Chart and table of the SP.URB.TOTL fertility rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

Chart and table of the SH.DTH.IMRT fertility rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

In 2025, the average age in the Philippines is expected to reach 26.1 years, increasing to roughly 46.1 years of age by 2100. This is a significant rise, considering that until the year 2000, the country’s median age was under 20 years old. From 2011 to 2021, the share of very young people decreased, while the age brackets for people aged 15-64 and 65 or older grew. This shift in age structure implies a lower birth rate, as well as an aging population. Birth and family size As of 2020, the birth rate in the Philippines is just under 22 children born per thousand inhabitants each year, about 3 less than in the decade before. The fertility rate has likewise been decreasing since 2007, but is still higher than the Oceania region’s average as of 2020. Fewer newborns each year contributes to a lower median age. High mortality in the Philippines is preventable Life expectancy is also factor in a rising median age, although increasing only marginally in the Philippines compared with neighboring countries Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos (but still higher than in these countries). The life expectancy in the Philippines was just under 72 years of age in 2017, and roughly three years shorter than in Thailand or Vietnam. One factor that lowers the life expectancy is the high mortality rate due to noncontagious diseases, such as cancer and heart and respiratory problems, accounting for more than a quarter of early deaths from ages 30 to 70 in the Philippines.

Chart and table of the Philippines infant mortality rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

In 2023, the total population of the Philippines was at approximately 111.91 million inhabitants. For the foreseeable future, the Filipino population is expected to increase slightly, despite a current overall downward trend in population growth. The dwindling Filipino population For now, the population figures in the Philippines still show a steady increase and the country is still one of the most densely populated countries in the Asia-Pacific region, however, all signs point to a decline in the number of inhabitants in the long run: Just like the population growth rate, the country’s fertility rate, for example, has also been decreasing for years now, while the death rate has been increasing simultaneously.   Poor healthcare to blame One of the reasons for the downward trend is the aging population; fewer babies are born each year, while life expectancy at birth has been steady over the years. Another reason is poor healthcare in the country: The Philippines have a high tuberculosis incidence rate, a highly infectious disease, and are among the countries with a high probability of death from noncommunicable diseases as well.

Chart and table of the AG.LND.FRST.K2 birth rate from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2024. All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. Fertility rate The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country. Usually, a woman aged between 15 and 45 is considered to be in her child-bearing years. The fertility rate of a country provides an insight into its economic state, as well as the level of health and education of its population. Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate due to lack of access to birth control and contraception, and to women usually foregoing a higher education, or even any education at all, in favor of taking care of housework. Many families in poorer countries also need their children to help provide for the family by starting to work early and/or as caretakers for their parents in old age. In developed countries, fertility rates and birth rates are usually much lower, as birth control is easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming a mother. Additionally, if the number of women of child-bearing age declines, so does the fertility rate of a country. As can be seen above, countries like Hong Kong are a good example for women leaving the patriarchal structures and focusing on their own career instead of becoming a mother at a young age, causing a decline of the country’s fertility rate. A look at the fertility rate per woman worldwide by income group also shows that women with a low income tend to have more children than those with a high income. The United States are neither among the countries with the lowest, nor among those with the highest fertility rate, by the way. At 2.08 children per woman, the fertility rate in the US has been continuously slightly below the global average of about 2.4 children per woman over the last decade.

Chart and table of Philippines population from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

In 2022, India overtook China as the world's most populous country and now has almost 1.46 billion people. China now has the second-largest population in the world, still with just over 1.4 billion inhabitants, however, its population went into decline in 2023. Global population As of 2025, the world's population stands at almost 8.2 billion people and is expected to reach around 10.3 billion people in the 2080s, when it will then go into decline. Due to improved healthcare, sanitation, and general living conditions, the global population continues to increase; mortality rates (particularly among infants and children) are decreasing and the median age of the world population has steadily increased for decades. As for the average life expectancy in industrial and developing countries, the gap has narrowed significantly since the mid-20th century. Asia is the most populous continent on Earth; 11 of the 20 largest countries are located there. It leads the ranking of the global population by continent by far, reporting four times as many inhabitants as Africa. The Demographic Transition The population explosion over the past two centuries is part of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition. Simply put, this transition results from a drastic reduction in mortality, which then leads to a reduction in fertility, and increase in life expectancy; this interim period where death rates are low and birth rates are high is where this population explosion occurs, and population growth can remain high as the population ages. In today's most-developed countries, the transition generally began with industrialization in the 1800s, and growth has now stabilized as birth and mortality rates have re-balanced. Across less-developed countries, the stage of this transition varies; for example, China is at a later stage than India, which accounts for the change in which country is more populous - understanding the demographic transition can help understand the reason why China's population is now going into decline. The least-developed region is Sub-Saharan Africa, where fertility rates remain close to pre-industrial levels in some countries. As these countries transition, they will undergo significant rates of population growth