Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

Pregnant women  wait at the CSV Maternity and Lying-in Clinic in Quezon City, October 02, 2018. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

<p>MANILA — Filipino women are now having fewer children, with the country’s fertility rate dropping to 1.7 children per woman, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).</p><p>The figure, based on the 2025 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), marked the lowest level on record and continues a decades-long decline from 4.1 children per woman in 1993.</p><p>At 1.7, the country has now fallen below the replacement level of 2.1 that would sustain the current population. This has raised questions on how the country’s population will grow in the coming years.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS ALSO HAVING FEWER CHILDREN</strong></div><p>The decline in fertility rate cuts across both urban and rural areas, with women in cities now having an average of 1.5 children, compared to 2.0 in rural communities.</p><p>Fertility rates in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded the highest at 2.4 children per woman, followed by Region IV-A (1.3 children per woman) and the National Capital Region (NCR) and Negros Island Region (NIR) at 1.4 children per woman.</p><p>By education level, fertility rates are highest among those with some primary education at 3.1 children per woman, and declined with higher educational attainment. </p><p>The survey also showed that Filipino women are having children later in life.</p><p>Births are now most common among women aged 25 to 29, while adolescent fertility remains low at 22 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19.</p><p>Teenage pregnancy has also declined, with 4.9 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 having ever been pregnant, a decrease from previous years.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/01/10/24/is-an-aging-population-good-or-bad-for-ph">Is an aging population good or bad for PH?<br/></a></div><p>A growing number of Filipino women are choosing to have fewer children. </p><p>According to the survey, 57.3 percent of married women say they do not want more children. Only 13.4 percent want another child within the next two years.</p><p>The use of modern contraceptives among married women has also increased to 44.5 percent.</p><p>The 2025 survey, which captured the years 2022 to 2025, covered over 30,000 women, with a sample of 29,694 women aged 15 to 49 across the country.</p><p>The current minimum wage in the Philippines ranges from P366 to P695 per day, varying by region and by industry. </p><p>According to Philippine Statistics Authority data, average annual family income was at P353,230 in 2023, with average family expenditure at P258,050 that year. </p><p>A new Family Income and Expenditure Survey was conducted in 2025 to update those figures.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED STORY:</strong></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/4/8/falling-fertility-rate-sign-of-economic-development-health-chief-2128">Falling fertility rate sign of economic development: Health chief</a></div>

<p>Filipino women are now having fewer children, with the country’s fertility rate dropping to 1.7 children per woman, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).</p>

Filipino women are now having fewer children, with the country’s fertility rate dropping to 1.7 children per woman, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PH fertility rate falls to 1.7, lowest on record – PSA

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PH fertility rate falls to 1.7, lowest on record – PSA

Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

Published April 01, 2026 02:21 PM PHT

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Updated April 01, 2026 03:03 PM PHT

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Fertility rate

PSA

women

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