I. Introduction
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) conducted the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH) in September 2020, with 01 May 2020 as the reference date.
The 2020 CPH was the 15th census of population and the 7th census of housing undertaken in the Philippines since the first census in 1903. It was designed to take an inventory of the country's total population and housing units and collect information about their characteristics.
The Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC), as of March 2022 was used to disaggregate geographic levels of the 2020 CPH.
II. Data Collection
II.1 Birth Registration
Registering an individual's birth is essential because it establishes a person's existence under the law and lays the foundation for safeguarding civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. It is a fundamental means of protecting the individual’s human rights.
The birth of a child is a special event in a family. This is also the event wherein the child will have a right to have a name through the registration of the child’s birth. As embodied in Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality, and as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by their parents.
Birth registration is a fundamental child right and a critical tool for adequate protection from child labor, child marriage, sexual exploitation, and trafficking.
The registration of birth is fundamental to the realization of several rights and practical needs, including but not limited to the following:
Providing access to health care;
Providing access to immunization;
Ensuring that the child enrolls in school at the right age;
Enforcing laws relating to the minimum age for employment, increasing efforts to prevent child labor;
Effectively countering the problem of girls forced into marriage before they are legally eligible, without proof of age;
Ensuring that children in conflict with the law are given special protection and not treated (legally and practically) as adults;
Protecting young people from under-age military service or conscription;
Protecting children from harassment by police or other law enforcement officials;
Protecting children who are trafficked and who are eventually repatriated and reunited with family members; and
Getting a passport, opening a bank account, obtaining a credit card, voting, or finding employment.
This report presents the extent of birth registration in the country at the national and sub-national levels. Government planners and policymakers can use it in formulating policies and programs to maximize the level of birth registration in the entire country.
II.2 Data Limitations
Information on birth registration contained in this report is based on the responses of the household respondents in the 2020 CPH. Hence, these may be different from the figures in the 2020 Vital Statistics Report released by the PSA, wherein the number of registered births refers to the actual registration of birth certificates, as recorded by the Local Civil Registrars (LCRs) and transmitted to the PSA.
The statistics presented in this report were based on the information provided by the respondent or any responsible household member who may provide accurate answers to the questions and give correct information about all the household members; hence, it should be used with caution.
III. Methodology
The population and housing censuses in the Philippines are conducted on a “de jure” basis, wherein a person is counted in the usual place of residence or the place where the person usually resides. The enumeration of the population and collection of pertinent data in the 2020 CPH referred to all living persons as of 01 May 2020.
For birth registration, respondents were asked for all members of the household, “Was ______’s birth registered with the Local Civil Registry Office?” and “Has ______ ever had a copy of his/her birth certificate?”
IV. Concepts and Definition of Terms
Household is a social unit consisting of a person or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have a common arrangement in preparing and consuming food.
Household population refers to all persons who are members of the household.
Sex is the biological and physiological reality of being a male or female.
Sex ratio is the number of males per one hundred females in a population.
Age refers to an interval between the person’s date of birth and their last birthday before the census reference date. It is expressed in completed years or whole number.
Birth registration is the official recording of the occurrence of birth of a person in the City/Municipal Civil Registry Office. The birth of a person is one of the vital events that are subject to official registration through an administrative process of the government.
Birth certificate is a permanent and official record of an individual’s existence.
V. Dissemination of Results
The 2020 CPH special release and statistical tables are publicly available at the PSA website, https://psa.gov.ph/population-and-housing.
VI. Citation
Philippine Statistics Authority. Technical Notes, 2020 Census of Population and Housing, https://psa.gov.ph/content/2020-census-population-and-housing-2020-cph
VII. Contact Information
Joseph P. Cajita
Chief Statistical Specialist
Population and Housing Census Division
National Censuses Service
Censuses and Technical Coordination Office
(02) 8376-1903
j.cajita@psa.gov.ph
For data requests, you may contact:
Simonette A. Nisperos
Information Officer V
Knowledge Management and Communications Division
Information Technology and Dissemination Service
Censuses and Technical Coordination Office
(02) 8462-6600 loc. 820
info@psa.gov.ph | kmcd.staff@psa.gov.ph
