Immigrants Outnumber OFWs

Not every Filipino who leaves the country is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW). The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) estimates that, as of 2011, 10.44 million Philippine-born Filipinos are residing or working overseas, reports Inquirer.net. But the aggregate from data of the CFO, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), show permanent immigrants exceed, by a small but significant margin, OFWs. In 2011, permanent immigrants numbering 4.86 million accounted for 47 percent of Filipinos abroad. Temporary migrants, including OFWs, numbered 4.51 million or 43 percent. The stock estimate placed irregular migrants at 1.07 million or 10 percent.