The school year has drawn to a close, and the nation’s 23 million children, from kindergarten to high school, have anxiously carried home report cards for Scroogelike, parental scrutiny.
For the nation itself, however, there is no single, authoritative report card, and there is no Scrooge to berate the nation’s leaders for less than stellar performance.
On the other hand, there are international measures of almost every nation’s performance on a number of issues. These measures reveal how the Philippines ranks globally, in comparison with most other nations, as well as how the nation itself has changed over time – whether it is improving or falling behind.
These measures are called “social indicators”, and they are collected by a wide range of organizations, from the United Nations to universities and environmental organizations.
Social indicators are used by policymakers and scholars for long term planning and social science research.
There literally are hundreds of social indicators, and they are grouped under broad headings. There are healthcare indicators, economic indicators, education indicators, demographic indicators and governance indicators.
Organizations that collect social indicators include the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, to name a few.
Locally, the Philippine Statistics Authority is an official repository for social indicators, and some of these can be found on PSA websites.
Among organizations that collect social indicators are a few oddballs like the Gallup World Poll, known everywhere for its world happiness rankings. On this score, the Philippines ranks 57th out of 147 countries, behind Singapore at 34th, Vietnam at 46th, and Thailand at 49th. Finland has been No. 1 on the happiness rankings for eight consecutive years.
Finlanders attribute the high score to a good natural environment, trust in government, and social safety nets – free health care, free education and ample retirement benefits.
It should be emphasized that social indicators are widely criticized for reducing complex social phenomena to a single number. They also are thought to reflect Western biases in social science research – the failure to account for informal economies in some nations, for example, or for not accounting for the lack of natural resources in others.
In addition to the world happiness ranking – and with these caveats in mind – this is how the Philippines ranks on nine more social indicators:
Population Growth: The Philippines has a population growth rate of 1.53 percent annually, higher than the global average of 0.92 percent. This rapid growth rate contrasts sharply with the growth rate of Japan, which has a negative growth rate of -0.52 due to its ageing population and low fertility rate. Several Pacific island states also have negative growth rates due to rising sea levels – the Marshall Islands at -3.38 percent, the Cook Islands at -3.47 percent, and Tuvalu at -1.69 percent. Syria has the highest population growth rate this year – almost 5 percent – but this is due mainly to the return of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees after a 13-year civil war.
Human Development Index: This is a composite measure that includes life expectancy, education and per capita income, among others. The score ranges from 0 to 1, and the Philippines’ score in 2022 was 0.710, which is considered high. It puts the Philippines at 113th worldwide. For the Bicol Region, the number was 0.680, compared to 0.743 for the National Capital Region, according to the PSA.
Per Capita GDP: With a per capita Gross Domestic Product of US$4,439, the Philippines lags behind the global average of US$13,138. The PSA says that the Philippines ranks 124th worldwide. GDP growth is strong, however, at 5.55 percent annually and growing. When expressed in United States dollars, this figure fluctuates due to changes in the exchange rate.
Gini Inequality Index: This is a measure of income inequality produced by the World Bank and reported on a PSA website. The Philippines had a Gini Index score of 41.2 in 2021, indicating relatively high income inequality. That score put it at No. 14 in a list of 71 countries worldwide, and it represents a significant decline from 47.7 in 2000. High income inequality can result in reduced economic growth, increased poverty, and political unrest.
Unemployment Rate: The nation’s unemployment rate was 3.8 percent as of February, outperforming the global average of 4.9 percent and putting it at 24th globally. One weakness of this measure in the Philippines is that it does not account for underemployment.
Infant Mortality: The nation ranks 69th worldwide on this measure, which is mid-range globally but higher than that of most of its Southeast Asian neighbors. Infant mortality in the Philippines is 21.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, according to the World Bank. Iceland has the world’s lowest infant mortality rate at 1.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. By comparison, in some African countries the rates are often 60 to 70 deaths per 1,000 live births. The highest number is in Afghanistan, with 103 deaths per 1,000 live births.
Fertility Rate: In the Philippines, the fertility rate has ranged widely in recent years, from 2.75 births per woman in 2021 to 1.90 in 2022. This is much higher than that of many developed countries such as Japan, at 1.20, South Korea, at 0.75, and Hong Kong, at 0.68. In any case, in the absence of waves of migrants, the populations of these nations are now decreasing at exponential rates.
Social Progress Index: This is a measure of social well-being that deliberately excludes economic data. Included are measures of health, sanitation, personal freedom and safety. With a score of 67.46, the Philippines ranks 81st out of 169 nations. This puts it below Malaysia, at 74.08, and Thailand, at 69.80. But it is ahead of Indonesia, at 66.67. On this measure, Norway ranks No. 1 with a score of 90.74.
Environmental Performance Index: This is a combination of 58 measures of the environment compiled by Yale University in the United States – air quality, water quality, habitat conservation, sustainable agricultural practices, and illegal logging, for example. Scores range from 0 to 1, and the Philippines’ score in 2024 was 32.1, placing it 169th out of 180 nations. The Philippines’ low score can be attributed to high population density – 398 persons per square kilometer compared to 60 persons per square kilometer worldwide – and this increases pollution, puts pressure on the natural environment, and strains natural resources.