Overseas Filipino

Overseas Filipinos
Total population
11,000,000 estimates [1]
Regions with significant populations
United States 4,000,000 [USA]  Saudi Arabia 2,000,000 [2]  Malaysia 636,544 [3]  Canada 437,940 [4]  UAE 450,000 [5]  Japan 258,977 [JPN]  United Kingdom 200,000 [6]  Italy 200,000 [7]  Mexico 200,000 [8]  Qatar 200,000 [9]  Taiwan 158,116 [TWN]  Singapore 150,000 [10]  Hong Kong 130,810 [HKG]  Australia 129,400 [AUS]  Kuwait 144,955 [SAU]  South Korea 70,000 [11]  Germany 65,000 [12]  France 65,000 [13]  Guam 45,600 [GWM]  Greece 40,000 [14]  Bahrain 36,718 [POEA2004]  Israel 37,155 [POEA2004]  Lebanon 30,000 [LBN]  Spain 26,505 [15]  New Zealand 16,938 [NZL]  Norway 19,291 [15]  Netherlands 18,456 [15]  Macau 18,447 [POEA2004]  Sweden 17,343 [15]  Thailand 5,000 [16]  Nigeria 2,324 [SAU]
Languages
Tagalog, Visayan languages, Ilocano, Tausug, other Philippine languages, English
Religion
Predominantly Catholic; Protestantism; Iglesia Ni Cristo; Islam; Nonreligious
Related ethnic groups
Filipino people, Filipino American, Filipino Canadian, Filipino Australian, Filipino British, Filipino Hong Konger

An Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies both to people of Filipino ancestry who are citizens or residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad on a more temporary status. It may also extend to Filipinos having extended holidays abroad, though common usage does not usually include this group.

The lack of well-paying jobs in the Philippines combined with a widespread knowledge of English (a result of having been a colony of the United States) have made Filipinos one of the most internationally mobile nationalities. Many Filipinos go abroad to support their families back at home through remittances, and as a result, many countries have a substantial Filipino community.

Often, these Filipinos are referred to as Overseas Filipino Workers or OFWs. The term Global Filipino is another term of more recent vintage but less widely used.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently coined the term Overseas Filipino Investor or OFI for Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy through remittances, buying property and creating businesses.^[17]

Population

There are more than 11 million overseas Filipinos worldwide, equivalent to about 11% of the total population of the Philippines.^[1]

Each year, more than a million Filipinos leave to work abroad through overseas employment agencies and other programs, including government sponsored ones. Others emigrate and become permanent residents of other countries. Overseas Filipinos often work as doctors, nurses, accountants, IT professionals, engineers, architects,^[18] entertainers, technicians, teachers, military servicemen, students, caregivers, domestic helpers and household maids.

The exodus includes an increasing number of skilled workers taking on unskilled work overseas, resulting in what has been referred to as brain drain, particularly in the health and education sectors. Also, the exodus can result in underemployment, for example, in cases where doctors undergo retraining to become nurses.

Economic Impact

Money sent by OFWs back to the Philippines is a major factor in the country's economy, amounting to more than US$10 billion in 2005.^[19] This makes the country the fourth largest recipient of foreign remittances behind India, China, and Mexico. The amount represents 13.5% of the Philippines' GDP, the largest in proportion to the domestic economy among the four countries mentioned.^[20]

Overseas Filipinos sent back $14.4 billion in remittances to the Philippines in 2007, up from the $13 billion in 2006.^[21][22]

The Philippines has estimated an inflow of $15.9 billion worth of remittances in 2008. ^[23]

Nations with large Filipino constituencies

• United States. Despite race relations problems of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the American Northwest, most Filipino Americans today find it easy to integrate into American society, with a majority belonging to the upper middle class. When compared to other East and Southeast Asian-American groups, Filipino Americans have the second highest median household income, exceeding that of the U.S. general population, surpassed only by Asian Indians ^[24]

Filipinos are as the second-largest Asian American group in the country; Tagalog is the fifth most spoken language in the U.S. Filipinas comprise a large portion of the roughly 4,000-6,000 women who annually come to the U.S. via international marriage agencies^[25]. The US State Department estimated that there are 4 million Filipinos in the US as of 2007. ^[26]

• United Kingdom Nurses and caregivers have begun flocking to the United Kingdom in recent years. The island-nation has welcomed about 20,000 nurses and other Filipinos of various employment and lifestyle during the past 5 years. According to news reports, the United Kingdom is home to around 200,000 OFWs.^[27] See also: Filipino British

• Iraq. In spite of the Philippine government ban on OFWs working in Iraq, an estimated 1,000-3,000 Filipinos work there. Most work on US Military bases around the country as cooks and laundry service, sometimes as third-country national security guards. This is the only foreign nation in which Filipino men outnumber Filipino women.

• Canada. Only a small population of Filipinos resided in Canada until the late 20th century. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has estimated that as of 2006 there were over 400,000 Canadians of Filipino origin.^[4] Due to Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Western Canada and the Philippines; contracts in Atlantic Canada; consistent hiring of workers in Central Canada; and increased activity in Northern Canada, it is estimated that there will be some 500,000 Filipinos in Canada as of 2020. See Filipino Canadians.

• Spain. With around 25,000 citizens, the Filipinos form the second largest Asian community in Spain behind the Chinese. Although many Filipinos did immigrate or ran away to Spain after the United States took over the islands in 1898, most of the Filipinos moved to the old metropoli during the 1960s and 1970s seeking jobs, which in many cases were related to housekeeping or industrial activities. There's also a significant group of Spaniards of Filipino origins (some of whom are from 3rd and 4th generations) including some famous people like Isabel Preysler, mother of famous singer Enrique Iglesias.

• Ireland. As of 2008, the Philippine embassy in London reported that there are 11,500 Filipinos in Ireland.^[28]

• Hong Kong. There are approximately 140,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, of whom most are domestic helpers (30,000 of them being members of the Filipino Migrant Workers Union). Filipino maids are known by the locals as amahs, or more often feiyungs (less politely bun mui or bun bun). A Hong Kong work visa requires some amount of higher education; and in some cases Filipino women with college degrees and perfect command of English are willing to work as maids and nannies for a salary higher than they could make at home in professions.^[HKG]

• Singapore. Over 136,000 Overseas Filipinos work and reside in the nation-state of Singapore.^[POEA2004] Moreover, about 200,000 Filipinos visit the country annually, making them one of the biggest foreign tourists of Singapore.

• Taiwan. According to the 2006 data of the government of Taiwan, there are 96,000 Filipinos currently living in Taiwan. Of these, 58,704 are in manufacturing industries and 34,602 are in social or personal services (e.g. maids).^[ROC] However, according to 2004 data by the Philippine Government, there are 2,037 Filipinos living in Taiwan permanently, 154,135 are in Taiwan for work contracts, and 4,500 go to Taiwan irregularly, which make a total of 160,672. It is not known why there is such a big difference between these two numbers (96,000 vs. 160,672).

• Middle East. Many Filipinos work in the Middle East (mostly Saudi Arabia and UAE) as engineers, nurses or hospital workers, accountants, office workers, construction workers, restaurant workers and maids. It is estimated that more than 2 million Filipinos have made the Middle East their home.

• Japan Some 250,000 Filipinos are listed to be living within Japan's geographic confines.^[JPN] However, this number is speculated to be larger, surpassing the one million mark, in relation to many unlisted and illegal Filipino nationals in the Land of the Rising Sun.

• South Korea According to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, as of December 2006, some 70,000 Filipinos work and live in Korea. Of this number, some 6,000 are permanent residents, some 50,000 work legally, and some 14,000 are "irregular" or do not have the proper documents.^[11]

• Lebanon As many as 30,000 OFWs are working in the nation of Lebanon. Due to the recent turmoil between Lebanon and Israel, however, many have been repatriated back to the Philippines, while others have been relocated to Cyprus, a part of the Philippine evacuation plan.^[LBN]

• Australia In 2000, Australia recorded about 127,000 Filipinos and/or Filipino Australians.^[AUS]

• Greece The Philippine Embassy has reported an estimated of 40,000 Filipinos in Greece.^[14]

• Malaysia As Sabah is very close to the Philippines, there are many Filipino residents, as well as illegal immigrants there. Filipinos make up about 30% of the entire population of Sabah and they enumerate up to 900,000. Many Filipinos in Malaysia residents come to work in construction industries, fisheries, and other labor intensive sectors in hopes of a better living. Most live in stilt slums scattered behind cities or on offshore islands. The Philippine government also has promised to establish a consulate provide any necessary help to its nationals. Historically, The Philippines has a dormant claim on the territory. Native Sabahans themselves are closely related to southern Filipinos.

• New Zealand There are about 17,000 Filipino residents and citizens in New Zealand called Kiwi-Pino's, Filipino-New Zealanders. New Zealand, as in the past, are currently recruiting Filipino qualified nurses. Filipinos in New Zealand, as well as prospective immigrants, often lean towards information technology, nursing and, more recently, telecommunications for careers.

• Norway People with Filipino background in Norway is estimated to about 9,000, most of them living in the Oslo urban area. Most of the Filipino immigrants to Norway are females, representing 76 % of the total of 9,000.

Issues

Overseas Filipino workers, both blue collar and white collar, can face significant obstacles, including illegal recruitment,^[29][30] mysterious death,^[29][31] racial profiling and discrimination,^[32] and kidnapping.^[33][34]

In some countries, such as in Hong Kong, China and Singapore,^[35] and in Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq,^[18] and Saudi Arabia^[29] OFWs have reported that their pay was withheld, while others have had their documents confiscated or hidden. Furthermore, some, who are mostly domestic helpers,^[35][30] are physically and sexually abused,^[29][30], even murdered.^[29][31] Well-known cases include those of Flor Contemplacion^[35] and Sarah Balabagan.^[30]

The Philippine government^[36] has responded by having local Philippine consulates and embassies assist with the OFW's needs.^[36] NGOs, such as Migrante and Gabriela are also present. Action by the government on these cases have had mixed results with some OFWs returning to the country happy^[37] while others return either injured or dead.^[29][31]

Other problems faced by OFWs include the risk of involvement in a conflict^[37] and the risk of being kidnapped,^[18][33][34] such as those in Lebanon,^[37][31] Iraq,^[18][34] and Nigeria.^[33]

Another issue is Filipino women becoming sex slaves in countries such as Japan and South Korea. Thousands of women travel abroad for domestic work only to be tricked into sex work. Sex traffickers take their passports, withholds wages or physically abuse them.

See also

References

External links

http://www.OverseasFilipino.com

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4898603.ece

• OFW CARE Overseas Filipino Work CARE site provides the country's modern day heroes OFW with intercative Community forums, Photo Gallery, OFW News and more...
• Life on the Spot Two Filipino expats blog about life and living in Doha, Qatar. Provides helpful insights and tips to those moving to Qatar.
• The sham of being a Fil-Am, on the controversy surrounding overseas Filipinos in Philippine basketball
• OFW-Connect, The Web Site for Filipino Migrants around the world
• TheFilipino.com, List of Filipino Associations in the US and Worldwide
• Oyaye.com Filipino Social Networking Community Abroad
• Overseas-Filipinos.Net, The Web Site for OFWs and Filipino Immigrants Worldwide
• PNI Overseas Recruitment An site for recruitment of overseas Filipinos
• The Brown Raise Movement The Brown Raise Movement - a movement towards the 21st Century Global Filipino
• PBSN/Naija Pinoys Yahoogroup Philippine Barangay Society in Nigeria (PBSN) Yahoogroups.

General statistics from Philippine government

• POEA2004 ^{a b c d e f g h i}  "Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos" (MS Excel). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) (2004). Retrieved on 2007-08-01. (overseas Filipinos working and/or living overseas):
  • 3,187,586 stay permanently, 3,599,257 stay for work contracts, and 1,296,972 stay irregularly (without proper document), which make a sum of 8,083,815.
• Press release on the 2004 Survey on Overseas Filipinos, Philippine National Statistics Office, on OFWs:
  • 1.06 million Overseas Filipinos Workers
  • 33.4% are unskilled workers, 15.4% are Trades and related workers, 15.1% are plant and machine operators and assemblers.
  • 49.3% are males, 50.7% are females.
  • Remittances are 64.7 billion Philippine pesos (equals 1.2 billion USD then)
• Deployed Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers by Destination (New hires and Rehires) (MS Excel format), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), 2005, on OFWs:
  • 733,970 are landbased, 247,707 are seabased, which make a sum of 981,677. There is a 5.15% growth since 2004's 933,588.
  • Remittances are 9,727,138,000 USD. There is a 26.6% growth since 2004.
• List of Additional Reports from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Statistics Page

From other sources

• ^a b AUS - "Year Book Australia, 2007 Contents >> Population >> Country of birth". Australia Bureau of Statistics (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-08..
• ^a GWM - "Country Profile: Guam - People". CIA Factbook. Retrieved on 2007-05-12..
• ^a b HKG - "Hong Kong Yearbook 2005 - population". Central Statistics Office (2005). Retrieved on 2007-04-12.
• ^a LBN - Maila Ager (August 3 2006). "'Standby fund’ for OFWS in Lebanon gets House committee nod", Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved on 2007-05-09. .
• ^a NZL - "QuickStats About Culture and Identity", Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aoteroa (August 3 2006). Retrieved on 2007-05-12. .
• ^a SAU - "Table 29. Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos As of December 2006" (PDF). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-01..
• ^a b TWN - Alien Workers in Taiwan-Fukien Area by Industry and Nationality (JPG and PDF format), 2006 February, CLA, Taiwan.
• ^a MAL - "Table 29. Stock Estimate of Overseas Filipinos As of December 2006" (PDF). Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-01..
• USA
  • ^a1 "Selected Population Profile in the United States - Population Group: Filipino alone or in any combination". U.S. census bureau (2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-09. "Population Group: Filipino alone or in any combination - Total population: 288,378,137".
  • ^b1 b2 "Background Note: Philippines". U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2007). Retrieved on 2006-11-04. "There are an estimated four million Americans of Philippine ancestry in the United States, and more than 250,000 American citizens in the Philippines."

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