Push Admin

PH population overshoots forecast in 2020 but growth rate slows

Article (news)

Warren de Guzman, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/news/10/16/20201015-bus-commuters-md-25.jpg"/><figcaption>Commuters head to relocated bus loading and unloading areas along Agham Road in Quezon City on October 15, 2020. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News​</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA - The population of the Philippines in 2020 overshot the government’s forecast but the rate of increase was slowing down. </p><p>As of May 1 last year, there were over 109 million Filipinos according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. This was higher than the forecast 108 million, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. </p><p>The 2020 population is higher by 8.05 million compared to 2015, and 16.7 million higher compared with the population in 2010, <a href="https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachments/ird/specialrelease/Special-Release-2020-CPH-Population-Counts-July-13-2021_2.pdf">PSA</a> data showed. But National Statistician Dennis Mapa said a downtrend was forming. </p><p>The Philippine population increased by 1.63 percent annually from 2015 to 2020, which was slower than the 1.72 percent annual increase from 2010 to 2015, the PSA said. </p><p>“The trend is actually going down, so isa sa mga rason, of course, ang preference ng maraming pamilya na mas maliit ang family size. This is not unique to 2020, because we are seeing a downtrend in population growth over several census already,” Mapa said. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/30/20/ph-population-to-reach-1108-million-by-2021-popcom">PH population to reach 110.8 million by 2021: POPCOM</a></li></ul><p>Chua meanwhile said the slightly higher-than-forecast population will not affect the government’s push to vaccinate 50-70 million Filipinos against COVID-19.</p><p>&quot;The 2020 population count is 109 million, it is higher by only 263,000-plus compared to the projection of 108 million,” Chua said. </p><p>“We are broadly on track. The deviation is not even 1 percent. We are well able to fund this,” he added. </p><p>According to data gathered by ABS-CBN News, 3,526,342 Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of July 11. This represented just 6.08 percent of the targeted 58 million fully vaccinated individuals before the end of the year.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/multimedia/infographic/03/23/21/philippines-covid-19-vaccine-tracker">Philippines: COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker</a></li></ul><p>Chua said they will be using the latest census data to evaluate the reproductive healthcare program.</p><p>The census is conducted by the government every 5 years, so the Philippine government went into the COVID-19 pandemic armed with what was essentially 5-year-old population data. </p><p>This created some problems, particularly with the distribution of aid to the poor during the lockdowns imposed to curb the spread of the virus.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/08/05/20/dswd-removes-3-million-names-from-list-of-sap-beneficiaries">DSWD removes 3 million names from list of SAP beneficiaries</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/14/20/malaya-43-mayors-told-to-explain-delay-in-sap-distribution">Malaya: 43 mayors told to explain delay in SAP distribution</a></li></ul><p>There were instances were some families had grown, so the aid given to them was insufficient. There were some instances were families had changed address, so they financial aid meant for them was distributed to their former LGU, not the one where they currently reside.</p><p>There was a significant amount of money meant for social amelioration which was returned to the government’s treasury because the beneficiaries could not be found. Under Bayanihan 2 alone a total of P26 million was returned out of the P22.9B allocated for financial aid for NCR plus, because the recipients could not be located, according to the Department of Interior and Local Government.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/10/21/population-growth-in-manila-declined-in-2020-census-reveals">Population growth in Manila declined in 2020, census reveals</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1726257" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>As of May 1 last year, there were over 109 million Filipinos according to the Philippine Statistics Authority; this was higher than the forecast 108 million, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. <br /> </p>

As of May 1 last year, there were over 109 million Filipinos according to the Philippine Statistics Authority; this was higher than the forecast 108 million, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua.

PH population overshoots forecast in 2020 but growth rate slows

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Business

PH population overshoots forecast in 2020 but growth rate slows

Warren de Guzman,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 13, 2021 05:34 PM PHT

Read More:

population

PSA

Philippine Statistics Authority

Dennis Mapa

Karl Chua

NEDA

economic growth

demographics

vaccination

COVID-19 vaccine

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.