Senior citizens reach more than a thousand in the Municipality of Kabayan

• Senior citizens defined as individuals belonging to the age group 60 years and over. In 2015, the household population of the municipality of Kabayan reached 15.2 thousand. Senior citizens made up the 8.3 percent (1,260) as shown in Table 1. It is 19.1 percent (202) higher compared to the 2010 population of elders.
• Among the barangays, the highest number of elders was in Poblacion with 14.0 percent of the senior in the municipality, followed by Pacso with 12.3 percent, and Batan with 11.5 percent. Meanwhile, Anchukey had the least of elders with 1.5 percent.

Table 1. Household Population and Number of Senior Citizens by Barangay: Kabayan, 2015

• In terms of proportion of senior citizens to the household population, Adagay posted the highest at 13.2 percent, followed by Batan at 13.1 percent. Both proportions were higher than the municipal level of 8.3 percent.
• Ballay had the least proportion of senior citizens to its household population with 4.3 percent.

Female senior citizens outnumber males

• Of the total senior citizens in the municipality, 52.6 were females while the rest were males.
• Female senior citizens outnumbered males except for the age group 60 to 64 years old with the biggest gap on those who are 80 years old and over.
• The number of senior citizens decreases as age increases. About 30.8 percent (388) of the elders belongs to age group 60-64 years old, 23.2 percent (292) belongs to 65-69 years old, 17.4 percent (219) were 70-74 years old, 13.7 percent (173) belongs to 75-79 years old and 14.9 percent (188) were 80 years old and above.

Majority of senior citizens are married

• Of the total household population aged 60 years and over in the municipality, 56.2 percent (708) were married and 30.4 percent (383) were widowed.
• A relatively small proportion was reported divorced or separated with 1.3 percent (16).
• There were only 5 senior citizens with status of common-law or live-in, representing 0.4 percent of the total number of senior citizens in Kabayan

Few of the seniors are academic degree holder

• Only 66 senior citizens in the municipality of Kabayan were academic degree holder

• Most of the senior citizens finished primary undergraduate (414 or 32.9%) followed by elementary graduate with 311 (24.7%). There were 207 senior citizens (16.4%) who did not finish any level of education and most of them is female (151 or 72.9%).
• Male elders exceeded the number of female graduates in high school but not in academic degree holder. There were 46 females (69.7%) with academic degree holder and only 20 males (30.3%).

Eight in every ten elders can read and write simple message

• Simple literacy rate of elders in the municipality of Kabayan when compared to household population was 84.7 percent (1067) as shown in Figure 4. The remaining 15.3 percent (193) cannot able to read and write a simple message. Moreover, literacy rate for males were higher than the females.

Mostly of the senior are skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers

• Most of the senior citizens in Kabayan were skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers (31.0% or 391), followed by seniors engaged in elementary occupations with 14.1 percent (178) and 3.8 percent were managers in their own business/farm.
• There are 587 (46.6%) seniors who engaged in non-gainful activity (dependent/pensioner/ person with disability).
• In every barangay, almost all elders were skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers.
• Lusod posted the highest number of skilled agricultural forestry and fishery workers, while Pacso had the highest number of seniors engaged in elementary occupations.

There are still 34 seniors that is unregistered in Buguias

• The registered birth of senior citizens in Kabayan 92.9 percent (1,170) while 2.7 percent (34) were unregistered and 4.4 percent (56) was unknown.