In the Philippines, More Women Achieve Higher Levels of Education Than Men

Literacy rate continued to improve in the Philippines, based on the results of the most recent census conducted by the Philippines Statistics Authority. Of the country’s total 97.6 million household population, 97 percent, or 94.63 million individuals, were found to be literate. This is a 1.2 percentage point increase compared to the 95.8 percent literacy rate in 2015.

In the PSA’s Census of Population and Housing, a person is considered literate if he or she is able to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect.

ALSO READ

Data Science Is the Career of the Future. Here Are 5 Schools That Offer Courses Related to It

Which Law Schools Have Produced the Most Philippine Bar Topnotchers?

In terms of literacy rate, the Philippines remained at about the same level as most of our neighbors in Southeast Asia, like Indonesia (96 percent), Singapore (97 percent), Malaysia (95 percent), Thailand (94 percent), and Vietnam (96 percent), according to data from the World Bank.  

The census also found that literacy rate in 2020 was slightly higher among females (97.1 percent) than among males (96.8 percent), carrying over the same findings from 2015.

In a breakdown of literacy rate by region, residents of the NCR were found to have the highest literacy rate at 98.9 percent. Aside from the NCR, seven other regions had a literacy rate higher than the national rate (97 percent); these are Region I (Ilocos Region) at 98.6 percent, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) at 98.5 percent), Region III (Central Luzon) 98.3 percent, Region II (Cagayan Valley) at 98 percent), Region VI (Western Visayas) at 97.7 perent, Region V (Bicol Region) at 97.4 percent, and Region VII (Central Visayas) at 97.1 percent.

At the end of the spectrum, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the lowest literacy rate at 86.4 percent.

Interestingly, the census revealed that there are more women than men who have achieved higher levels of education. Of those who have completed a college or academic degree, 25.6 percent were female, versus 21.3 male. Similarly, more females (0.4 percent) than males (0.3 percent) had completed post baccalaureate courses.

Meanwhile, in terms of academic level, the census found that 38.6 percent had reached or completed at most high school or secondary level (graduate: 21.7 percent; undergraduate: 16.8 percent), 29.5 percent had reached or completed at most elementary level (graduate: 9.5 percent; undergraduate: 20 percent), and 23.4 percent had reached or completed at most college level (graduate: 13.5 percent; undergraduate: 10 percent. Only about 0.3 percent had (around 327,000) reached or completed post baccalaureate level.

Of the 13.13 million college graduates in 2020, 17.6 percent (or about one in six) had a degree in Education Science. Other popular college courses were Management and Administration (15.1 percent); Database and Network Design and Administration (6.6 percent); Nursing and Midwifery (6.4 percent); and Hotel, Restaurants, and Catering (5.6 percent).

The three most popular courses attended or completed by the 5.7 million male academic degree holders were Management and Administration (11.9 percent); Education Science (8.7 percent); and Database and Network Design and Administration (8.6 percent). 

On the other hand, among the 7.4 million female college graduates, the three most popular academic degrees courses were Education Science (24.5 percent); Management and Administration (17.5 percent); and Nursing and Midwifery (8.7 percent).

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority.