The number of births, deaths, and marriages has decreased.

The birth, death, and marriage rates in the Philippines decreased by 25.1%, 22.8%, and 33.2%, respectively, during the first four months of 2023 compared to the same time frame in the previous year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday.

From January to April, there were 327,176 new births recorded, which is a significant decrease compared to the 436,808 births registered during the same time frame in 2022.

The number of deaths this year for the same time frame was 174,597, which is lower than the previous year’s count of 226,050.

The number of marriages decreased to 115,159, which is one-third less than the 172,459 marriages recorded during the same time last year.

All the numbers for this year included recorded births, deaths, and marriages as of June 30th.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed that Calabarzon, which includes the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (also known as Region 4-A), had the highest number of registered births during the specified period, with 52,605 births accounting for 16.1% of the nationwide total. The next highest region was Central Luzon (Region 3) with 40,677 births, making up 12.4% of the total. Metro Manila (known as the National Capital Region or NCR) came in third with 30,279 births, comprising 9.3% of the total.

In terms of fatalities, Calabarzon had the highest number of deaths among all regions in the country, with 28,511 or 16.3% of the total deaths. This was followed by Central Luzon with 23,533 or 13.5% and Western Visayas with 18,262 (10.5%).

Once more, Calabarzon had the highest count of registered marriages at 20,358, making up 17.7% of the overall number in the Philippines. Central Luzon came in second with 16,548 marriages, accounting for 14.4% of the total, followed by NCR with 12,946 marriages, representing 11.2% of the total.

The PSA vital statistics report combines data from the city or municipal Civil Registrars, the PSA’s Provincial Statistical Offices, and the Office of the Civil Registrar General.— Abigail Marie P. Yraola