The country’s population is projected to reach 112 million in 2023, lower than what was projected before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) said.
According to the commission’s earlier projections, the population was expected to reach 115 million by this year.
The CPD added that it was citing the 2020 census-based projections of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“The lower projection by the PSA, the source of official statistics, takes into account the drop in the number of births and high mortality rates in 2021 and 2022—the period covering the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CPD, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.
“CPD thus acknowledges that the projected population it earlier stated was an overestimate,” the agency added.
The Philippines is ranked as the world’s 13th most populous country, the CPD said earlier this week.
As of the Philippines’ last census in 2020, the country’s population stands at more than 109 million, with a 1.6 percent annual population growth, the CPD said.
