Teenage pregnancy sees Philippine population growth outstrip projections

population growth

The population of the Philippines has reached 106.2 million, making it the 13th most populous country in the world, the Commission on Population has announced.

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A statement posted on the commission’s website today (Friday, July 27) also predicted that the population would rise by a further 1.8 million by the end of this year.

Juan Antonio Perez, POPCOM’s executive director, said: “Based on the population projections, the Philippine population will increase by 1.8 million by the end of 2018, growing at a rate of 1.69 per cent. That means we will be adding 4,965 Filipinos per day, or 206 every hour in 2018.”

Today’s statement was issued to coincide with the fourth birthdays of the “100 millionth babies” who were born on July 27, 2014, when the population topped that milestone.

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Dr Perez said: “As duty bearers of the society, POPCOM will continue to monitor these babies as a reiteration of our advocacy through the years that every child should be born wanted, and his/her basic rights on social services such as health and education are ensured for his/her total development.

“We aim to provide quality life for the babies and make every Filipino count in the progress and development of the country as the population increases rapidly every year.”

In January this year, the commission projected the Philippine population to reach 107.19 million by December 31, 2018.

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The commission said it made the projection using the geometric method based on the latest population census of the Philippine Statistics Authority released in 2015. The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia.

According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the fertility rate of women in the Philippines dropped from an average of three children to 2.7.

However, the PSA said teenage pregnancy remains high with nine per cent of women aged 15-19 already becoming mothers.

PSA data also state that there are more than 200,000 women who are pregnant with 130,000 minors giving birth every year and needing family planning and adolescent health services.

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