MANILA, Philippines – Four out of ten Filipinos said they were “single” or never married and still “available” in 2020.

These Filipinos registered “single” as their marital status in 2020, new data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) found.

Of the 86.33 million persons aged ten years and over in 2020, the PSA reported that 34.26 million persons or 39.7% were never married.

Almost the same number though said they were married, that is 33.87 million persons, or 39.2%.

Around 14.7% Filipinos reported being in common-law marriages or lived together with partners. Some 4.5% were widowed, while 1.9% were divorced, separated, or annulled.

Married persons increased by 1.52 million from 2015 to 2020, while common-law or live-in marital arrangements increased by 5.5%. Divorced, separated, or annulled Filipinos also saw an increase from 1.5% in 2015 to 1.9% in 2020.

While married and separated persons increased, “never married” persons decreased by 4.1% in five years.

The percentage of widows remained the same in 2015 and 2020 at 4.5%.

More single men

The 2020 data found that there were more single men in households than women. Around 42.7% of households were composed of single men, while 36.7% were composed of single women.

There were also a statistically equal number of married women (39.4%) and men (39%).

Also equal were the males (14.6%) and females (14.7%) in common law marriages

There were more divorced, separated, and annulled women at 2.3%, while their male counterparts were at 1.5%. Widowers were at 2.1%, while widows were at 6.9%.

Most singles were in BARMM

Half the single Filipinos surveyed were in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (50.5%). This was followed by Bicol at 42.7%, and Zamboanga Peninsula at 41%.

Cagayan Valley had the lowest proportion of single individuals at 36.7%. This was validated as the same region had the highest proportion of married persons, at 47.6%.

The Cordillera Administrative Region had the second highest proportion of married persons at 44.9%. This was followed by SOCCSKSARGEN at 44.3%, BARMM with 44.2%, and Zamboanga Peninsula at 41.5%. Eastern Visayas had the least married persons at 34.2%.

Metro Manila has most live-in couples

Metro Manila is the region with the highest proportion of common law marriages, with 20.1%. The capital region is followed by Eastern Visayas at 18.7%, and Calabarzon at 17.6%. The lowest proportion was with BARMM at 0.8%.

The National Capital Region was also where divorced, separated, and annulled individuals were most prevalent, at 2.6%.

Ilocos Region had the most widows at 5.5%, followed by Cagayan Valley and Western Visayas, which both had 5.2% of widows. BARMM had the least widows at 3.2%.

Most married persons aged 30 to 54

Among married Filipinos, a big majority or 61% were aged 30 to 54 years old. In other words, 3 out of every 5 married Filipinos were between the ages 30 to 54

Most married men were in the age group 40 to 44 at 6.7%, while most married women were 35 to 39 years old, at 6.6%.

Widows were mostly elderly, while divorced, separated, and annulled individuals were mostly middle-aged.

There were more women than men who had such discontinued marriages – whether widows or separated from their partners.

February has been declared Civil Registration Month in the Philippines. The PSA, together with local governments, take an extra push to encourage Filipinos to register their births and marriages.

On Valentine’s Day, February 14, mayors across the country officiated mass weddings that allowed couples to formally marry.

– Rappler.com