July, August, and September register more deaths in 2020 than the previous year; other months still register fewer deaths

The preliminary number of registered deaths from January to December 2020 reached 601,811, lower than the total registered deaths of 620,414 in the same period in 2019. While registered monthly deaths in 2020 were lower than their respective months in the previous year, July, August, and September already recorded higher deaths at 54,300 (9.7% growth), 56,620 (12.6% growth) and 53,709 (3.2% growth), respectively. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

Figure 1 Registered Deaths in the Philippines (as of 26 February 2021)

Late registered deaths remain highest in March and April 2020¹

Relative to their corresponding months in 2019, the increase in late registrations, or those whose deaths were registered beyond 30 days after the occurrence, remained highest for March and April 2020 deaths. Late registrations for March 2020 deaths, numbering at 6,540, was six times the 1,067 March 2019 late registrations. Meanwhile, the April 2020 late registration of 6,017 was almost five times of the recorded 1,249 in April 2019.

In terms of share of late registered deaths since January, about 28.2 percent were March deaths while 25.9 percent were April deaths, majority of which were registered in June. (Tables 1 and 3)

Most months register higher deaths than their corresponding monthly average in the last five years

The number of registered deaths in January, February, and May to November this year already exceeded their corresponding monthly averages in the last five years. Meanwhile, registered March and April deaths remain relatively low despite catch up in registration until December. (Figure 2 and Table 2)

Figure 2 Registered Deaths in the Philippines (as of 26 February 2021)

Deaths in the National Capital Region (NCR) from January to December 2020

NCR records more deaths in 2020 than in 2019

NCR registered 83,980 deaths from January to December 2020, or a 6.8 percent increase from the 78,604 deaths registered in the same period in 2019. Increases were recorded in 15 out of 17 of its cities/municipalities, with highest increase in the City of San Juan at 17.3 percent.

Meanwhile, declines in the registered deaths during the period were recorded in the City of Navotas (-8.4%) and City of Mandaluyong (-1.4%). (Figure 3 and Table 4)

Figure 3 Registered Deaths in the Philippines (as of 26 February 2021)

The same cities register the most deaths in 2019 and 2020

Quezon City registered the highest number of deaths in the NCR from January to December 2020 at 18,378 or 21.9 percent of the total registered deaths in the region. The city similarly had the highest share in 2019, with 17,320 or 22.0 percent of the total deaths during the same period. Meanwhile, the City of Manila recorded the second highest with 12,767 registered deaths (15.2%) while the City of Caloocan came in third with 10,058 (12.0%) of the total registered deaths in NCR, maintaining their respective ranks in 2019. These three cities comprised nearly half of the total registered deaths in 2019 (49.5%) and 2020 (49.1%).

On the other hand, Pateros still had the lowest number of deaths registered in NCR, with 456 deaths or 0.5 percent of the total registered deaths during the same period. (Table 4)

¹This high number of late registrations may be due to the quarantine measures implemented during these months.

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General