In 2024, preliminary figures recorded about **** million Filipinos leaving the Philippines to work overseas — a number higher than the previous year's estimates. The number of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) significantly plummeted between 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading occupation of deployed OFWs  Among the newly hired land-based overseas Filipino workers in 2023, about ******* of them were domestic cleaners and helpers, followed by domestic housekeepers. Filipino domestic cleaners and housekeepers have been in demand in several countries, particularly in the Middle East and Hong Kong. These countries usually offer higher wages and better employment benefits for such jobs, in comparison to employers in the Philippines. Increasing demand for healthcare workers  Aside from domestic cleaners and housekeepers, recent years reflected a growing demand for healthcare workers, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Saudi Arabia was the leading destination of deployed Filipino nurses, followed by the United Kingdom and Germany.

Philippines Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) data was reported at 2,156.616 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,963.403 Number th for 2022. Philippines Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) data is updated yearly, averaging 1,982.702 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,447.000 Number th in 2015 and a record low of 978.000 Number th in 2000. Philippines Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Preliminary figures for 2024 have shown that there were about **** million overseas workers from the Philippines with land-based employment. Meanwhile, about ******* had sea-based employment.

Philippines OFWs: Africa data was reported at 28.295 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.243 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: Africa data is updated yearly, averaging 24.725 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.845 Number th in 2013 and a record low of 6.000 Number th in 2001. Philippines OFWs: Africa data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Between April and September 2023, around ** percent of overseas Filipino workers originated from Region IV-A or CALABARZON of the Philippines. Meanwhile, *** percent of OFWs in that period came from MIMAROPA.

Philippines OFWs: Asia data was reported at 1,670.083 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,586.626 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: Asia data is updated yearly, averaging 1,576.095 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,053.033 Number th in 2015 and a record low of 756.000 Number th in 2000. Philippines OFWs: Asia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Philippines OFWs: Europe data was reported at 182.191 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 176.844 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: Europe data is updated yearly, averaging 162.722 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 193.140 Number th in 2012 and a record low of 89.000 Number th in 1999. Philippines OFWs: Europe data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

During the fourth quarter of 2024, *** percent of the surveyed households in the Philippines had a member who was or had been an overseas Filipino worker (OFW). The share of households with OFW has been fluctuating during the observed timeline.

Abstract

The Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF) was conducted as a rider to the October 2008 Labor Force Survey (LFS).

The survey was designed to gather national estimates on the number of overseas workers, their socio economic characteristics and other information pertaining to the overseas workers who worked or have worked abroad from April to September 2008. The remittances of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in cash or in kind were also accounted for the specified reference period. The SOF data are useful inputs to government planners, migrant advocates, researchers, academes, concerned citizens, and other data users to the formulation of policies and programs for the welfare of the overseas Filipino.

Geographic coverage

The geographic coverage consists of the country's 17 administrative regions defined in Executive Order (EO) 36 and 131. The 17 regions are:

National Capital Region (NCR) Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) Region I - Ilocos Region Region II - Cagayan Valley Region III - Central Luzon Region IV-A - CALABARZON Region IV-B - MIMAROPA Region V - Bicol Region Region VI - Western Visayas Region VII - Central Visayas Region VIII - Eastern Visayas Region IX - Zamboanga Peninsula Region X - Northern Mindanao Region XI - Davao Region Region XII - SOCCSKSARGEN Caraga Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)

Analysis unit

Individuals

Universe

Overseas Filipinos whose departure occured within the last five years and who are working or had worked abroad during the past six months (April to September) of the survey period.

For purposes of this survey, overseas workers are the following:

Filipino overseas contract workers (OCW) who are presently and temporarily out of the country to fulfill an overseas work contract for a specific length of time or who are presently at home on vacation but still has an existing contract to work abroad. They may be landbased or seabased.

Landbased workers ? these are overseas contract workers who are hired either by direct hiring of an employer abroad; or through the assistance of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA); or through a private and licensed recruitment agency. They may have returned to the Philippines for a vacation (annual or emergency leave), or have transferred to other employers, or were rehired by their former employer.

Seabased workers ? these are overseas contract workers who worked or are working in any kind of international fishing/passenger/cargo vessels. Included also are OCWs who worked or are working for a shipping company abroad.

Other Filipino workers abroad with a valid working visa or work permits. Included also are crew members of airplanes such as pilots, stewards, stewardesses, etc. example: Filipinos working in countries such as U.S., Taiwan, Saipan, etc. with a working visa.

Filipinos abroad who are holders of other types of non-immigrant visa such as tourist/visitor, student, medical and others but are presently employed and working full time.

Persons not considered as overseas workers are:

Filipinos whose place of employment is outside the Philippines but whose employer is the Philippine government. Examples are Filipinos who worked or are working in Philippine embassies, missions and consulates abroad.

Filipinos who are sent abroad by the Philippine government or by private institutes for training, scholarship or any other similar purpose, even if they are known to be working abroad. Note that students who are sent abroad by private individual who are working or had worked there are excluded in this category.

Filipinos working in other countries who are hired as consultants/advisers of International organization such as the United Nations International Monetary Fund, etc.

Immigrants to other countries even though they are working abroad.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The Survey on Overseas Filipinos, as a rider to the Labor Force Survey (LFS), used the sampling design of the 2003 Master Sample (MS) for Household Surveys starting July 2003. The design of the Master Sample is described below:

1. Domain The 2003 MS considers the country's 17 administrative regions as its sampling domain. A domain is referred to as a subdivision of the country in which estimates with adequate level of precision is generated. It must be noted that while there is demand for data at the provincial level (and to some extent municipal and barangay levels), these were not treated as domain because of its large number (more than 80) and the large resource requirement it would entail.

2. Sampling Frame As in most household surveys, the 2003 MS made use of an area sample design. For this purpose, the Enumeration Area Reference File (EARF) of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing (CPH) was utilized as sampling frame. The EARF contains the number of households by enumeration area (EA) in each barangay.

This frame was used to form the primary sampling units (PSUs). With consideration of the period for which the 2003 MS will be in use, the PSUs were formed/defined as a barangay or a combination of barangays with at least 500 households.

1. Sample Size The 2003 MS consists of a sample of 2,835 PSUs of which 330 were certainty PSUs and 2,505 were non-certainty PSUs. The entire MS was divided into four sub-samples or independent replicates, such as a quarter sample contains one fourth of the PSUs found in one replicate; a half sample contains one-half of the PSUs in two replicates. The SOF as a rider to the LFS utilizes the full sample.

2. Stratification The 2003 MS considers the 17 regions of the country as the primary strata. Within each region, further stratification was performed using geographic groupings such as provinces, highly urbanized cities (HUCs), and independent component cities (ICCs). Within each of these substrata formed within regions, the PSUs were further stratified, to the extent possible, using the proportion of strong houses (PSTRONG), indicator of engagement in agriculture of the area (AGRI), and a measure of per capita income as stratification factors (PERCAPITA).

PSTRONG is defined to be the percentage of occupied housing units that are classified as made of strong materials in terms of both the roof and outer walls, based on the data from the 2000 CPH. A roof is considered made of strong material if it is made of either galvanized iron, aluminum, concrete/clay tile, half galvanized-half concrete, or asbestos. The outer wall is considered made of strong material if it is made of concrete, brick, stone, wood, half concrete-half wood, galvanized iron, asbestos or glass.

AGRI was determined in the following way: initially, an indicator variable was computed at the barangay level. That variable has the value 1 if more than 50 percent of the households in the barangay were engaged in agriculture or fisheries and 0 otherwise, based on the 2000 CPH Barangay Schedule. To obtain a measure at the PSU level, a weighted average of the barangay indicator variable was computed for all the barangays within the PSU, weighted by the total number of households in the barangay. Thus, the value of AGRI at the PSU level lies between 0 and 1.

PERCAPITA is defined as the total income of the municipality divided by the total population in that municipality. Note that the PERCAPITA value of the PSUs is the same if the PSUs are in the same municipality. The data on municipal income refer to year 2000 and were taken from the Department of Finance. However, if the 2000 municipal income was not reported to the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), 2001 income was used. If no 2000 or 2001 municipal income was reported, the income classification from the BLGF for this municipality was obtained. Using the data on income, which are presented in income intervals, the average of the lower and the upper values of the income interval for the municipal class to which this municipality belongs were determined.

1. Sample Selection

The 2003 MS consists of a sample of 2,835 PSUs. The entire MS was divided into four sub-samples or independent replicates, such as a quarter sample contains one fourth of the total PSUs; a half sample contains one-half of the four subsamples or equivalent to all PSUs in two replicates.

The final number of sample PSUs for each domain was determined by first classifying PSUs as either self-representing (SR) or non-self-representing (NSR). In addition, to facilitate the selection of subsamples, the total number of NSR PSUs in each region was adjusted to make it a multiple of 4.

SR PSUs refers to a very large PSU in the region/domain with a selection probability of approximately 1 or higher and is outright included in the MS; it is properly treated as a stratum; also known as certainty PSU. NSR PSUs refers to a regular too small sized PSU in a region/domain; also known as non certainty PSU. The 2003 MS consists of 330 certainty PSUs and 2,505 non-certainty PSUs.

To have some control over the sub-sample size, the PSUs were selected with probability proportional to some estimated measure of size. The size measure refers to the total number of households from the 2000 CPH. Because of the wide variation in PSU sizes, PSUs with selection probabilities greater than 1 were identified and were included in the sample as certainty selections.

At the second stage, enumeration areas (EAs) were selected within sampled PSUs, and at the third stage, housing units were selected within sampled EAs. Generally, all households in sampled housing units were enumerated, except for few cases when the number of households in a housing unit exceeds three. In which case, a sample of three households in a sampled housing unit was selected at random with equal

Philippines OFWs: Asia: Southeast & South Central: Malaysia data was reported at 27.488 Number th in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 21.903 Number th for 2021. Philippines OFWs: Asia: Southeast & South Central: Malaysia data is updated yearly, averaging 43.675 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 80.751 Number th in 2015 and a record low of 21.903 Number th in 2021. Philippines OFWs: Asia: Southeast & South Central: Malaysia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Preliminary figures for 2024 have shown that there were about *** million overseas workers from the Philippines who were rehired. Meanwhile, over ******* were newly hired migrant workers.

Preliminary figures for 2024 have shown that there were about ******* sea-based overseas workers from the Philippines, down from the previous year. Overall, there were more land-based overseas workers compared to those with sea-based employment.

Philippines OFWs: 25-29 data was reported at 332.076 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 329.840 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: 25-29 data is updated yearly, averaging 435.357 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 631.326 Number th in 2015 and a record low of 212.000 Number th in 1999. Philippines OFWs: 25-29 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Preliminary figures for 2024 have shown that there were about **** million land-based overseas workers from the Philippines, up from the previous year. Overall, there were more land-based overseas workers compared to those with sea-based employment.

Philippines OFWs: Elementary Occupations data was reported at 885.306 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 872.227 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: Elementary Occupations data is updated yearly, averaging 705.866 Number th from Dec 2001 (Median) to 2023, with 22 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 885.306 Number th in 2023 and a record low of 342.000 Number th in 2002. Philippines OFWs: Elementary Occupations data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Between April and September 2023, **** percent of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were females, while **** percent were males. Most OFWs were between the ages of 30 and 34 years, and the Saudi Arabia was the most popular destination for OFWs during this period.

Philippines OFWs: Female data was reported at 1,198.306 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,134.935 Number th for 2022. Philippines OFWs: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 1,043.650 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,283.523 Number th in 2018 and a record low of 451.000 Number th in 2000. Philippines OFWs: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

OFWs: Asia: East: Japan data was reported at 97.048 Number th in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 56.939 Number th for 2022. OFWs: Asia: East: Japan data is updated yearly, averaging 86.020 Number th from Dec 1999 (Median) to 2023, with 24 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 115.640 Number th in 2004 and a record low of 56.939 Number th in 2022. OFWs: Asia: East: Japan data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G044: Overseas Filipino Workers.

Domestic cleaners and helpers accounted for the highest number of newly hired land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), with about 117,000 workers according to the preliminary figures for 2024. Meanwhile, over 8,000 newly hired nurses were deployed to work abroad in the same year.

Philippines Overseas Filipinos: Permanent: World data was reported at 4,869,766.000 Person in 2013. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4,925,797.000 Person for 2012. Philippines Overseas Filipinos: Permanent: World data is updated yearly, averaging 3,407,967.000 Person from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2013, with 17 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4,925,797.000 Person in 2012 and a record low of 2,153,967.000 Person in 1997. Philippines Overseas Filipinos: Permanent: World data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Commission on Filipinos Overseas. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Philippines – Table PH.G020: Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos. The Stock Estimate is the aggregate of all Filipinos residing or working overseas at a given time. It included the permanent, temporary and irregular migrants · Permanent migrants- immigrants and legal permanent residents abroad, Filipinos naturalized in their host country, Filipino dual citizens · Temporary Migrants/Contract Worker- land-based and sea-based Filipino workers and others whose stay abroad is six month or more, and their accompanying dependents · Irregular Migrants- Filipinos not properly documented residence or work permits, in a foreign country