The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has announced that there were 2.16 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) last year, an increase of 9.8% compared to the 1.96 million recorded in 2022.
The PSA survey, conducted from April to September 2023, showed that overseas contract workers accounted for the bulk of the total estimate last year at 2.12 million or 98.1%. The remaining 1.9% were individuals working full-time while holding tourist, visitor, student, or medical visas.
Women made up the majority of OFWs last year, totaling 1.20 million.
Forty-five-year-olds and above accounted for the largest proportion of OFWs last year, making up 24.1% of the total.
Further, OFWs were deployed across Asia (77.4%), North and South America (9.8%), Europe (8.4%), Australia (3%), and Africa (1.3%).
Saudi Arabia was the top destination, with 20% of OFWs, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 13.6%.
Meanwhile, PSA data showed that remittances from OFWs went up by 20.8% to P238.63 billion last year from P197.47 billion in 2022.
Banks were the most preferred mode for sending cash remittances, representing 62.2% (P116.47 billion) of the total cash remittances of OFWs.
Next were money transfer services at 36.5% (P68.30 billion), while the 1.3% (P2.34 billion) was sent through the agency, local OFW office, or via friends and co-workers.
