Population growth slows as contraceptive use spikes

The country’s population of 100.98 million recorded in 2015 was half a million lower than what was forecast in 2010,  an indication that population growth had slowed down nationwide as more couples use contraceptives, according to the Population Commission (PopCom).

The Popcom said the 2015 census results showed that the population grew nationwide by 1.72 percent last year, down from the 1.9 percent rate during the previous census in 2010.

It also showed a significant decline of unmet need for family planning from 23 percent in 2003 to 22 percent in 2008 and to 17 percent in 2013.

PopCom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III on Wednesday attributed the decline in population growth to the use of modern contraceptives which increased to 45 percent of couples as of last year, up from 38 percent recorded by a national survey in 2013.

PopCom said that 16 percent of women were already using contraception to delay their next birth while 39 percent, to stop childbearing.

The commission has pegged the total demand for family planning among married women in the country at 73 percent.

“The country now has some time to cope with the increasing population since the time for the population to double has now gone up to 40 years from 38 years in the last census,”  Perez said in a statement, citing results of the 2015 population consensus.

“But we need to exert greater efforts to reduce the unmet need for family planning and reproductive health services by four to five million couples and individuals who want the services to limit or space their children in their reproductive years,” he added.

PopCom also noted that 45 percent of the population growth in 2015—or nearly half of the increase in the number of Filipinos—came from only three regions: Calabarzon, the most populated region with 14.41 million; Metro Manila, 12.88 million and Central Luzon, 11.22 million.