According to data from the UN Population Division for 2021, shared on @seasia.stats Instagram page, the Philippines leads Southeast Asia in the number of single individuals, with 49 percent of its population being single--nearly half. The term 'single' includes those who are unmarried, divorced, separated, or widowed. The UN report also highlights a significant number of singles in Brunei (44.9 percent), Malaysia (44.69 percent), and Cambodia (44.60 percent). Contrarily, Timor-Leste has only 13 percent of its population who are single, indicating a greater inclination towards marriage.
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Globally, over 1.6 billion singles were recorded in UN marriage data between 1970 and 2021, indicating a rising demographic.
The 2020 Census of Population and Housing by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) provides insights into shifting relationship trends in the Philippines. It showed a slight decrease in single Filipino adults to 34.26 million in 2020, compared to 34.54 million in 2015. In contrast, the number of married individuals 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 rise in couples choosing common-law or live-in relationships, reflecting a shift towards non-traditional relationship arrangements and a growing acceptance of cohabitation outside formal marriage.
In 2020, of the 86.33 million Filipinos aged ten and older, 34.26 million (39.7%) had never married, and 33.87 million (39.2%) were married. Other segments included 14.7 percent in common-law or live-in relationships, 4.5 percent widowed, and 1.9 percent divorced, separated, or annulled.
