9.45 million overseas Filipinos in 217 countries, territories

[B]By COMMISSION ON FILIPINOS OVERSEAS[/B] [I]Philippine Government[/I]

The Stock Estimate of Filipinos Overseas is the aggregate of all Philippine-born Filipinos, residing or working overseas. It categorizes overseas Filipinos into permanent, temporary and irregular migrants.

Permanent migrants include immigrants, dual citizens or legal permanent residents abroad, whose stay do not depend on work contracts.

Temporary migrants include those whose stay overseas is employment related, and who are expected to return at the end of their work contracts. Though most temporary migrants are overseas Filipino workers, they also include students, trainees, entrepreneurs, businessmen, and others whose stay abroad is six months or more, and their accompanying dependents. Irregular migrants are those not properly documented or without valid residence or work permits, or who are overstaying in a foreign country.

The passage of Republic Act 10022 amending the Migrant Workers and Other Filipinos Act and its implementing rules in 2010, expanded the definition of the term overseas Filipinos to refer “to migrant workers, other Filipino nationals and their dependents abroad.”

The following are the highlights of the 2010 Stock Estimate:

– According to the International Organization for Migration’s World Migration Report 2010, the number of international migrants was estimated at 214 million in 2010. About 4 percent of this number or 9.45 million are overseas Filipinos in about 217 countries and territories.

– The permanent migrants (47 percent or 4.42 million) comprise the largest category of overseas Filipinos, followed closely by temporary migrants (45 percent or 4.32 million). The irregular migrants (8 percent or 704,916) constitute the smallest category. Compared with last year’s data, the number of permanent and temporary and irregular migrants increased by 9 percent, 12 percent, and 8 percent, respectively.

– Compared with 2000 data, the number of permanent and temporary migrants increased by 73 percent and 45 percent, respectively while the irregular migrants decreased by 62 percent.

– The breakdown of Filipino overseas by continent/region: Americas and trust territories, 3.88 million or 41 percent; West Asia or Middle East, 2.85 million or 30 percent; Southeast Asia, 1.23 million or 13 percent; Europe, 663,889 or 7 percent; Oceania, 400,800 or 4 percent; and Africa, 74,483 or 1 percent. The remaining 4 percent are sea-based workers.

– The top 10 destination countries of Filipinos are the United States (33 percent), Saudi Arabia (16 percent), Canada (7 percent), UAE (7 percent), Australia (4 percent), Malaysia (3 percent), Japan (3 percent), UK (2 percent), Hong Kong (2 percent) and Kuwait (2 percent). All of these countries are also last year’s top 10 destination countries except for Kuwait.

– Based on the 2010 records of the CFO, there were 86,075 who registered as Filipino emigrants. These are Filipinos petitioned by their families and relatives to live permanently overseas, spouses, and other partners of foreign nationals and immigrant workers. Most Filipinos immigrate and settle permanently in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

– Based on the 2010 records of the POEA, 1.47 million Filipinos were deployed to work overseas. Of this figure, 76 percent (1.12 million) were land-based and 24 percent (347,150) were sea-based. OFWs usually work in service, production, and health sectors. Most OFWs are bound for the Middle East and Asia, mainly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Hong Kong, countries that lack local manpower that would sustain their respective economies.

– Irregular migrants could be found mainly in the United States, Malaysia, and Singapore.

– Based on the 2010 records of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, overseas Filipinos remitted US$18.76 billion. In 2011, remittances reached US$20.11 billion. The top three sources of remittances came from the United States, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. These remittances were estimated to account for around 10 percent of the Philippine Gross Domestic Product.

– For the last five years, there is an increasing trend of Filipinos migrating overseas, with an annual average rate of 6 percent.

[I]Sources: The primary sources for the computation of the Stock Estimate are the annual administrative data and estimates of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and Department of Foreign Affairs. The secondary sources are the censuses of host countries, and reports of Filipino communities abroad, among others.

Limitations: No comprehensive data on returning Filipino migrants. The stock estimate does not also completely capture data on Filipinos who are already abroad when they changed immigration status or when they migrated to another country. [/I]