MANILA, Philippines – Population in the Philippines is expected to reach around 107,190,081 by December 31, 2018, according to the latest estimate of the Commission on Population (PopCom). 

In a statement on Wednesday, January 3, PopCom said it made the projection using the geometric method based on the latest population census of the Philippine Statistics Authority released in 2015. 

“Based on the above projections, the Philippine population will increase by 1.8 million by the end of 2018, growing at a rate of 1.69% annually,” said PopCom executive director Juan Antonio Perez III.

“That means we will be adding 4,965 Filipinos per day, or 206 every hour in 2018,” he added. (READ: Philippine population to hit 142M by 2045) 

By PopCom’s estimates, Filipina women of reproductive age, or those aged 15 to 49 years old, will increase by over 400,000 compared to last year, totalling to about 27,713,110.

But the said figure is expected to increase even further up to 33,114,606 or about 30.5% of the total population. PopCom explained this is because of the increasing trend on teenage pregnancy among 10 to 14-year-old girls. 

For girls aged 10 to 19, their population is expected to rise to 10,697,289. Despite this, PopCom said the percentage of girl adolescents will decline by 9.42%.

The commission also predicted an increase in population in the 15 to 64-year-old age group from 63.72% to 63.88%.

“This means that there will be an increasing workforce and older person, as well as decreasing population under 14. This leads to fewer children being born,” said PopCom.

Meanwhile, Filipinos aged above 60 are expected to be around 8,013,059 by the end of 2018, or 0.23% more than the projection in 2017. A total of 5,082,049 will be aged 65 and older. – Rappler.com