According to 2021 data from the UN Population Division, shared on the Instagram page @seasia.stats, the Philippines leads Southeast Asia within the variety of single people, with 49 percent of the population being single — almost half. The term “single” includes people who find themselves single, divorced, separated or widowed. The UN report also highlights significant numbers of single people in Brunei (44.9 percent), Malaysia (44.69 percent) and Cambodia (44.60 percent). In contrast, Timor-Leste has only 13 percent of its population who’re single, indicating a greater propensity to marry.
Between 1970 and 2021, UN data recorded over 1.6 billion singles, indicating a growing demographic.
The 2020 Population and Housing Census conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) provides insight into the changing trends in relationships within the Philippines. It showed a slight decline within the variety of single Filipino adults to 34.26 million in 2020 from 34.54 million in 2015. The variety of married people, however, increased by 1.52 million, from 32.35 million in 2015 to 33.87 million in 2020. There was also a 5.5 percentage point increase within the variety of couples choosing common-law or live-in unions, reflecting a shift toward unconventional relationship arrangements and a growing acceptance of cohabitation outside of formal marriage.
In 2020, of the 86.33 million Filipinos age 10 and older, 34.26 million (39.7%) were never married, while 33.87 million (39.2%) were married. Other segments included 14.7% in common-law or live-in unions, 4.5% widowers, and 1.9% divorced, separated, or annulled.
