REGISTERED BIRTHS and deaths in the Philippines declined by 8% and 31.6% year on year, respectively, in the 11 months to November, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Wednesday.
Preliminary data indicated that births during the period totaled 1.15 million from 1.25 million a year earlier.
Calabarzon — consisting of the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon — posted the most registered births of any region at 175,952 or 15.4% of the national total.
The National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for 120,204 births or a 10.5% share.
Cavite was the top province with 46,569 births or 4.1% of the total, followed by Bulacan (40,493 or 3.5%) and Cebu (38,414 or 3.4%).
Registered deaths, meanwhile, totaled 563,465 in the 11 months to November, down from the 823,227 posted in 2021.
The leading cause of death remained ischaemic heart diseases, accounting for 18.4% of the total, with 103,628 cases recorded during the period. This total was down 28.6% from a year earlier.
It was followed by cerebrovascular diseases (57,411 or 10.2%), neoplasms (587,354 or 10.2%), diabetes mellitus (35,712 or 6.3%), and hypertensive diseases (32,339 or 5.7%).
Deaths associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) totaled 16,080, down 85.6% from a year earlier.
Deaths recorded with COVID-19 identified as the cause were the 11th leading cause of death, down from 3rd a year earlier. Deaths suspected to be COVID-19-related but with the virus not definitively identified totaled 4,703, to become the 22nd leading cause of death, down from 8th a year earlier.
Quezon City (766 or 19.6% of the total) registered the most COVID-19 deaths in the NCR, followed by the city of Manila (569 or 14.5%) and Pasig (432 or 11%).
The number of registered marriages in the 11 months to November rose 21% year on year to 367,932.
Calabarzon topped the regions with 54,212 marriages or 14.7% of the national total.
The NCR logged 42,863 marriages or an 11.6% share.
Cavite (13,026 or 3.5%), Batangas (12,896 or 2.5%), and Cebu (12,205 or 3.3%) topped all provinces for registered marriages.
The PSA tracked data generated by the various Offices of the City of Municipal Civil Registrar. They do not include data from overseas Filipinos.
COVID-19 statistics in the report vary from those issued by the Department of Health, which is based on the findings of its surveillance system, while PSA bases it estimates on death certificates from local government units. — Miguel Hanz L. Antivola