The Philippines

The significance of international migration in the Philippines has been matched by notable steps taken in the collection, reporting and dissemination of international migration-related statistics, including remittances. This article maps out the international migration data collected by government agencies (the major ones being the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Commission on Filipinos Overseas), describes inter-agency efforts in harmonizing data collection efforts and improving the quality of data, and offers suggestions to broaden the access and use of international migration data at the national and regional levels. Better data collection of international migration to the Philippines and recording of return migration are among the areas in need of improvement.