Demographics of overseas Filipino workers
Of the 2.33 million registered overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in 2023, 58 percent were female workers, while the remaining percentage represented male OFWs. The largest share of migrant workers were between the ages of 30 and 34, followed by those 45 years of age and older. In 2022, about 81 percent of OFWs were working in Asia, with the smallest share of workers based in Africa. A 2022 survey revealed that the regions of CALABARZON and Central Luzon were the leading regions of origin for the majority of OFWs.In terms of employment, the largest share of OFWs deployed in 2023 were re-hires who have land-based employment. Nearly half of the proportion of OFWs have elementary occupations such as cleaning, food preparation, and delivery of goods, while less than two percent have managerial positions. Among those who were newly hired land-based OFWs in 2023, the majority of them—about 158,000—were domestic cleaners and helpers. In addition, about 115,000 OFWs in that year worked as domestic housekeepers, while roughly 13,200 nurses were working abroad. On the other hand, about 385,000 Filipinos were deployed as seafarers in 2022, just slightly higher than the previous year. Most of the seafarers deployed in 2023 work with vessels with a Bahamas flag registry, followed by Panama.
