PH Fertility Rate Drops

Filipino women are now less fertile, which may become a demographic transition period for the Philippines’ population to go down, bringing along with it less poverty.

This comes as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in a statement that details the preliminary results of its 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) on Monday that the average offspring of the average Filipino woman aged 15 to 49 years old fell to 1.9 last year, a stark contrast to the average of 2.7 children per Filipino woman back in 2017.

The PSA also noted that the country is now below the replacement fertility level.

“Hence, the Philippines is already below the replacement fertility level of 2.1 children per woman,” PSA said, referring to the level of fertility in which one generation of the population replaces itself on to the next generation.

The replacement fertility level for developed countries is at 2.1.

Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) Officer In Charge-Executive Director Lolito R. Tacardon said that the decline in the country’s total fertility rate (TFR) might be considered a “breakthrough” in the country’s population, development, and family planning programs.

Tacardon said that the TFR of the Philippines is now on par with upper middle-income countries.

“The Philippines’ latest TFR is now comparable to those of upper middle-income countries’ 1.8 children, and Thailand at 1.5 children,” he said, adding that the Philippines now has the third-lowest TFR among ASEAN nations.

“In the ASEAN region, the Philippines has now the third-lowest after Singapore’s 1.1 children,” he added.

Moreover, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said during a briefing Tuesday that the drop in the fertility rate may be attributed to the success of family planning programs, noting the decline of teenage pregnancies in the country from 13.7 percent in 2013 to the current percentage of 6.8.

However, the fertility rate in rural areas is still higher than the 2.1 replacement fertility level at 2.2, while women living in urban areas had a fertility rate of only 1.7.

Meanwhile, Tacardon said that it might be the perfect time where multiple sectors could expedite socioeconomic development, citing further advantages of having lower fertility.

“Focus should now be on ensuring that the quality and capacity of the country’s human resources are enhanced. At the household level, lower fertility also means greater opportunity for personal development of couples and individuals, which can redound to more savings and investments,” he said. (GFB)