Inhabitants of which country speak tagalog?

This Austronesian language is native to the Philippines, where it serves as the foundation (Review) for the official national language, Filipino. While the two terms are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, Tagalog is technically the language of the Tagalog ethnic group, who are concentrated in the central and southern parts of the main island of Luzon, including the capital city of Manila.

The name itself offers a clue to its origins, derived from "taga-ilog," which translates to "river dweller." Its vocabulary and structure reflect a rich history of cultural exchange. Centuries of Spanish colonial rule left a particularly strong mark, contributing thousands of loanwords that are still in common use. The everyday greeting "kumusta," for instance, is a direct adaptation of the Spanish question "¿cómo está?"

Today, Tagalog is spoken as a first language by tens of millions of people and as a second language by a vast majority of the Filipino population. Due to the large global diaspora, vibrant communities of Tagalog speakers can be found all over the world, from North America to the Middle East, making it one of the most widely spoken languages of the Austronesian family.