One in two women belonged to the reproductive age group

Of the 37.9 million women in the Philippines, 51 percent belonged to the reproductive age group, that is, 15 to 49 years. This was the same proportion (51 percent) as in the 1995 census and slightly higher than in 1990 (50 percent). Detailed distribution by age group revealed that women aged 15 to 19 years comprised 20.6 percent; 20 to 24 years, 18.3 percent; 25 to 29 years, 15.6 percent; 30 to 34 years, 14.2 percent; 35 to 39 years, 12.4 percent; 40 to 44 years, 10.6 percent; and 45 to 49 years, 8.4 percent.

Women aged 15 to 49 years had a median age of 29 years. This meant that half of these women were below 29 years old. In 1995 and 1990 censuses, a lower median age (28 years) for women 15 to 49 years was reported.

About 16 percent of women 15 to 49 years old were from Region IV

Of the 19 million women aged 15 to 49 years, 15.7 percent were from Region IV and 15.1 percent from the National Capital Region (NCR). Caraga and CAR had only 2.5 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

 

Table A. Number and Proportion of Women 15 to 49 Years Old by Region: Philippines, 2000

Region	Total Women	Proportion of Women to Total Women Population	Proportion of Women to Total Regional Population
PHILIPPINES	19,339,294	100.00	51.0
NCR (National Capital Region)	2,925,072	15.1	58.1
CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region)	338,581	1.8	50.7
REGION I - Ilocos Region	1,037,241	5.4	49.6
REGION II - Cagayan Valley	684,948	3.5	50.0
REGION III - Central Luzon	2,083,325	10.8	52.3
REGION IV - Southern Tagalog	3,034,200	15.7	51.9
REGION V - Bicol Region	1,044,118	5.4	45.6
REGION VI - Western VIsayas	1,499,359	7.8	48.7
REGION VII - Central Visayas	1,406,296	7.3	49.6
REGION VIII - Eastern Visayas	789,276	4.1	44.7
REGION IX - Western Mindanao	748,777	3.9	49.2
REGION X - Northern Mindanao	672,758	3.5	49.9
REGION XI - Southern Mindanao	1,304,397	6.7	51.4
REGION XII - Central Mindanao	649,133	3.4	50.6
ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)	634,922	3.3	52.0
Caraga	481,681	2.5	47.1

Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

In terms of the population of women in the different regions, NCR (58.1 percent) had the highest proportion of women of reproductive age, followed by Region III and ARMM with 52.3 percent and 52.0 percent, respectively.

More than one-half of women 15 to 49 years old were married

Of the 19 million women aged 15 to 49 years in the Philippines, 37.5 percent were single, 52.7 percent married, 1.9 percent widowed, 1.4 percent divorced/separated, and 5.5 percent had other marital arrangements.

Among single women, nearly half (48.5 percent) were 15 to 19 years old while 27.6 percent were 20 to 24 years old. About three percent of women were still single at the age of 35 to 39 years, two percent at 40 to 44 years, and 1.4 percent at 45 to 49 years.

Four in five women of reproductive age were Roman Catholics

Islam, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Aglipay followed at 5.2 percent, 2.4 percent, and 1.8 percent, respectively.

 

Most women 15 to 49 years old headed a household with less than five members

Of the total 19 million women 15 to 49 years old, only 4.3 percent or a total of 829 thousand women headed a household. Moreover, of the total households in the country, female-headed households accounted for 5.4 percent. Most of these women (61.9 percent) headed a household with less than five members, and only eight percent headed a household with at least eight households members.

 

Table B. Number of Women 15 to 49 Years Old who were regarded as Head of the Household by Household Size and Age Group: Philippines, 2000

Age Group	Total	Household Size
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8 and Over
Philippines	829,356	82,210	131,213	151,751	87,020	116,005	81,270	52,159	66,686
15 - 19	15,514	4,547	4,511	2,699	1,568	870	503	338	478
20 - 24	61,015	12,120	16,395	14,139	9,120	4,372	2,208	1,238	1,423
25 - 29	90,642	13,373	19,912	20,367	16,519	9,871	5,352	2,675	2,573
30 - 34	123,593	12,806	19,969	23,691	24,115	18,192	11,857	6,605	6,358
35 - 39	146,848	12,271	20,236	25,397	27,180	22,746	16,356	10,483	12,179
40 - 44	188,315	12,990	23,275	30,878	33,815	29,555	22,189	15,050	20,563
45 - 49	203,429	14,103	26,915	34,580	35,745	30,399	22,805	15,770	23,112

Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Two out of five women of reproductive age reached high school

Nearly 40 percent of women 15 to 49 years old in the Philippines reached high school at most. This was higher compared to men of the same age group (38.8 percent). Those who attended/completed elementary accounted for 25.6 percent; college undergraduates, 16.3 percent; academic degree holders, 7.1 percent; and had post baccalaureate courses, 0.6 percent.

 

Fig. 3

 

Among women who reached high school, about 30 percent were aged 15 to 19 years and 17.8 percent were 20 to 24 years.

Literacy rate at 94.7 percent

Women aged 15 to 49 years recorded a literacy rate of 94.7 percent, higher when compared to that of their male counterparts (94 percent). Region-wise, NCR recorded the highest literacy rate of 98.7 percent. Region I and Region III followed with 97.7 percent and 96.6 percent, respectively. On the other hand, Region IX (88.1 percent) and ARMM (70.8 percent) recorded the lowest literacy rate.

Among men aged 15 to 49 years, NCR recorded the highest literacy rate of 98.7 percent. Region I and Region III followed with 97.1 percent and 96.1 percent, respectively.

Ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years recorded a literacy rate of 93.8 percent and had an average of 2.8 children ever-born. On the other hand, the average number of children ever-born to an illiterate woman was higher at 3.5.

Among literate ever-married women, 52 percent had one to three children while 11.2 percent were still childless by the end of their reproductive life (45 to 49 years old).

About 14 percent of women 15 to 49 years old were professionals

About 48 percent of women 15 to 49 years were engaged in gainful activities and 52 percent in non-gainful activities.

Among women in gainful activities, 26.2 percent were laborers and unskilled workers; 14.1 percent were professionals; and 13.5 percent were farmers, forestry workers, and fishermen.

 

Fig.4

 

Among laborers and unskilled workers, 84.9 percent were engaged in sales and services elementary occupations and 9.3 percent in agricultural, forestry, fishery and related occupations. As to those in the professionals category, teaching professions posted 51 percent while life science and health professions posted 24.2 percent.

Among women in non-gainful activities, 67.7 percent were housekeepers and 32 percent were students.

In 1990, three out of ten (31.1 percent) women worked as laborers and unskilled workers, 13 percent as professionals, and 9.7 percent as clerks.

More than half of ever-married women were engaged in gainful activities

Marriage is not a hindrance to a woman's career. About 56 percent of ever-married women were engaged in gainful activities and 43.7 percent in non-gainful activities.

Among ever-married women 15 to 49 years old engaged in gainful activities, 24.2 percent were laborers and unskilled workers (28.9 percent in 1990). There were twice as much ever-married women (16.4 percent) who worked as farmers, forestry workers and fishermen in 2000 than in 1990 (8.7 percent). Professionals on the other hand, decreased from 17.6 percent in 1990 to 15.4 percent in 2000. Service workers and market sales workers increased to 11.6 percent from 7.2 percent in 1990.

 

Table C. Number and Proportion of Ever-Married Women 15 to 49 Years Old by Major Occupation Group: Philippines, 1990 and 2000

Major Occupation	1990	Percent	2000	Percent
PHILIPPINES	1,973,857	100.00	3,076,017	100.00
Officials of the Government and Special Interest Organizations, Corporate  Executives, Managers, Managing Proprietors, and Supervisors	191,843	9.7	105,849	3.4
Professionals	347,922	17.6	474,906	15.4
Technicians and Associates Professionals	65,829	3.3	130,387	4.2
Clerks	206,454	10.5	321,273	10.4
Service Workers and Shop and Market Sales Workers	142,697	7.2	357,965	11.6
Farmers, Forestry Workers and Fishermen	171,484	8.7	504,186	16.4
Trades and Related Workers	238,839	12.1	277,373	9.0
Plant and Machine Operators and Assemblers	27,521	1.4	81,447	2.6
Laborers and Unskilled Workers	570,487	28.9	745,054	24.2
Special Occupations	10,781	0.5	77,577	2.5

Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

The average number of children ever-born for every working ever-married woman 15 to 49 years old in the Philippines was 2.5. Ever-married women who worked as farmers, forestry workers and fishermen had a higher average number of children ever-born (3.16) than laborers and unskilled workers, and service workers and market sales workers (3.0) and professionals (2.2).

The average number of children ever-born for every non-working ever-married woman 15 to 49 years old in the Philippines was 3.1. Among these women, about 52.6 percent had one to three children, 31.4 percent had four to seven children, 4.7 percent had more than 8 children, and 11.3 percent were childless.

About 2.5 percent of females 15 to 49 years old were overseas workers

The proportion of women aged 15 to 49 years working abroad to total women 15 to 49 years old was 2.49 percent. Moreover, the proportion of women in the same age group working abroad to total overseas workers was 78.1 percent.

Among overseas women 15 to 49 years old, more than one-third (36.7 percent) had attended/completed high school, one-fifth (20.8 percent) were college undergraduates, 12.8 percent had attended/completed elementary, 12.3 percent were college graduates, and less than one percent with post baccalaureate courses.

Overseas women 15 to 49 years old had a median age of 30 years. This meant that half of the overseas women were below 30 years old. On the other hand, male overseas workers of the same age group had a median age of 34 years.

 

Fig. 5

 

Average age at first marriage was 19 years

Ever-married women 15 to 49 years old in the Philippines recorded an average age at first marriage of 19 years, compared to 21 years in 1990.

Of the 12 million ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years, 12 percent got married before they reached the legal age of marriage (18 years old). On the other hand, 70.2 percent got married at the age of 18 to 29 years and 4.5 percent at 30 years and above.

Majority of the regions recorded an average age at first marriage of 19 years, except in the National Capital Region, Region VIII, and Region IX where the average was 18 years. Cordillera Administrative Region and Region VI had 20 years, and ARMM had the lowest at 16 years.

In Luzon, about 10.4 percent of ever-married women got married before they reached the legal age of marriage, 70.4 percent at the age of 18 to 29 years, and 4.8 percent at 30 years and above.

 

Fig. 6

 

On the other hand, in the Visayas Region, 12.1 percent of ever-married women got married before reaching 18 years, 71.6 percent at 18 to 29 years, and 4.7 percent at 30 years and above. Likewise, in Mindanao area, 15.8 percent got married before they reached the legal age, 68.6 percent at 18 to 29 years, and 3.5 percent at 30 years and above.

The average age at first marriage of literate women was 21.6 years higher than those who were illiterate at 19.8 years. Also, the average age at first marriage increases as the level of their education increases.

Average number of children ever-born was three

Of the 19.3 million women 15 to 49 years old, 52.7 percent had children (10.2 million). About 20 percent of women 30 to 34 years old had children, 19.1 percent among 35 to 39 years old, 17.7 percent among 25 to 29 years old, and 2.1 percent among 15 to 19 years old. The proportion of women who were still childless by the end of their reproductive life (45 to 49 years old) was 11.5 percent.

Majority (86.3 percent) of women 15 to 49 years old who had children were married, 2.7 percent were widowed, and 1.4 percent were single.

The average number of children ever-born for every ever-married woman 15 to 49 years old in the Philippines was 2.82 children, lower than the average number of children ever-born in 1990 (3.3).

Region V and Caraga recorded the highest average number of children ever-born, both at 3.4. National Capital Region, which is the second biggest region in the country, had the smallest at 2.1 children.

 

Fig. 7

 

Of the 12 million ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years in the Philippines, 15.4 percent had one child, 19 percent had two children, 16.7 percent had three children, and 32.5 percent had four or more children.

Ever-married women with higher level of education had lower number of children ever-born

Women who were college graduates and college undergraduates had an average of 2.1 and 2.2 children ever-born, respectively. On the other hand, women who had no grade completed had an average children of 3.5. Those who reached/completed elementary and high school recorded an average of 3.6 and 2.6 children, respectively, and those with post baccalaureate, 2.3 children.

Ever-married women who were overseas workers had an average of 2.1 children ever-born

Ever-married women 15 to 49 years old who were overseas workers comprised 1.4 percent of the total women 15 to 49 years old. Among them, 37.4 percent had reached/completed high school, 18.6 percent were college undergraduates, 16.2 percent had reached/completed elementary, 10.5 percent were college graduates, and 0.7 percent with post baccalaureate courses.

The average number of children ever-born by ever-married women who were overseas workers was 2.1, lower than those women who were non-overseas workers (2.8).

The same trend was observed for those ever-married women who were overseas workers and non-overseas workers in terms of the number of children ever-born vis-a-vis the highest grade completed, that is, women with higher level of education, had lesser number of children ever-born.

 

Table D. Average Number of Children Ever-Born of Ever-Married Women 15 to 49 Years Old, Overseas Women Workers and Non-Overseas Women Workers by Highest Grade Completed: Philippines, 2000

Highest Grade Completed	Average Number of Children Ever-Born
	Ever-Married Women (15 to 49 Years Old)	Ever-Married (15 to 49 Years Old) Overseas Workers	Ever-Married (15 to 49 Years Old) Non-Overseas Workers
Philippines	2.82	2.05	2.83
No Grade Completed	3.53	2.71	3.54
Pre-School	2.56	0.68	2.58
Elementary	3.64	2.68	3.65
High School	2.63	2.11	2.64
Post-Secondary	2.07	1.74	2.08
College Undergraduate	2.18	1.82	2.19
Academic Degree Holder	2.10	1.77	2.11
Post-Baccalaureate	2.32	2.02	2.33

Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS

About 66 percent of the households had women aged 15 to 49 years

The number of households with women 15 to 49 years old was 12.8 million or 66.4 percent of the total households. About eight percent of households had women aged 45 to 49 years, 15.6 percent had aged 25 to 29 years, and 20.6 percent with 15 to 19 years old.

Majority of the occupied housing units were made of strong materials ...

Majority of the occupied housing units with at least one woman 15 to 49 years old (68.2 percent) had roofs made of galvanized iron/aluminum, 21.5 percent had cogon/nipa/anahaw, and 4.4 percent had half galvanized iron/half concrete.

As to the construction materials of the outer walls, about 33.0 percent used concrete/brick/stone, 22.7 percent had wood, and 21.1 percent had bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa.

The same pattern was observed for the construction materials of roofs and walls of the housing units with at least one man 15 to 49 years old residing.

Majority of the occupied housing units needed minor repair or no repair at all

Majority (68.3 percent) of the occupied housing units with at least one woman 15 to 49 years old needed minor repair or no repair at all, 19.0 percent needed major repair, and 1.8 percent were under construction. This was the same pattern for the housing units with at least one man 15 to 49 years old residing.

Three out of ten occupied housing units were newly built

As to the year the buildings were built, about 30 percent of occupied housing units with at least one woman 15 to 49 years old residing were built between 1996 to 2000, 22.4 percent between 1991 and 1995, and 4.1 percent as early as 1960.

For housing units with at least one man residing, the proportions were almost the same that is, 30.0 percent of the housing units were newly built, about 22.0 percent between 1991 to 1995, 20.9 percent between 1981 to 1990, and 4.1 percent earlier than 1960.

About 22 percent of occupied housing units had a floor area of 10 to 19 square meters

About 22 percent of the housing units with at least one woman 15 to 49 years residing had a floor area of 10 to 19 square meters. About 20.0 percent had less than 10 square meters, 17.7 percent had 20 to 29 square meters, and only 1.6 percent had more than 200 square meters.

Similar proportions were recorded for housing units with at least one man 15 to 49 years old residing.

 

 

Source:  National Statistics Office
                Manila, Philippines
 
Page last revised:   April 19, 2005