BIRTHS and deaths from January to October 2023 declined from the previous year with newborn figures dropping below 1 million over the 10-month period, preliminary data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday showed.
Births recorded by the PSA for the period reached 971,002, fewer than the 1,190,520 births in the first 10 months of 2022, reflecting an 18.4% drop. On the other hand, registered deaths fell to 484,961 from 565,344 for a year-on-year decline of 14.2%.
Marriage statistics also decreased by 17.5% to 305,375 in the same reference period from 369,967 in 2022.
In a separate release, ischemic heart disease, neoplasms, and cerebrovascular disease remained the top three causes of death in Filipinos over the same period last year.
Ischemic heart disease accounted for 19% of the total deaths with 91,936 cases, down 10.8% from the 103,058 cases in 2022.
The rest of the five causes of death were neoplasms (10.6% share), cerebrovascular diseases (10.1%), diabetes mellitus (6.3%), and pneumonia (6%). — Andrea C. Abestano
