CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Northern Mindanao recorded a basic literacy rate of 90.8 percent in 2024, slightly above the national average of 90 percent, according to Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-10.
Northern Mindanao ranked sixth among the country’s 17 regions. Central Luzon posted the highest rate at 92.8 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the lowest at 81 percent. It also posted the highest rate among all regions in Mindanao.
“Basic literacy is 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,” said Sarah B. Balagbis, chief statistical specialist of PSA-10, during the Regional Data Dissemination Forum for the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), May 30.
Balagbis said literacy rates in the region increased with higher levels of educational attainment. Individuals who reached or completed short-cycle tertiary education posted the highest basic literacy rate at 99.2 percent, while those with no grade completed or only early childhood education had the lowest rate at 52.7 percent.
“By sex, females aged 5 years and over showed a higher basic literacy rate of 91.7 percent compared to males in the same age range. By age group, basic literacy rate was highest for age group 20 to 24 and lowest for 60 years old and over and 5 to 9 years old,” she said.
Among provinces and highly urbanized cities in northern Mindanao, Cagayan de Oro City recorded the highest basic literacy rate at 96.1 percent, which is 5.3 percentage points higher than the regional average. Iligan City followed at 93.4 percent, and Misamis Occidental at 91.6 percent. Camiguin, Bukidnon, and Lanao del Norte had rates lower than the region’s.
Functional literacy
In terms of functional literacy, Northern Mindanao posted a rate of 70 percent, slightly below the national rate of 70.8 percent. This means seven in every ten individuals, aged 10 to 64 years, in the region can read, write, compute, and comprehend.
The region ranked seventh nationwide but led all regions in Mindanao in functional literacy. Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had the highest rate at 81.2 percent, while Region 9 had the lowest at 59.3 percent.
Balagbis explained that functional literacy was also higher among females at 73.3 percent compared to 66.9 percent among males. Rates were highest in the 20 to 24 age group, and lowest among those aged 60 and older and those aged 10 to 14.
“Individuals who reached or completed college level or higher recorded the highest functional literacy rate at 85.8 percent, while those who had no grade completed or had an early childhood education had the lowest rate at 13.2 percent,” she added.
The FLEMMS is a household-based nationwide survey conducted every five years by the PSA. The 2024 FLEMMS is the seventh in the series and serves as the primary source of basic and functional literacy statistics in the country. (Apipa Bagumbaran)
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