Contraceptives (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Married Filipino women are almost twice as likely to use contraceptives than unmarried women, the Commission on Population and Development (Popcom) said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
Citing its 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey, Popcom said 42 percent of married women aged 15 to 49 years old use contraceptives, and only 24 percent of unmarried ones do so.
The commission also took notice of the “unmet need” of 42 percent of sexually active unmarried women, compared with 12 percent of sexually active married women.
Also, 50 percent of sexually active unmarried women are unsatisfied with their family planning demand compared to 17 percent of their married counterparts.
“I’m putting on alert… on which population groups we need to prioritize in terms of fertility issues: women who are less educated, poorer women, as well as the sexually active and unmarried,” said Undersecretary for Population and Development Lisa Grace Bersales
Due to the increasing prevalence of contraceptive use, Popcom also reiterated that the country’s total fertility rate sharp decline: from 6.0 in 1973 to 1.9 in 2022.
The latest figure is below the replacement fertility rate — or the fertility rate at which women give birth to enough babies to sustain population levels — of 2.1 children.
Bersales said, however, that Popcom would also like to determine how much the lower fertility rate was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.