Basic literacy is almost universal in the Philippines. Of the estimated 68 million Filipinos 10 years old and over in 2008, 95.6 percent are basically literate. The basic literacy rate is 96.1 percent among females and 95.1 percent among males. By region, basic literacy rates are about the same for males and females.
The number of the overseas Filipino workers registered in the October 2006 Survey on Overseas Filipinos is 1.52 million. The number of female overseas workers is 764, which is 2% more than the number of male overseas workers in the same year. From the same survey conducted in October 2007, there were 1.75 million overseas Filipino workers or an increase of 232 thousand from 2006. The sex ratio among overseas Filipino workers is 104 males per 100 females. The number of female Filipino workers increased by 93 thousand from 764 thousand in 2006 to 857 thousand in 2007.
The Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) shows the educational attainment of the population aged six years old and over. The survey results in 2003 and 2008 revealed an increasing trend in the proportion of population aged six years old and over who had completed at least elementary education. From 62 percent in 2003, the proportion who have completed at least elementary education increased to 68 percent in 2008.
The life expectancy at birth for females born in the Philippines from the year 2005 to 2010 is 71.64 years. Derived from the 2000 Census-based projections, this projected life expectancy at birth for females is longer by 5.53 than the life expectancy at birth for males which is estimated at 66.11 years.
In the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), women were asked if they had ever heard of an illness called AIDS. The results show that almost all Filipino women have heard of AIDS (94 percent). Awareness of HIV/AIDS among women varies more by marital status and urban-rural residence. The percentage of women who have heard of AIDS is highest among never-married women who have ever had sex (98 percent). Ninety-seven percent of women in urban areas have heard of HIV/AIDS, compared with 91 percent of women in rural areas.
