PhilStarGlobal-Sept 18
The Philippines’ fertility rate has fallen to 1.7 children per woman, sharpening concerns that a smaller future workforce will have to support a rapidly aging population. The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) warned that persistently low fertility could eventually weaken the country’s base of workers, taxpayers and contributors to social protection systems, while increasing demand for healthcare and other services for older Filipinos. The country’s total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime based on current fertility patterns, dropped from 1.9 in 2022 to 1.7 in 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. That is well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Mylin Mirasol Quiray, information management and communications division chief of the CPD, said Thursday that the effects would become more consequential as today’s smaller cohorts eventually enter the labor force. She said the more immediate concern is the country’s future contributor base, as fewer births today eventually translate into fewer workers. The shift is already visible in the country’s age structure. The 2024 Census of Population found that Filipinos aged 65 and older numbered 7.4 million, or 6.6% of the household population, up from 5.4% in 2020. The country’s median age also rose to 27.7 years in 2024 from 25.3 in 2020 and 24.3 in 2015, according to the PSA.
Meanwhile, Filipinos aged 60 and older reached 11.42 million, equivalent to 10.2% of the household population. Quiray said an older population would mean greater demand for public services. Recent PIDS research has warned that below-replacement fertility, combined with population aging and a potentially smaller labor force, could increase pressure on social security systems and government revenues over the longer term. Quiray said the current labor force remains large enough to support children and older dependents. That gives the country time to prepare for the longer-term consequences of lower fertility. PIDS likewise says the Philippines’ demographic dividend remains open, but argues that policy must increasingly shift from controlling population growth toward building human capital and and preparing for population aging. Read more at:
