CENTRAL VISAYAS AMONG TOP REGIONS Phl literacy rate at 93.1%

The Philippines continues to register a strong basic literacy rate of 93.1 percent among individuals aged five years old and above, including those in Central Visayas, according to the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

- Caecent No-ot Magsumbol, Staff Member

The FLEMMS, aimed at determining the state of literacy in the country, covered 177,656 sample households and 572,910 individuals aged five and older across the nation. The survey adopted a revised operational definition and methodology for measuring both basic and functional literacy, as approved by the PSA Board.

PSA defines basic literacy as "the ability of a person to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect with understanding, and to compute or perform basic mathematical operations." Based on the 2024 results, 90 percent or nine out of 10 Filipinos aged five and above are basically literate. However, rates vary across regions.

Central Luzon (Region III) posted the highest at 92.8 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the lowest at 81 percent.

Central Visayas ranked fourth in the country, posting a basic literacy rate of 92.1 percent.

By gender, females exhibited a higher basic literacy rate at 90.9 percent, compared to 89 percent among males. Age-wise, individuals aged 20 to 24 had the highest rate at 96.1 percent, while those aged 60 and above reported the lowest at 76.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the functional literacy ratewhich includes the ability to read, write, compute, and comprehend-was recorded at 70.8 percent. This means about seven in ten individuals aged 10 to 64 years are functionally literate.