Philippines Exported Record 129,600 Tons of Filipinos in 2023, DTI Figures Show

(Makati City) – According to the latest statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippines exported a record 129,600 tons of Filipinos in 2023, roughly equivalent to 2,160,000 individuals (at 60kg/individual), generating a total of PhP239 billion in revenue.

Filipinos remain by far the Philippines top export, followed by electrical machinery and equipment (including computers), ores and metals, and fruits and nuts.

“The Philippines continues to lead the world in the export of high-grade Filipinos,” said DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque. “No other country comes close.”

“By leveraging our strengths as a nation in the fields of childbearing and English education, we will continue to be able to satisfy the worldwide demand for highly skilled, competitively priced Filipinos.”

Of the total volume of exported Filipinos, 72,000 tons (roughly 1.2 million individuals) were of the female variety, and the remaining 57,600 tons (about 960,000 individuals) were of the male variety.

Figure: Export of Filipinos worldwide and in Asia in 2023

By region, the leading export destinations of Filipinos are Asia (77.4%), North and South America (9.8%) and Europe (8.4%).

Among Asian countries, Saudi Arabia imported the largest volume of Filipinos at 25,900 tons, accounting for 20 percent of the total, followed by United Arab Emirates (17,600 tons) and Kuwait (8,400 million tons).

Despite rosy projections by Secretary Roque, however, the Philippines still has a large inventory of excess Filipinos carried over from the Covid pandemic, when worldwide trade in Filipinos fell.

Unsubstantiated reports suggest the country is seeking to offload its surplus stock at discounted prices to either Russia or North Korea for use in these countries’ defense industries, although Roque denies the DTI has those plans in the pipeline.