Thursday, April 17, 2008
Population growth slows for first time in 40 years (11:09 a.m.)
MANILA -- Population growth in the Philippines, considered one of the highest in the world with a baby born every three minutes, has slowed down for the first time since the 1960s, official data showed Thursday.
The number of Filipinos grew to 88.57 million last year, compared to 76.5 million in 2000, according to the latest census. At the same time, annual population growth dropped from an average of 2.34 percent to 2.04 percent, the National Statistics Office reported.
It projected the growth rate will ease further to 1.95 percent by 2010 in what economists say was a natural tendency in step with economic development.
An average Filipino family has about 5 members. But the growing middle class and more opportunities for education has increasingly led people to delay marriage and families, economists said.
The Asian Development Bank put the Philippines' population growth rate as of 2006 at 2.1 percent, similar to Laos and Malaysia but higher than Thailand's 0.8 percent rate, Vietnam's 1.4 percent, and Indonesia's 1.3 percent. The Philippines ranks as the second most populous country in Southeast Asia next to Indonesia, which has 222 million people. (AP) |
