Persons with functional difficulty posted at 8.7 percent

1. Of the 97.60 million household population five years old and over, nearly nine in every 100 persons (8.7%) had at least one domain of functional difficulty, that is, any of the six functional domains of seeing, hearing, walking or climbing steps, remembering or concentrating, self-caring (washing all over or dressing) or communicating. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

2. Based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH), 8,469,426 persons five years old and over reported to have difficulty in functioning in at least one of the said six domains. (Table 1)

3. Among the 17 administrative regions, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) had the highest number of persons with functional difficulty in at least one domain, with 1,158,034 persons. It was followed by Region III (Central Luzon) with 1,046,090 persons and the National Capital Region (NCR) with 958,859 persons. (Table 1)

4. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), on the other hand, had the lowest number of persons with at least one domain of functional difficulty, with 128,410 persons.

More females than males have at least one domain of functional difficulty

5. Of the 8.5 million household population aged five years and over with at least one domain of functional difficulty, females accounted for 55.6 percent, while males comprised the remaining 44.4 percent. These figures resulted in a sex ratio of 80 males for every 100 females with at least one domain of functional difficulty. (Figure 2 and Table 2)

6. Females out proportioned males in all domains of functional difficulty. Sex differential was most pronounced among those with functional difficulty in remembering and concentrating (58.3% were females and 41.7% were males), followed by those with functional difficulty in seeing (57.4% were females and 42.6% were males). The smallest sex differential was observed among those with functional communication difficulty (50.4% were females and 49.6% were males). (Figure 3)

7. Except in age groups 5 to 9 years and 10 to 14, females in all age groups outnumbered males in having at least one functional difficulty.  The age group 60 to 64 years old has the highest number of persons with at least one functional difficulty while those in age group 5 to 9 has the lowest. (Table 2)

Difficulty in seeing, even when wearing glasses, is the most common domain of functional difficulty

8. Of the 8.47 million household population aged five years and over with at least one domain of functional difficulty, 78.3 percent reported having difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses. (Table 3)

Moreover, those with difficulty in walking or climbing steps comprised 22.4 percent; with difficulty in hearing, even when using a hearing aid (21.1%); with difficulty in remembering or concentrating (16.4%); with difficulty in self-caring (7.6%); and with difficulty in communicating using their usual (customary) language (7.4%). (Table 3)

Almost nine in every ten persons have mild functional difficulty

9. Of the 8.47 million persons with at least one domain of functional difficulty, about 86.0 percent were reported to have mild cases; 9.9 percent had moderate cases, and 4.1 percent had severe cases. (Table 4)

10. Mild case was highest among those with functional difficulty in seeing (6.14 million cases), followed by those with difficulty in hearing (1.53 million cases), difficulty in walking or climbing steps (1.47 million cases), and difficulty in remembering or concentrating (1.17 million cases). (Table 4)

11. Among moderate cases, those with functional difficulty in seeing were also the highest (412,328 cases), followed by those with difficulty in walking or climbing steps (288,188 cases), and those with difficulty in hearing (198,344 cases). (Table 4)

12. Severe case of functional difficulty, on the other hand, was highest among those with difficulty in self-caring (150,643 cases), followed by those with difficulty in walking or climbing steps (135,814 cases), and difficulty in communicating (122,027 cases). (Table 4)

Severe cases of functional difficulty are most prevalent among females aged 80 years and over

13. Severe cases of functional difficulty were most common among the elderly (60 years old and over) and children aged 5 to 14. Of the 345,305 severe cases of functional difficulty, persons aged 80 years and above posted the highest prevalence rate (59,971 or 17.4%). By sex, the prevalence rate in this age group 80 years and over was more pronounced among females (24.0%) than among males (10.1%).

The next highest prevalence rate of severe cases was observed in children aged 5 to 9 years (24,498 cases or 7.1%). However, the prevalence rate of severe cases among persons in this age group was slightly higher among males (13,635 or 8.3%) than among females (10,863 or 6.0%). (Table 5 and Figure 5)

14. Of the total 840,194 moderate cases, persons aged 80 years and over posted the highest prevalence rate (139,245 or 16.6%). It was followed by those in the age groups 70 to 74 years (85,951 or 10.2%), 65 to 69 years (83,280 or 9.9%), 60 to 64 years (80,588 or 9.6%), and 75 to 79 years (77,106 or 9.2%).

By sex, the prevalence rate of moderate cases among the elderly population was higher among females aged 70 years and over. However, the males had a higher prevalence rate among those below 70 years old. (Table 5 and Figure 5)

15. Mild cases of functional difficulty were observed to be highest among persons aged 50 to 69 years. Persons 60 to 64 years old posted the highest prevalence rate (12.6%), followed by those in the age groups 55 to 59 years (12.3%), 50 to 54 years (12.1%), and 65 to 69 years (10.5%).

By sex, the prevalence rate of mild cases was slightly higher among males than among females in the said age groups. (Table 5 and Figures 5, 6 and 7)

For the 2020 CPH, the data on functional difficulty of the household members five years and over were collected by asking the respondents whether each member have difficulty in seeing, even if wearing eyeglasses; hearing, even if using a hearing aid; walking or climbing steps; remembering or concentrating; self-caring; and/or communicating using their usual language.

The statistics presented in this report were based on the information provided by the respondent or any responsible household member who provided answers to the questions and gave correct information about all the household members.

The questions cover six functional domains: seeing, hearing, walking, cognition, self-care, and communication. Each question has four response categories: (1) No, no difficulty, (2) Yes, some difficulty, (3) Yes, a lot of difficulty and (4) Cannot do it at all.

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General