Education · DepEd / CHED / PSA Data
Philippine Education Statistics 2026
Official data from DepEd and CHED on enrollment, literacy, out-of-school youth, gender parity, and the laws protecting every Filipino's right to education.
Source: DepEd Enrollment Report SY 2023–2024 · PSA Functional Literacy Survey 2023 · Last updated: May 2026
K-12 enrollment trends
K-12 enrollment dropped sharply in 2020–2021 due to COVID-19 and the shift to distance learning. Senior High School (SHS), introduced in 2016, has grown rapidly. Recovery to pre-pandemic levels is nearly complete.
DepEd Enrollment Statistics 2016–2023
Under RA 10533 (Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013), basic education in the Philippines is free and compulsory from Kinder through Grade 12. This includes all public elementary schools, junior high schools, and senior high schools under DepEd. Refusal to enroll an eligible student without valid cause is prohibited.
Out-of-school youth (OSY)
The Philippines had approximately 2.46 million out-of-school youth aged 6–24 in 2023. Poverty, early marriage, and child labor are the leading causes. COVID-19 pushed the number above 3.4 million in 2020.
PSA / DepEd OSY Survey 2016–2023
The Alternative Learning System (ALS) — governed by RA 11510 — provides non-formal education pathways for OSY. Completers can take the ALS Accreditation and Equivalency (A&E) test, which is equivalent to an elementary or high school diploma and qualifies them for TESDA courses or college enrollment.
Literacy rate by region
National literacy stands at 97.7%, but BARMM trails at 73.4% — a 26-point gap driven by conflict, displacement, and underinvestment. NCR leads at 99.6%.
PSA Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) 2022
Educational attainment of adults
Only 24.7% of Filipino adults have college-level education or higher. Nearly 30% have only elementary education or less — indicating a large workforce gap that vocational-technical education (TESDA) is designed to address.
PSA 2020 Census of Population and Housing
Gender parity in education
Philippine girls consistently outperform boys in enrollment and graduation rates at all levels. The gender gap widens in higher education — 37.8% of women aged 18–24 are enrolled in college vs. 31.2% of men.
DepEd / CHED Gender Disaggregated Statistics 2023
Education budget (national)
DepEd consistently receives the largest single-department budget allocation. The 2024 budget of ₱958B represents roughly 15% of total national expenditures — in line with the constitutional mandate.
DBM General Appropriations Act 2019–2024
Under Article XIV Section 5(5) of the 1987 Constitution, the government shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education. The Supreme Court in Guingona v. Carague (GR 94571, 1992) affirmed that this mandates education to receive a proportionally larger annual increase than any other department.
Education rights every Filipino should know
Right to free public basic education — Kinder through Grade 12 (RA 10533)
Right to state scholarship (CHED UniFAST) — for college students from low-income families (RA 10931)
Right to free state university / college tuition — under RA 10931 (Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act)
Right to Alternative Learning System (ALS) — for out-of-school youth and adults (RA 11510)
Right to school anti-bullying protection — all schools must have anti-bullying policies (RA 10627)
Right to education without discrimination — including for pregnant students (DECS Order No. 96, s. 1992)
Right to free TESDA skills training — for displaced workers and out-of-school youth