Count of Overseas Filipino Workers was Estimated at 2.16 Million
The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) or Filipino workers who worked abroad from April to September 2023 was estimated at 2.16 million, an increase of 9.8 percent from the previous year’s estimated number of 1.96 million. Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs) or Filipino workers with existing work contracts, comprised majority or 98.1 percent of the total OFWs during the period. (Table 1 and Figure 1)
Other OFWs who were employed and working full time without a working visa or work permit, or uses other types of non-immigrant visas, such as a tourist, visitor, student, and medical visa, accounted for the remaining 1.9 percent of OFWs who worked abroad from April to September 2023. (Table 1)
Majority or 55.6 percent of OFWs were Female
Among the total number of OFWs who worked abroad from April to September 2023, 1.20 million or 55.6 percent were women. Similarly, in 2022, women comprised a larger share of the OFWs working abroad during the period at 1.14 million or 57.8 percent. (Table 1)
Filipino workers who were 45 years old and over accounted for the biggest number of OFWs who worked abroad in 2023 at 24.1 percent. This was followed by OFWs aged 30-34 years with 23.5 percent and those aged 35-39 years with 18.6 percent. (Table 2)
In terms of age group by sex, male overseas workers who were 45 years old and over comprised the largest share of OFWs at 29.2 percent, 9.2 percentage points more than the females within the same age group. On the other hand, a higher proportion of females were recorded for ages 25 to 44 compared to their male counterparts. (Table 2 and Figure 2)
Four in Every Ten OFWs were in Elementary Occupations1
About four in every ten (41.1%) OFWs in 2023 were engaged in elementary occupations. Service and sales was the second most common occupation among OFWs with 14.7 percent of the total OFWs during the period, followed by those working as plant and machine operators and assemblers at 12.1 percent. (Table 2)
By sex, among the 1.20 million female OFWs, majority or 64.1 percent were engaged in elementary occupations1, followed by those working as service and sales workers at 14.1 percent. Among the 958 thousand male OFWs in 2023, the most common occupation was plant and machine operators and assemblers at 25.4 percent. This was followed by those who worked as technicians and associate professionals and as service and sales workers, which comprised 17.4 percent and 15.4 percent of the male OFWs, respectively. (Table 2 and Figure 3)
1Elementary occupations involve the performance of simple and routine tasks which may require the use of hand-held tools and considerable physical effort. It includes: cleaning, restocking supplies and performing basic maintenance in apartments, houses, kitchens, hotels, offices and other buildings; washing of cars and windows; helping in kitchens and performing simple tasks in food preparations; delivering messages or goods; carrying luggages and handling baggages, etc.
The Largest Proportion of OFWs Came From CALABARZON
Across the country’s 17 regions, OFWs from CALABARZON comprised the largest share of OFWs, accounting for 19.0 percent of all OFWs who worked abroad in 2023. This was followed by OFWs from Region III and National Capital Region with shares of 15.2 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. (Table 2 and Figure 4)
Across the major island areas, majority of OFWs at 65.9 percent were from Luzon. OFWs who came from Mindanao was estimated at 17.6 percent, while those from the Visayas Region comprised 16.5 percent of the total OFW population in 2023. (Table 3)
Saudi Arabia was the Leading Destination of OFWs
In 2023, the distribution of OFWs across countries worldwide indicated Asia (77.4%), North and South America (9.8%), Europe (8.4%), Australia (3.0%), and Africa (1.3%) were the leading five destinations for OFWs.
Among Asian countries, Saudi Arabia was the leading destination, accounting for 20.0 percent of the total OFWs in 2023, followed by United Arab Emirates at 13.6 percent. Singapore had the least number of OFWs working abroad at 3.9 percent of the total OFWs in 2023. (Table 5 and Figure 5)
Total Remittances Reached PhP 239 Billion in 2023
Of the estimated 2.16 million OFWs, 37.3 percent sent cash remittances amounting to PhP 40 thousand to less than PhP 100 thousand. Moreover, 30.9 percent remitted at least PhP 100 thousand. On the other hand, 12.4 percent of OFWs did not provide cash remittances during the period. (Table 6)
The total remittance sent by OFWs during the period amounted to PhP 238.63 billion. This includes cash sent (PhP 187.11 billion), cash brought home (PhP 44.70 billion), and in kind (PhP 6.81 billion) remittances. (Table 7 and Figure 6)
The average remittance sent by every OFW from April to September 2023 was placed at PhP 123 thousand, higher than the average remittance sent during the same period in 2022, which was valued at PhP 111 thousand. (Table 1 and Table 7)
Of the PhP 187.11 billion cash remittance of the OFWs sent to the country, PhP 129.20 billion or 69.1 percent of the cash remittances were from OFWs working in Asian countries. (Table 8)
Banks were the Most Preferred Mode of Sending Cash Remittances
Among modes of remittances, banks had the highest share at 62.2 percent, amounting to PhP 116.47 billion of the total cash remittances sent by the OFWs. This was followed by money transfer services at 36.5 percent, accounting for PhP 68.30 billion of all cash remittances.
A collective share of 1.3 percent or 2.34 billion of the cash remittances sent by Filipinos working in other countries were through agency and/or local office of the OFW, friends/co-worker, door to door, etc. (Table 9)
(Sgd.) CLAIRE DENNIS S. MAPA, PhD
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General
See more at the Survey on Overseas Filipinos page
