The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said nearly 40% of households in 2020 had members who were never married.
Household members were polled based on their marital status, the PSA said in its report released on Thursday.
Based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH), the country’s household population in 2020 was 108.67 million, with 86.33 million individuals aged 10 and up.
Of the total 86.33 million individuals, 34.26 million or 39.7% were single or never married by marital status, while 33.87 million individuals or 39.2% were married.
Marital status, as defined by the report, refers to the personal status of an individual based on the marriage laws or customs of the country and is synonymous with civil status.
Compared with 2015, household population aged 10 years and older numbered 78.92 million. Of these, single or never-married individuals were 34.54 million or 43.8% of the total while married persons were 32.35 million or 41%.
In 2020, common-law or live-in, a marital arrangement where individuals live consensually with their partners without the benefit of a legal marriage, numbered 12.66 million or 14.7% of the total while widowed persons were 3.88 million (4.5%).
Individuals whose marital status was “divorced” was estimated at 1.64 million or 1.9% of the total. This category of marital status means that an individual is permanently separated from their spouse, legally or through mutual consent and is valid for those whose marriage has been annulled or dissolved.
Among those who were never married in 2020 included 18.54 million males (54.1%) and 15.72 million females (45.9%).
Males made up the majority of those who were married and those who had live-in marital arrangements, accounting for 16.97 million (50.1%) and 6.36 million (50.2%), respectively.
Females outnumbered males in terms of marital status, with 2.95 million (76%) being widowed and 988,943 or 60.1% being divorced.
The Bangsamoro region in Mindanao had the highest number of individuals who were never married, at 1.78 million or 50.5% of the total. Bicol came in second with two million or 42.7% of the total, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula with 1.23 million or 41% of the total.
For married individuals, the Cagayan Valley region had the largest number with 1.42 million or 47.6% of the total population, followed by the Cordillera Administrative Region and Soccsksargen with 656,315 (44.9%) and 1.50 million (44.3%), respectively.
Metro Manila had the most live-in marital arrangements, with 2.19 million or 20.1% of the total. Likewise, divorced individuals were the most numerous, at 283,403 or 2.6% of the total.
Individuals whose marital status was categorized as widowed were prevalent in the Ilocos region, with 239,204 or 5.5% of the total.
By age group among married individuals, those aged 40 to 44 logged the highest, at 13.2%, followed by ages 35 to 39 at 13.1%, and 30 to 34 at 12.1%. Collectively, these age groups accounted for 38.4% of the total.
According to the PSA, among married males, the highest proportion was reported in the age range 40 to 44 years with 6.7%, while married females had the higher proportion in the age groups between 35 to 39 years, with 6.6%. — Abigail Marie P. Yraola