Fertility Rate in the Philippines Declines to Fewer Than Two Children

The total fertility rate (TFR) in the Philippines fell below the average number of 2.1 children in 2022, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Nov. 13.

The 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) polled 27,821 women of reproductive age (15-49 years old) from 30,372 households across 17 regions in the Philippines.

The preliminary results showed that the fertility level in this age group dropped to 1.9 children per woman, compared to 2.7 children per woman in 2017. The average number of children born in rural areas is slightly higher at 2.2, compared to those in urban areas at 1.7.

Fertility level was reported low among women aged 15 to 19 years old this year, with only 25 births per 1,000 adolescent women. Meanwhile, the fertility level peaks among those aged between 25 to 29, with 105 births per 1,000 women then drops after.

At the same time, the fertility rate among women aged 20 to 24 years continued to decline, from 163 to 84 births per 1,000 women between 2008-2022. This trend was also the case among women aged 25 to 44 years old.

In the survey, women were asked if they wanted more children and how long they would like to wait before having their next child.

“About half (48.8%) of currently married women aged 15 to 49 years (including women who are sterilized or whose husbands are sterilized) want no more children. The percentage of women who want no more children increases with the number of living children, from 4.3 percent with no living children to 72.0 percent with six or more children,” the press release read.

On the other hand, women who preferred to have another child (13.9%) plan to give birth within the next two years, while 8.1% were undecided.

Amid the declining fertility rate in the country, a baby girl born in Tondo, Manila, on Nov. 15 was officially recognized as the eighth billionth person in the world, GMA News reported yesterday.