Teen pregnancies continue to rise in Philippines, defying broader trend and hampering economic growth
Girls aged 15 to 19 make up 10 per cent of the country’s population of 100 million and one out of 10 of them have already given birth
The Philippines is the only Asia-Pacific country where the rate of teen pregnancies rose over the last two decades and the slow decline of its overall fertility rate may deprive the country of the faster economic growth expected in places that have more working-age people than younger and older dependents, the UN Population Fund said on Thursday.
Girls aged 15 to 19 make up 10 per cent of the country’s population of 100 million and one out of 10 of them have already given birth, UNFPA country representative Klaus Beck said. That fertility rate in that age group is 57 births for every 1,000 girls as of 2013 – higher than rates found by surveys every five years from 1998.
He emphasised the urgency of fully implementing a reproductive health law, investing in quality education and health services for teenage girls, and increasing jobs for youth.
The cost of not finishing high school education over the lifetime of young people would be equivalent to about 1 per cent of the country gross domestic product, he added.
With the right policies and investments in human capital, countries can empower young people to drive economic and social development
The study supported by UNFPA found that “due to the slow reduction in the fertility rate the country may not be able to benefit fully from the demographic dividend”, or the balance of its population among children, working-age adults (age 15 to 65) and elderly. It said the window of time to reap economic benefits from the favourable demographics was closing fast.