Philippines
Results are from an analysis of the 2010 Population and Housing Census. Information on methodology is in the report and in the method briefs.
Prevalence of Functional Difficulties
In the Philippines, the share of adults aged 15 and older with any functional difficulty stands at 4.1%. The prevalence of functional difficulties is higher for women (4.3%) than for men (3.8%). Functional difficulties are more prevalent among older age groups, at 0.8% for ages 15 to 29, 1.8% for ages 30 to 44, 7.7% for ages 45 to 64, and 22.9% for ages 65 and over. Across the five functional domains considered, difficulties with seeing (3%) and mobility (1%) are most common. At the household level, the prevalence of any functional difficulty is at 9.4%.
Table 1: Philippines: Prevalence of functional difficulties (%)
| Group | Any difficulty |
|---|---|
| All adults | 4.06 |
| Females | 4.34 |
| Males | 3.79 |
| Rural residents | – |
| Urban residents | – |
| Ages 15 to 29 | 0.75 |
| Ages 30 to 44 | 1.79 |
| Ages 45 to 64 | 7.71 |
| Ages 65 and over | 22.88 |
| Seeing | 2.97 |
| Hearing | 0.85 |
| Mobility | 0.98 |
| Cognitive | – |
| Self-care | 0.37 |
| Communication | 0.39 |
| All households | 9.44 |
| Rural households | – |
| Urban households | – |
Source: Philippines 2010 Population and Housing Census, own calculations
Key indicators on the deprivations and wellbeing experienced by persons with and without functional difficulties are presented in Table 2. Table 2 begins with information on the multidimensional poverty headcount—the rate of persons deprived in more than one dimension in the areas of education, work, health, and standard of living. Because information on employment status is not available for the Philippines, however, this dimension was not included in the calculation. Persons with any functional difficulty have a multidimensional poverty rate of 37% compared to 20% for persons with no difficulty.
Table 2: Philippines: Key indicators for adults age 15+ by functional difficulty status (% and percentage points)
| Indicator | No Difficulty | Any difficulty | Difference | Stat. Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multidimensional poverty headcount | 20 | 37 | -17 | *** |
| Less than primary school | 14 | 34 | -20 | *** |
| Employment population ratio | – | – | – | – |
| Safely managed drinking water | 90 | 90 | 0 | *** |
| Safely managed sanitation | 72 | 74 | -2 | *** |
| Clean fuel | 41 | 39 | 2 | *** |
| Electricity | 85 | 84 | 1 | *** |
| Adequate housing | 64 | 65 | -1 | *** |
| Owns assets | 43 | 42 | 1 | *** |
Source: Philippines 2010 Population and Housing Census, own calculations
Education
The share of adults who have less than primary school as their highest level of schooling attained is higher among persons with any functional difficulty (34%) compared to persons with no difficulty (14%), which boils down to a gap of 20 percentage points (p.p.).
Health
There is a small but significant difference (less than 1 p.p.) between the rates of access to safely managed drinking water. Regarding the rates of access to safely managed sanitation, persons with any functional difficulty are significantly better off than persons with no difficulty, at 74% and 72%, respectively.
Standard of Living
There are small but significant differences in terms of the share of individuals with access to clean fuel (2 p.p.), electricity (1 p.p.), and asset ownership (1 p.p.), with lower rates for persons with any functional difficulty. There is a small but significant difference (1 p.p.) in terms of the share of individuals with adequate housing, with higher rates for persons with any functional difficulty.
More results for the Philippines are available in results tables on the ddi website.