In 2002, out-of-school Filipino children and youth were 14.7 percent or 4.84 million out of 32.96 million population aged 6 to 24 years. Among the 16 regions, the percentage was highest in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) (23.1 percent), followed by Central Visayas (18.3 percent), and National Capital Region or NCR (17.2 percent). It was least in Cagayan Valley (10.6 percent) and Cordillera Administrative Region or CAR (10.8 percent).

According to the 2004 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey, at least eight out of 10 Filipino families meet the minimum basic needs (MBN) for survival which, in this survey, is measured by access to safe drinking water, presence of electricity at home, and use of sanitary toilet. Eighty percent of the total families in the Philippines have access to safe drinking water, 86 percent have sanitary toilets, and 80 percent have electricity in their homes (Table 1). Non-poor families are more likely to satisfy these needs. Nine in 10 families that belong to the higher 70% income stratum have electricity in their homes compared to five in 10 families in the lowest 30%. Similarly, non-poor families have better access to safe drinking water and more likely to have a sanitary toilet at home with 86 percent and 93 percent, respectively, as compared to 65 percent and 70 percent among the poor families. For both poor and non-poor families, the percentages with access to safe drinking water, with sanitary toilets and with electricity at home are similar to the 2002 figures

Sixteen percent of the estimated 39 million Filipinos 6 to 24 years old are Out-of-School-Youth (OSY), according to the results of the 2010 Annual Poverty Indicators Survey (APIS). In this report, OSY refers to family members 6 to 17 years old who are not attending formal school and family members 18 to 24 years old who are currently out of school, not gainfully employed and have not finished college or post-secondary course.