OFWs grew to 2.19M in 2024 —PSA

The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) increased to 2.19 million in 2024, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday.

The number of OFWs last year grew by 1.5% from 2.16 million in 2023.

The PSA said Overseas Contract Workers (OCWs), or Filipino workers with existing work contracts, comprised the majority or 97.9% of the total OFWs in 2024.

Meanwhile, OFWs who were employed and working full time without a working visa or work permit, or used other types of non-immigrant visas, such as a tourist, visitor, student, and medical visa, accounted for the remaining 2.1% of OFWs during the period.

PSA data also showed that 1.25 million or 57.2% of Filipino workers abroad were females.

Similarly, in 2023, females comprised a larger share of the OFWs during the period at 1.20 million or 55.6% of the total.

By age group, OFWs aged 45 years and older comprised the largest share in 2024 at 25.8%, followed by those aged 30 to 34 years at 21.3% and 35 to 39 years at 19.2%.

Moreover, the PSA said that a closer look at the sex distribution showed that among male OFWs, those aged 45 years and older made up the largest share at 30.8%, followed by male OFWs aged 30 to 34 years at 18.6% and 40 to 44 years at 18.5%.

A larger share of female OFWs was recorded in the 30 to 34 age group at 23.3%, followed by those 45 years and over at 22.0%, and 35 to 39 years at 21.0%.

PSA data also revealed that about four in every 10 or 43.6% OFWs in 2024 were engaged in elementary occupations —which involved performance of simple and routine tasks which may require the use of hand-held tools and considerable physical effort. 

The second most common occupation was plant and machine operators and assemblers, comprising 15.4% of all OFWs, according to the PSA.

This was followed by service and sales workers, accounting for 12.7%.

By sex, among the 1.25 million female OFWs, the majority or 68.4% were engaged in elementary occupations, followed by those working as service and sales workers at 12.5%. 

Among the 937,000 male OFWs in 2024, the most common occupation was plant and machine operators and assemblers at 32.8%.

This was followed by those who worked as craft and related trades workers and as service and sales workers, which comprised 14.8% and 12.9% of the male OFWs, respectively.

The PSA said that across the country’s 17 regions, OFWs from CALABARZON comprised the largest share of OFWs, accounting for 20.5% of all OFWs in 2024. 

This was followed by OFWs from Region III (Central Luzon) and Region Vl (Western Visayas) with shares of 11.3% and 9.5%, respectively.

Across the major island groups, the majority of OFWs were from Luzon at 62.9%. 

On the other hand, OFWs who came from Mindanao were estimated at 18.7%, while those from the Visayas Region comprised 18.4% of the total OFWs in 2024.

In 2024, Asia remained the primary destination for OFWs with 74.5% of the total OFWs. 

This was followed by Europe at 10.6%, North and South America at 9.2%, Australia at 4.4%, and Africa at 1.3%, which completed the five global regions where OFWs were located. 

Among Asian countries, Saudi Arabia was the leading destination, accounting for 21.9% of the total OFWs in 2024, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 12.4%. 

On the other hand, Malaysia had the least number of OFWs working abroad at 1.7% of the total OFWs in 2024. 

The PSA said that of the estimated 2.19 million OFWs, 35.9% sent cash remittances from P40,000 to less than P100,000. 

Moreover, 33% of OFWs remitted at least P100,000. 

The PSA added that 11.6% of OFWs did not send cash remittances during the period. 

The total remittance sent by OFWs during the period amounted to P262.20 billion, which included cash sent at P214.31 billion, cash brought home at P40.56 billion, and in kind P7.33 billion remittances. 

The PSA said the average remittance sent by an OFW in 2024 was P129,000, higher than the average remittance sent during the same period in 2023, which was valued at P123,000.

Of the P214.31 billion cash remittances of the OFWs, P133.08 billion or 62.10% were from OFWs working in Asian countries, according to the PSA.

Among modes of remittances, banks had the highest share at 61.1%, amounting to P131.04 billion of the total cash remittances sent by the OFWs. 

This was followed by money transfer services at 37.5%, accounting for P80.39 billion of all cash remittances. 

A collective share of 1.3% or 2.88 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 services, among others. —VAL, GMA Integrated News