REGISTERED births and deaths in the Philippines from January to September 2023 declined from the previous year by 16.46% and 11.49%, respectively, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revealed on Wednesday.
The preliminary PSA data showed that births in the nine-month period last year totaled 879,511, fewer than the 1,052,747 in the same period in 2022. Deaths also declined to 449,206 from 507,516 the year before.
For marriage statistics in the same period last year, PSA data showed it also fell by 15.91% from the previous year to 284,649.
In a separate release, the PSA said ischemic heart disease, neoplasms, and cerebrovascular disease remained the top three causes of death in 2023.
Of the total deaths in the country, ischemic heart disease cornered 19% with 85,192 cases, lower than the 92,578 reported in 2022 but still the top killer in both years.
The rest of the five causes of death were neoplasms (10.6% share), cerebrovascular diseases (10.1%), diabetes mellitus (6.4%), and pneumonia (5.9%). — Andrea C. Abestano
