The Commission on Population and Development (CPD) acknowledges the civil registration and vital statistics data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), revealing key trends in marital patterns across the country.
The Marriage Decline. In 2022, the Philippines recorded 449,428 registered marriages, marking a 25.9% increase from the total registered marriages of 356,839 in 2021. However, this trend reversed in 2023, with only 414,213 registered marriages which showed a notable decrease of 7.8%.
Rise of Cohabitation and children borne out of formal marriages. The 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) revealed that women aged 15-49 who are living together have gradually quadrupled within the span of three decades from 5% in 1993 to 19% in 2022. Also, the 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) Study showed that about 12% of the 20 million youth aged 15-24 are living in or cohabiting.
This also coincides with the released data that the number of children outside marriage is at 842,728, compared to 605,794 births from couples in formal union, as per the 2023 Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.
Current marriage trends in the Philippines.
June as the wedding month, debunked. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, in 2023, February recorded the highest number of registered marriages with 52,501 or 12.7 percent of the total marriages in the country. Specifically, the 14th of February was consistently the day with the highest number of marriages since 2009 except last 2021. Moreover, the month of December ranked second with 43,966 (10.6% share), followed by the month of June with 43,295 (10.5% share). This is the same with PSA’s 2024 Monthly release of Vital events, February has recorded 44,093 marriages. Meanwhile, the month of November remains to have the least number of registered marriages with 20,525 in 2023 and 23,862 in 2022.
Regional wedding hotspots. Among the 17 regions, CALABARZON recorded the highest number of registered marriages with 60,541 or 14.6 percent of the total marriages. Two more regions with a relatively large population reported a high number of registered marriages. The National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the second highest number of marriages with 51,892 followed by Central Luzon with 47,684. The same regions also reported the highest number of registered marriages and maintained their respective ranks in 2022.
On the other hand, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) had the lowest number of registered marriages with only 2,162.
Changing wedding traditions. Of the total registered marriages in 2023, 42.9% or 177,627 marriages were contracted through a civil ceremony, a 0.4 percentage point decrease from 2022 (43.3% share). About one-third (130,170 or 31.4% share) were officiated in the Roman Catholic Church, while about one in four (97,538 or 23.5% share) were performed in other religious rites. Marriages solemnized in Muslim traditions accounted for 1.5% of the total registered marriages, whereas 0.7 percent were performed in tribal ceremonies.
Marrying age. In 2023, the median age of marriage was 28 years old for women and 30 years old for men. The same median ages were recorded in the previous year. A total of 12,630 marriages involved adolescent females below 20 years old. This is four times more than the number of marriages involving adolescent males (3,058 or 0.7% share). Of the 12,630 adolescent females, 54% married men ages 20-24 years and 22.5% married men ages 25-29 years.
The evolving patterns of marriage and cohabitation call for innovative solutions and a whole-of-society approach to strengthen families, regardless of marital status. To address this, development of comprehensive programs and policies are essential.
These should include social protection for those in non-traditional family arrangements.
“The decline in marriages reflects changing realities as families of today come in many forms," said CPD Executive Director Undersecretary Lisa Grace S. Bersales. “Policymakers, government agencies and organizations should continue working together to strengthen the family, the basic unit of our society, CPD Usec. Bersales pointed out. “While we uphold marriage as a sacred institution, we must also protect couples who choose alternative arrangements and ensure the welfare of every individual, ensuring no family is left behind in our nation's development.” Bersales added.
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Sources:
Philippines Statistics Authority’s: 2023 Registered Marriages; 2023 Birth, Death and Vital Events; 2024 Birth, Death and Vital Events (Jan-Sept); 2022 Birth, Death and Vital Events
Press Release No.: IMCD-PR-25-06-004
Release Date:June 26, 2025
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COMMISSION ON POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT