Elderly Population in the Philippines

Population Size of the Philippines: 1903-2000

From 1903, when the first census that counted the population in the entire archipelago
was undertaken, to the latest census of May 2000, the population of the Philippines
increased ten-fold. There were 7.6 million persons counted in the 1903 census while
there were 76.5 million persons in the 2000 census. The 2000 figure is 7.9 million
persons more than the 1995 census count of 68.6 million.
The Philippine population grew at the rate of 2.36 percent annually between 1995 and
2000. This is slightly higher than the annual growth rate during the first half of the
nineties (2.32 percent). The annual population growth rate exhibited a generally
declining trend. The decline appears to have slowed down in the last two decades.
The average annual growth rate during the entire nineties was 2.34 percent, while it
was 2.35 percent in the eighties. More noticeable declines in the growth rate occurred
in the earlier inter-census periods. From 3.0 percent during the fifties and the sixties,
the annual growth rate dropped to 2.75 percent in the 1970-1980 period and further
down to 2.35 percent in the 1980-1990 period.
Table 1. Population and Average Annual Growth Rate, Philippines: 1903-2000

Year

1903
1918
1939
1948
1960
1970
1975
1980
1990
1995
2000

Population
(millions)

7.6
10.3
16.0
19.2
27.1
36.7
42.1
48.1
60.7
68.6
76.5

Average Annual Rate of

Increase Over Previous
Year
(percent)
1.9
2.22
1.91
3.06
3.01
2.78
2.71
2.35
2.32
2.36

Sources: National Statistics Office (NSO), 1903-2000 censuses

Age Structure: 1960-1995

The Philippine population is young. However, the proportion of the population under
15 years of age, which was recorded at 45.7 percent in the 1960 and 1970 censuses,
exhibited a downward trend, falling to 38.3 percent in 1995 possibly as a result of a
declining fertility. On the other hand, the proportion of the population 60 years old

increased from 4.3 percent in 1960 to 5.4 percent in 1995. The proportion of the
population 15 to 59 years increased from 50.0 percent to 56.2 percent.
Table 2. Percent Distribution of Population by Broad Age Group, Philippines:
1960-1995
Age Group
Total
(millions)
0-14
15-59
60 and over

1960

1970

1980

1990

1995

27.1

36.7

48.1

60.7

68.6

45.7
50.0
4.3

45.7
49.7
4.6

42.0
52.7
5.3

39.6
55.1
5.3

38.3
56.2
5.4

Sources: NSO, 1960-1995 censuses

Male and Female Population 60 Years Old and Over, 1995

The population size of the Philippines, based on the 1995 Census of Population, was
68.6 million persons. Of this number, 5.4 percent or 3.7 million persons were senior
citizens or individuals aged 60 years and over, of which 1.7 million (46.6 percent)
were males and 2.0 million (53.4 percent) were females. These figures translate into a
sex ratio of 87 males age 60 years and over for every 100 females in the same age
group. The predominance of females among senior citizens reflects the fact that
women, in general, live longer than men. By comparison, the males in the national
population in 1995 comprised 50.4 percent, which implies a sex ratio of 101.6 males
for every 100 females (Table 3).
Table 3 also shows that in 1995, there was one male senior citizen for every 20 males
in the national population, while there was one female senior citizen for approximately
every 17 females. Six out of 10 senior citizens were below 70 years, while only 4 out
of 100 were 85 years or older (Appendix Table A).
Table 3. Sex Composition of Population 60 Years and Over in Comparison with National
Figures, Philippines: 1995
Indicator
Proportion of Males (percent)
Proportion of Females (percent)
Sex Ratio (males per 100 females)
% of Senior Citizens to National Population, Both Sexes
% of Senior Citizens to National Population, Males
% of Senior Citizens to National Population, Females

Philippines
50.4
49.6
101.6
-

Senior Citizens
46.6
53.4
87.2
5.5
5.0
5.9

Source: NSO, 1995 Census of Population and Housing

Population 60 Years Old and Over by Region, Province, 1995

Region IV topped the regions in terms of the number of senior citizens. This is to be
expected since it is the biggest region in terms of population size. Region VI ranked
second, while the NCR and Region III, which have the second and third largest
population size, ranked third and fourth, respectively. In terms of the ratio of senior
citizens to the population of the region, Region I ranked first with 77 senior citizens
for every 1000 population. Region VIII (70 per 1000) ranked second, while Region
VI and Region VII (68 per 1000 ) were third. ARMM had the lowest ratio with 24
senior citizens for every 1000 population and CAR had the next lowest (32 per 1000).
All regions in Mindanao had ratios lower than the national figure of 54 per 1000.
(Table 4).
Among the provinces, the ratio of senior citizens to the population of the province was
highest in Siquijor (120 per 1000) and Batanes (106 per 1000). Ratios ranging from
23 to 27 per 1000 were recorded in the provinces of ARMM (Appendix Table A).
Table 4. Distribution of Population 60 Years and Over by Region, Philippines, 1995
Region
Philippines
NCR
CAR
Region I
Region II
Region III
Region IV
Region V
Region VI
Region VII
Region VIII
Region IX
Region X
Region XI
Region XII
ARMM
Caraga

Percent to
Regional
Population

Population 60
Years and Over

Percent to Total
Population 60+

Regional
Population

3,736,622

100.0

68,613,706

5.4

391,293
72,297
294,564
147,418
388,365
511,033
263,467
395,028
341,424
234,216
124,962
125,097
202,883
96,622
48,572
99,381

10.5
1.9
7.9
3.9
10.4
13.7
7.0
10.6
9.1
6.3
3.3
3.4
5.4
2.6
1.3
2.7

9,454,040
1,254,838
3,803,890
2,536,035
6,932,570
9,943,096
4,325,307
5,776,938
5,014,588
3,366,917
2,794,659
2,483,272
4,604,158
2,359,808
2,020,903
1,942,687

4.1
3.2
7.7
5.8
5.6
5.1
6.1
6.8
6.8
7.0
4.5
5.0
4.4
4.1
2.4
5.1

Source: NSO, 1995 Census of Population and Housing

Marital Status Distribution

Of the 3.7 million senior citizens, 64.6 percent were legally married, 28.3 percent were
widowed and 5.1 percent were never married or single. Divorce is not legal in the
Philippines nor is separation a common event. Thus, only 0.8 percent of senior citizens
were reported as divorced or separated. Eight out of ten male senior citizens were
married. By comparison, half of the female senior citizens were married, while about
four out of ten were widowed. The widowed among the male senior citizens
comprised 14.2 percent. These figures provide empirical support to the observation
that women tend to outlive men.

Table 5. Population 60 Years and Over by Marital Status, Philippines: 1995

Marital Status
Philippines

Both Sexes

Male

Female

3,736,622

1,740,568

1,996,054

5.1
64.6
28.3
0.8
1.1
0.1

3.2
80.3
14.2
0.7
1.5
0.1

6.8
50.8
40.5
0.9
0.7
0.2

Single
Legally Married
Widowed
Separated/Divorced
Common-Law/Live-in
Unknown

Source: NSO, 1995 Census of Population and Housing

Population 60 Years and Over With Disability

Among the senior citizens, 345 thousand or 9.2 percent had some type of disability.
Low vision was the most common type of disability of senior citizens, with about four
out of ten suffering from it. The percentage with low vision was higher among female
senior citizens (47.9 percent) than among male senior citizens (39.7 percent). Partial
deafness and partial blindness were the next most common types of disability. Partial
deafness was reported for 13.6 percent of male senior citizens and 12.1 percent of
female senior citizens, while partial blindness for 9.0 percent for each group.
Table 6. Population 60 Years and Over With Disability by Type of Disability,
Philippines: 1995
Type of Disability
Philippines
Total Blindness
Partial Blindness
Low Vision
Total Deafness
Partial Deafness
Poor Hearing Disability
Muteness
Speech Defect
Loss of One or Both Arms/Hands
Loss of One or Both Legs/Feet
Paralysis of One or Both Arms
Paralysis of One or Both Legs
Paralysis of One Arm and One Leg
Paralysis of All Four Limbs
Mental Retardation
Mentall Illness
Others

Both Sexes

Male

Female

345,324

158,622

186,702

4.4
8.9
44.1
4.1
12.8
3.8
0.6
0.8
0.6
0.7
1.4
4.7
4.0
1.3
0.7
1.0
5.9

3.8
9.0
39.7
4.5
13.6
3.9
0.6
0.9
1.0
1.1
2.0
5.5
5.0
1.5
0.6
0.8
6.4

4.9
8.9
47.9
3.8
12.1
3.8
0.6
0.8
0.2
0.5
1.0
4.1
3.1
1.1
0.7
1.2
5.4

Source: NSO, 1995 Census of Population and Housing

Household Heads 60 Years and Over, 1995

Out of 13.5 million households in 1995, 2.14 million or 15.9 percent were headed by
elderly persons. Of these household heads, 71.6 percent were males and 28.4 percent
were females. Elderly women living alone comprised 18.7 percent of elderly female
heads, while their male counterpart, 4.2 percent. Close to one half (49.6 percent) of
elderly males were heads of households with 2 to 4 members. By comparison, elderly
women heading households of these sizes comprised 52.0 percent. Five out of 100
elderly males were heads of households with 10 or more members. The corresponding
figure for their female counterparts was 2.6 percent.
Table 7. Household Heads 60 Years and Over by Sex and by Household Size
Household Size
Philippines
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 +

Both Sexes
2,142,822
8.3
18.4
17.1
14.8
12.4
9.8
7.1
5.4
2.6
4.2

Male

Female

1,533,902
4.2
17.0
17.0
15.6
13.4
10.9
8.1
6.1
2.9
4.8

608,92
0
18.7
21.9
17.2
12.9
9.7
7.1
4.8
3.4
1.6
2.6

Source: NSO, 1995 Census of Population and Housing