SPECIAL RELEASE

Literacy Rates of Davao del Norte:

2024

The Philippine Statistics Authority has conducted the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (2024 FLEMMS), which aims to gather data as bases in determining the state of literacy in the country.

The 2024 FLEMMS adopts a revised operational definition and methodology for measuring basic and functional literacy as approved by the PSA Board through Resolution No. 13, Series of 2024.

Basic literacy is defined as the ability of a person to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect with understanding, and to compute or perform basic mathematical operations. 

Functional literacy is the ability of a person to read, write, compute, and comprehend.  In addition to the basic literacy skills, functional literacy includes higher level of comprehension skills, such as integrating two or more pieces of information and making inferences based on the given information. 

Basic literacy rate is computed for individuals 5 years old and over, while functional literacy rate is computed for individuals 10 to 64 years old.

About nine in every 10 Dabaonons five years old and over can read, write, and compute

In 2024, the estimated population of persons five years old and over in Davao del Norte was 978 thousand.

From this figure, the province recorded a basic literacy rate of 89.9 percent in 2024, or an estimate of 880 thousand individuals in Davao del Norte five years old and over who are basically literate. This indicates that about 9 in every 10 individuals five years old and over in the province can read, write, and compute.

The basic literacy rate of females (90.7 percent) was higher than the basic literacy rate of males (89.2 percent).

Among individuals 5 years old and over in Davao del Norte, 7.4 percent, or about 7 out of 100 individuals, cannot read or write or are classified as illiterate. The proportion of individuals aged five years and over who cannot read and write was higher among males (7.5 percent) than among females (7.2 percent).

Figure 1. Basic Literacy Rate of Population Five Years Old and Over by Sex,

Davao del Norte: 2024

Moreover, 2.7 percent or about three out of 100 individuals in Davao del Norte were classified as low literate or can read and write only. The proportion of individuals aged five years and over who were low literate was higher among males (3.3 percent) than among females (2.1 percent).

Figure 2. Percentage of Population Five Years Old and Over by Level of Literacy, Davao del Norte: 2024

Figure 2.1. Percentage of Male Population Five Years Old and Over by Level of Literacy, Davao del Norte: 2024
 

Figure 2.2. Percentage of Female Population Five Years Old and Over by Level of Literacy, Davao del Norte: 2024

Functional literacy rate in Davao del Norte was recorded at 69 percent

The estimated population of persons aged 10 to 64 years old in Davao del Norte was 804 thousand in 2024.

The functional literacy rate of the province was recorded at 69.0 percent, or about 69 out of 100 individuals aged 10 to 64 years old who were functionally literate. This translates to around 555 thousand individuals in Davao del Norte aged 10 to 64 years old who can read, write, compute, and comprehend.

By sex, females showed a higher functional literacy rate at 72.8 percent compared to males at 65.5 percent.

Figure 3. Functional Literacy Rate of Population 10 to 64 Years Old by Sex, Davao del Norte: 2024

Literacy gap in Davao del Norte

Among individuals in Davao del Norte 10 to 64 years old, 92.8 percent had basic literacy, while 69.0 percent had functional literacy. This means that for every nine individuals aged 10 to 64 years who can read, write, and compute, two individuals have comprehension difficulty.

Among males 10 to 64 years old in Davao del Norte, 91.8 percent are basically literate, and 65.5 percent are functionally literate. On the other hand, among female Dabaonons 10 to 64 years old, 93.9 percent had basic literacy, while 72.8 percent had functional literacy.

Figure 4. Percentage of Population 10 to 64 Years Old by Level of Literacy and Sex, Davao del Norte: 2024

Approved for Release:

MICHELLE O. MANINGO

(Supervising Statistical Specialist)

Officer-in-Charge

CMCC