by Bernadette Therese M. Gadon, Researcher
Registered births and marriages in the Philippines dropped from January to August last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Friday.
Preliminary data from the Vital Statistics report showed births during the first eight months of 2023 reached 775,762, lower than the 909,512 births logged during the same period in 2022.
Similarly, 263,752 marriages were logged during the first eight months of 2023, lower the 308,096 marriages recorded in the same period in 2022.
The number of deaths recorded from January to August in the same year also fell by 10.7% to 402,338 – down from 450,370 in 2022.
January logged the highest number of births (127,555) and deaths (60,640) last year, while February saw the most marriages (50,900).
Among regions, the biggest decline in births was recorded in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Mimaropa, and Eastern Visayas.
BARMM, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), and Eastern Visayas had the least recorded number of marriages with a total of 770, 5,101, and 9,046 from January to August 2022.
BARMM, Central Visayas, and Davao Region logged the lowest deaths during the period.
In a separate report by the PSA, ischaemic heart disease remains the leading cause of death nationwide with 76,901 logged as of August 2023 (19.1% of deaths recorded). This number is 6.5% less than the 82,245 recorded during the same period in 2022.
Rounding the top five causes of death are neoplasms (10.5% share), cerebrovascular diseases (10.2%), diabetes mellitus (6.3%), and Pneumonia (5.9%).
