THE total number of Filipinos who died declined for the first time in a decade, according to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data showed that 579,237 men and women died in 2017, representing a contraction of 0.5 percent from the 582,183 who died in 2016.
Prior to 2017, the slowest growth in the number of deaths in the past 10 years was recorded in 2014 when the number of Filipinos who died posted a growth of only 0.9 percent.
The biggest increase in the number of deaths in the past decade, meanwhile, was recorded in 2015 at 4.4 percent.
The total number of deaths in 2017 was equivalent to a crude death rate (CDR) of 5.5, or about 6 persons per thousand population.
In 2017, an average of 1,587 persons died daily, which is equivalent to 66 deaths per hour or one death per minute.
“The number of deaths from 2008 to 2016 showed an increasing trend but slightly declined in 2017. The increase during the 10-year period is about a quarter, or 25.5 percent, from 461,581 in 2008 to 579,237 in 2017,” PSA said.
‘Death-to-GDP’ ratio
Meanwhile, the regions that accounted for the largest share of the country’s GDP were also the same ones that recorded the highest number of deaths in 2017.
The total deaths in Calabarzon, the National Capital Region (NCR), and Central Luzon together accounted for 39.4 percent of the total deaths in 2017. These three regions, using 2017 data, accounted for 62.9 percent of the country’s GDP.
In Calabarzon there were 84,971 deaths or 14.7 percent of the total followed by NCR with 75,187 or 13 percent; then Central Luzon with 67,980 or 11.7 percent. In terms of GDP, NCR accounted for 36.4 percent of GDP; Calabarzon, 16.8 percent; and Central Luzon, 9.7 percent.
Fewest deaths, poorest regions
On the other hand, the three regions which recorded the least number of deaths were also regions that posted double-digit poverty rates based on the 2018 first semester poverty data.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Caraga accounted for only 4.5 percent of the total deaths in the country. ARMM had a poverty incidence rate of 63 percent; CAR, 17.9 percent; and Caraga, 35.4 percent based on the 2018 first semester poverty data.
In terms of the number of deaths in ARMM, there were 3,036 deaths or 0.5 percent of the total; CAR, 8,176 deaths or 1.4 percent; and Caraga, 14,928 deaths or 2.6 percent of the total.
In 2017, the number of deaths among males stood at 332,517 which was higher than deaths in females at 246,720. This translated to a sex ratio of 135, which means that for every 100 female deaths, there are 135 male deaths.
“As in most parts of the world, males are more likely to die before females at all ages. In the Philippines, it is clearly shown that males died at a higher rate than females before reaching the age of 80 years, with the greatest difference observed at ages 60 to 64 years,” PSA said.
Meanwhile, the leading causes of death of Filipinos were various diseases of the heart, cancer, and pneumonia. PSA said ischemic heart diseases was the leading cause of death with 84,120 or 14.5 percent.
This was followed by neoplasms which are commonly known as cancers; followed by cerebrovascular diseases with 59,774 or 10.3 percent; and pneumonia at 57,210 or 9.9 percent of the total.
However, causes of death vary in terms of gender. While the leading cause of death for both males and females is ischemic heart disease, the other top killers of men differ from the top causes of death of women.
For men, apart from ischemic heart disease, the top killers are cerebrovascular diseases, neoplasms and pneumonia. For women, the other top killers are neoplasms, pneumonia and cerebrovascular diseases.
“It was also observed that assault was included in the 10 leading causes of death with 10,866 or 3.3 percent of the total deaths in males,” PSA noted.
Data on deaths presented in this release were obtained from the Certificates of Death that were registered at the Office of the City/Municipal Civil Registrars nationwide.
These certificates are then forwarded to the PSA. The information includes registered deaths which occurred from January to December 2017.