 67.3% online

Safety 74 4.3 homicides/100k (2023)

Healthcare 69 UHC service coverage 69/100 (2023)

Air quality 74 PM2.5 16.9 µg/m³ (2023)

English 92 day-to-day usability

Beside the score, not inside it

Neither of these is part of the composite above, deliberately. Folding governance into a quality-of-life number would bury a political judgement where you could not see it or argue with it, and connection price is a different question from connection speed — somewhere fast and expensive and somewhere slow and cheap are different trade-offs, not one average.

Rule of law: weak; World Bank WGI estimate -0.57 · corruption control -0.58 · stability -0.77 (2024). Scale −2.5 to +2.5, higher is better.
What connectivity costs: $15.51 /mo broadband; Mobile 10GB $6.18/month. ITU price basket. The speed above is scored; this price is not.

What your budget buys

Monthly budget	vs essentials ($637)	Verdict
$2,000	3.1×	like royalty
$3,000	4.7×	like royalty
$5,000	7.8×	like royalty

Essentials from the Pint & Property basket. Rank countries by your own priorities in the interactive matrix.

🪤 Tax residency triggers at 180 days. Tax residency details →

Similar value-for-money

🇧🇳 Brunei — quality 79.9, essentials $687/mo
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan — quality 66.4, essentials $570/mo
🇳🇵 Nepal — quality 49, essentials $433/mo
🇷🇺 Russia — quality 69.6, essentials $592/mo

Frequently asked questions

Is Philippines a good place to live for remote workers?: Philippines scores 73/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 144.8 Mbps, safety 74, healthcare 69, air quality 74, english 92) — rank 51 of 167. English near-universal and costs low; Manila traffic and typhoon season are the trade.
How fast is the internet in Philippines?: Median fixed broadband is around 144.8 Mbps. English near-universal and costs low; Manila traffic and typhoon season are the trade.
What does $3,000/month get you in Philippines?: Single-person essentials run about $637/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (4.7× essentials).