Preliminary figures between January to September 2024 indicated that ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Philippines. The number of people who died from this illness was estimated at 75,500. Following this, cancer resulted in the deaths of about 43,000 people. Eating habits Heart diseases have been linked to high meat consumption, among others. In the Philippines, pork has been the most consumed meat type, followed closely by chicken. While pork meat is typically produced domestically, the country also imports pork to supplement its supply. However, plant-based food has started gaining popularity among Filipinos. In fact, a 2024 survey revealed that 69 percent of surveyed Filipinos consumed plant-based products, including meat alternatives. Common diseases in the Philippines Aside from heart and cerebrovascular diseases, the Filipino population is also exposed to infections, diabetes, skin diseases, and illnesses resulting from high meat consumption. In 2020, over 700,000 Filipinos contracted acute respiratory tract infections, followed by over 400,000 diagnosed with hypertension. In areas with high exposure to rain, dengue infections and leptospirosis have also become prevalent.

According to preliminary data for 2024, ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Philippines. Deaths caused by this disease accounted for 19.4 percent of the total share of deaths in the country. This was followed by cancer, which held about 11 percent of the total registered deaths.

According to preliminary data between January and September 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by transport accidents. This indicates no change from the full year 2023 share. Ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and cancer were the leading causes of death in the country.

According to preliminary data between January and September 2023, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by the remainder of endocrine nutritional and metabolic diseases. Ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and cancer were the leading cause of death in the country.

In 2021, diarrhea and gastroenteritis of presumed infectious origin was the leading cause of mortality among children aged one to four years old in the Philippines. The number of deaths caused by such disease amounted to 611. The other major causes of child mortality in the country were remainder diseases of sepsis, other tuberculosis, as well as respiratory tuberculosis.

According to preliminary data between January and October 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by diabetes mellitus diseases. Deaths from such illnesses peaked in 2020. Diabetes mellitus is diagnosed when glucose is high in the blood.

According to preliminary data between January and September 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by hypertensive diseases. Deaths from such illnesses have fluctuated since 2017 across the country.

According to preliminary data between January and October 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by liver diseases. Ischaemic heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and cancer were the leading causes of death in the country.

In 2024, 362 people died due to major natural disasters in the Philippines. The peak number of deaths due to natural calamities was reported in 2013 when Typhoon Haiyan hit various regions in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In 2021, ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Philippines. Among the male population, approximately ****** people have died from the disease. Meanwhile, just over ****** female population in the country succumbed to death due to ischemic heart disease.

The statistic shows the infant mortality rate in the Philippines from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, the infant mortality rate in the Philippines was at about 22.1 deaths per 1,000 live births.

According to preliminary data between January and October 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by respiratory tuberculosis diseases. Deaths from such illnesses gradually declined, with its lowest share recorded in 2021. However, from that year onwards, the share of deaths from this illness slowly increased.

According to preliminary data between January and October 2024, *** percent of deaths in the Philippines were caused by pneumonia. Deaths from such illnesses significantly dropped from 2020 onwards, from its peak share of **** percent in 2019.

In 2021, the leading illnesses in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines was animal bites, with approximately ******* cases. The other leading causes of morbidity in the region were hypertension and acute respiratory infection.

In 2021, animal bites was the leading illness in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines, with cases amounting to around *****. The other leading causes of morbidity in the region were hypertension and pneumonia.

In 2024, Myanmar had the highest crude death rate among the Southeast Asian countries, with *** deaths per thousand population. That year, Singapore had the lowest crude death rate, with *** deaths per thousand population.Factors that influence the death rateThe death rate, also called mortality rate, is generally influenced by various factors such as the social environment, diseases, health facilities and services as well as the food supply of the respective countries. Myanmar’s government spent five percent of its public budget on health in 2016. In 2020, health expenditure per capita in Myanmar amounted to around ** U.S. dollars. The Maldives had the lowest crude death rate in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. There, health expenditure accounted for ***** percent of the country’s GDP. Furthermore, the share of undernourished people was at around ***** percent in Myanmar in 2020. Within Southeast Asia, Myanmar has also been one of the poorest countries. In 2020, the country’s GDP per capita was estimated at **** thousand U.S. dollars, the lowest across the Asia-Pacific region.

Abstract

The 2022 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) was implemented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Data collection took place from May 2 to June 22, 2022.

The primary objective of the 2022 NDHS is to provide up-to-date estimates of basic demographic and health indicators. Specifically, the NDHS collected information on fertility, fertility preferences, family planning practices, childhood mortality, maternal and child health, nutrition, knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS, violence against women, child discipline, early childhood development, and other health issues.

The information collected through the NDHS is intended to assist policymakers and program managers in designing and evaluating programs and strategies for improving the health of the country’s population. The 2022 NDHS also provides indicators anchored to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the new Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual
• Children age 0-5
• Woman age 15-49

Universe

The survey covered all de jure household members (usual residents), all women aged 15-49, and all children aged 0-4 resident in the household.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The sampling scheme provides data representative of the country as a whole, for urban and rural areas separately, and for each of the country’s administrative regions. The sample selection methodology for the 2022 NDHS was based on a two-stage stratified sample design using the Master Sample Frame (MSF) designed and compiled by the PSA. The MSF was constructed based on the listing of households from the 2010 Census of Population and Housing and updated based on the listing of households from the 2015 Census of Population. The first stage involved a systematic selection of 1,247 primary sampling units (PSUs) distributed by province or HUC. A PSU can be a barangay, a portion of a large barangay, or two or more adjacent small barangays.

In the second stage, an equal take of either 22 or 29 sample housing units were selected from each sampled PSU using systematic random sampling. In situations where a housing unit contained one to three households, all households were interviewed. In the rare situation where a housing unit contained more than three households, no more than three households were interviewed. The survey interviewers were instructed to interview only the preselected housing units. No replacements and no changes of the preselected housing units were allowed in the implementing stage in order to prevent bias. Survey weights were calculated, added to the data file, and applied so that weighted results are representative estimates of indicators at the regional and national levels.

All women age 15–49 who were either usual residents of the selected households or visitors who stayed in the households the night before the survey were eligible to be interviewed. Among women eligible for an individual interview, one woman per household was selected for a module on women’s safety.

For further details on sample design, see APPENDIX A of the final report.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

Two questionnaires were used for the 2022 NDHS: the Household Questionnaire and the Woman’s Questionnaire. The questionnaires, based on The DHS Program’s model questionnaires, were adapted to reflect the population and health issues relevant to the Philippines. Input was solicited from various stakeholders representing government agencies, academe, and international agencies. The survey protocol was reviewed by the ICF Institutional Review Board.

After all questionnaires were finalized in English, they were translated into six major languages: Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Bikol, Hiligaynon, and Waray. The Household and Woman’s Questionnaires were programmed into tablet computers to allow for computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI) for data collection purposes, with the capability to choose any of the languages for each questionnaire.

Cleaning operations

Processing the 2022 NDHS data began almost as soon as fieldwork started, and data security procedures were in place in accordance with confidentiality of information as provided by Philippine laws. As data collection was completed in each PSU or cluster, all electronic data files were transferred securely via SyncCloud to a server maintained by the PSA Central Office in Quezon City. These data files were registered and checked for inconsistencies, incompleteness, and outliers. The field teams were alerted to any inconsistencies and errors while still in the area of assignment. Timely generation of field check tables allowed for effective monitoring of fieldwork, including tracking questionnaire completion rates. Only the field teams, project managers, and NDHS supervisors in the provincial, regional, and central offices were given access to the CAPI system and the SyncCloud server.

A team of secondary editors in the PSA Central Office carried out secondary editing, which involved resolving inconsistencies and recoding “other” responses; the former was conducted during data collection, and the latter was conducted following the completion of the fieldwork. Data editing was performed using the CSPro software package. The secondary editing of the data was completed in August 2022. The final cleaning of the data set was carried out by data processing specialists from The DHS Program in September 2022.

Response rate

A total of 35,470 households were selected for the 2022 NDHS sample, of which 30,621 were found to be occupied. Of the occupied households, 30,372 were successfully interviewed, yielding a response rate of 99%. In the interviewed households, 28,379 women age 15–49 were identified as eligible for individual interviews. Interviews were completed with 27,821 women, yielding a response rate of 98%.

Sampling error estimates

The estimates from a sample survey are affected by two types of errors: (1) nonsampling errors and (2) sampling errors. Nonsampling errors are the results of mistakes made in implementing data collection and in data processing, such as failure to locate and interview the correct household, misunderstanding of the questions on the part of either the interviewer or the respondent, and data entry errors. Although numerous efforts were made during the implementation of the 2022 Philippines National Demographic and Health Survey (2022 NDHS) to minimize this type of error, nonsampling errors are impossible to avoid and difficult to evaluate statistically.

Sampling errors, on the other hand, can be evaluated statistically. The sample of respondents selected in the 2022 NDHS is only one of many samples that could have been selected from the same population, using the same design and identical size. Each of these samples would yield results that differ somewhat from the results of the actual sample selected. Sampling errors are a measure of the variability between all possible samples. Although the degree of variability is not known exactly, it can be estimated from the survey results.

A sampling error is usually measured in terms of the standard error for a particular statistic (mean, percentage, etc.), which is the square root of the variance. The standard error can be used to calculate confidence intervals within which the true value for the population can reasonably be assumed to fall. For example, for any given statistic calculated from a sample survey, the value of that statistic will fall within a range of plus or minus two times the standard error of that statistic in 95% of all possible samples of identical size and design.

If the sample of respondents had been selected as a simple random sample, it would have been possible to use straightforward formulas for calculating sampling errors. However, the 2022 NDHS sample was the result of a multistage stratified design, and, consequently, it was necessary to use more complex formulas. Sampling errors are computed in SAS using programs developed by ICF. These programs use the Taylor linearization method to estimate variances for survey estimates that are means, proportions, or ratios. The Jackknife repeated replication method is used for variance estimation of more complex statistics such as fertility and mortality rates.

A more detailed description of estimates of sampling errors are presented in APPENDIX B of the survey report.

Data appraisal

Data Quality Tables

• Household age distribution
• Age distribution of eligible and interviewed women
• Age displacement at age 14/15
• Age displacement at age 49/50
• Pregnancy outcomes by years preceding the survey
• Completeness of reporting
• Observation of handwashing facility
• School attendance by single year of age
• Vaccination cards photographed
• Population pyramid
• Five-year mortality rates

See details of the data quality tables in Appendix C of the final report.

The Philippines reported about ****** HIV cases, an increase from the previous year. The number of reported HIV cases has gradually increased since 2012, aside from a significant dip in 2020. The state of HIV As the monthly average number of people newly diagnosed with HIV increases, the risk it poses threatens the lives of Filipinos. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection that attacks the body’s immune system, with more males being diagnosed than females. In 2022, the majority of people newly diagnosed with HIV were those between the age of 25 and 34 years, followed by those aged 15 and 24. There is still no cure for HIV and without treatment, it could lead to other severe illnesses such as tuberculosis and cancers such as lymphoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma. However, HIV is now a manageable chronic illness that can be treated with proper medication. What are the leading causes of death in the Philippines? Between January and September 2024, preliminary figures have shown that ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Philippines. The prevalence of heart diseases in the nation has been closely attributed to the Filipino diet, which was described as having a high fat, high cholesterol, and high sodium content. In addition, acute respiratory infections and hypertension also registered the highest morbidity rate among leading diseases in the country in 2021.