Teenage pregnancy among Filipinos aged 15 to 19 years old dwindled from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2022.
The Philippine Statistic Authority (PSA) said that among those who were pregnant, 13.3% were 19-year-olds; 5.9% were 18-year-olds; 5.6% were 17-year-olds; 1.7% were 16-year-old; and 1.4% were 15-year-olds.
The PSA added that 0.4% of those who became pregnant experienced pregnancy loss.
Teenage pregnancy was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas: 6.1% and 4.%, respectively.
Northern Mindanao posted the highest percentage with 10.9%; followed by the Davao Region with 8.2%; Central Luzon with 8%; and Caraga at 7.7%.
The Ilocos Region and the Bicol Region posted the lowest with 2.4%.
The PSA also added that the percentage of teenage pregnancy also decreases with increasing wealth quantile — 1 in every 10 women aged 15 to 19 are in “the poorest quantile” or 10.3% became pregnant while 1.8% of the women in “the wealthiest quantile” became pregnant.
“Among teenagers who are currently pregnant, the trend is also decreasing from poorest to wealthiest,” the PSA said.
The PSA added that it interviewed a total of 27,821 women aged 15 to 49 from 30,372 sample households in 2022.
— Ronald Espartinez