Philippines' population growth rate slows down
Manila Times
06 April 2024
THE country's population growth rate has slowed down even as its aging population grew by 5 percent, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) said on Friday.
The commission also noted what it calls population momentum, where the number of Filipinos is still on the rise owing to the fact that the children under the population pyramid are growing and also giving birth.
"It's still adding in absolute number," said Mylin Mirasol Quiray, acting chief of CPD-Knowledge, Management and Communication Division.
Quiray said the current fertility rate is 1.5 percent, or a little less than two children for every couple.
"It's more surprising in the National Capital Region because it's only 1.2 percent, meaning a couple is satisfied to have only one child in a family," she said in a television interview.
The growth rate is highest in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, where a couple is likely to have an average of three children.
Quiray also set straight the wrong assumption that the birth rate was behind the increase in Metro Manila's population.
"The population growth rate in Metro Manila is not due to births but migration of people from the provinces who flock to the metropolis for economic opportunities," she said.
A study by the Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute (PSRTI) showed a drop in the number of births at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Quiray said there were 1.3 million births in 2021, which is lower than 1.5 million before the pandemic peaked in 2020.
The figure rose slightly in 2022 to 1.4 million when the pandemic was almost over.
"During the pandemic, we all thought that it would shoot up but it went down. However, when the restrictions were lifted, it went up a little," she said.
She said that during the pandemic, most Filipinos were more concerned about their economic condition and lack of employment than engaging in sex.
The PSRTI study indicated that fewer people chose to get married after the pandemic.
Quiray said the data suggests changing values regarding marriage, with a live-in arrangement preferred by people who are in the 30-year-old bracket.
However, live-in couples prefer to delay having a baby "and instead would love to have a pet as their child," she added.
Quiray said the working age (15 to 64 years old) remains high, although the number of older persons is increasing.
"The number could be better, since the people of working age "are that one that supports the depending population that is 0-14 years old and 65 years old above," she said.
"But the question is, are the working age employed, educated or healthy enough to support these dependents?" Quiray said.
Among the regions, Ilocos already has an aging population, based on the United Nations standard.
Quiray said the commission will continue to promote modern family planning methods to ensure a high quality of life for Filipinos.
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