The economic significance of Filipino seafarers

This crisis affecting Filipino seafarers has focused some attention to the vital role played by Filipino seafarers in the overall OFW sector which since 2010 has consistently recorded a compounded growth rate of 9.9% per annum.

- BERNARDO M. VILLEGAS

Here, I want to report the findings of a study conducted by the Center for Research and Communication, headed by Dr. Winston Padojinog, in collaboration with the ALMA Maritime Group. Whichever way the US-Iran conflict will be resolved, it is a certainty that Filipino seafarers will continue to be a vital part of the global seafaring industry. This fact is a result of the demographic dividend that the Philippines will be enjoying for some time to come, despite falling fertility rates.

OFW remittances have long been identified as a crucial hinge on which the Philippine economic machine turns. In 2024, remittances amounted to $34.49 billion (P1.9 trillion). constituting some 7.4% of Philippine GDP. From 2000 to 2024, the annual average growth of Filipino seafarers' remittances has been a high of 8.6% surpassing the average GDP growth of 6-7%. The only sector that performs better in earning US dollars for the country is the IT-BPO industry which has grown at 11.30% annually from 2013 to 2024.

In absolute headcount terms, Philippine seafarer deployment is growing. The latest estimates from the DMW show that the total OFW deployment grew at 4.81% from 1984 to 2024, with a recorded deployment of 2,474,197 in 2024 alone. Of these, 504,057 or approximately 20% are sea-based, with a 5.91% annual growth since 1984 deployment figures. The total deployment of Filipino seafarers has grown at a remarkable pace of 27.56% between 2024 and 2025. One explanation given is that the number one competitor, China, has such a large need to man its own ships that it has no extra seafarers to supply the vessels of other nations. In contrast, the Philippines continues to have a relatively high rate of unemployment and an even worse underemployment rate. Seafaring comes naturally to Filipino islanders.

The DMW's latest data show four kinds of "seafarers" that the Philippines supplies to the world. A vast majority (43%) of the 2024