Record number of high school graduates achieved in the Philippines after two decades — PSA data

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 3:37 PM) — More than one out of five Filipinos now have at most a high school degree, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, signifying a significant milestone in the education department’s two-decade crusade to widen access to secondary education.

Based on the 2020 PSA census, more than 21% of Filipinos have attained at most a high school diploma — higher than the 19% recorded in 2010 and 13% in 2000.

Over 16% Filipinos likewise reached high school and are undergraduates.

More Filipinos are also now getting some form of education than none. In 2020, only 3% of Filipinos never had any educational attainment – an improvement from the 4% reported in 2010 and 8% in 2000.

More college graduates than elementary graduates 

Meanwhile, tertiary studies have become more accessible to Filipinos, with 13% having finished college in 2020. This is higher than 10% in 2010 and 4% in 2000.

Based on separate census conducted in 2020 and 2000, it took two decades for there to be more college graduates than elementary graduates in the country. In 2020, more Filipinos have finished college (13%) than elementary (9%). This is different compared to what PSA found in 2000 where more Filipinos completed elementary (16%) than college (4%).  

Among individuals with college or academic degrees, the percentage of females (25.6%) exceeded that of males (21.3%). Likewise, a higher percentage of females (0.4%) compared to males (0.3%) had successfully finished post-baccalaureate courses.

There has also been a slight improvement in Filipinos' literacy rate. Based on PSA data, 97% of Filipinos can be considered literate or able to read and write simple messages. This is a 1.2% point improvement from the 95.8% recorded in 2015.