RP population grew to 88.57M, at faster pace than Asean peers

MANILA, Philippines- The country's population increased to 88.57 million as of August 2008 from 76.50 million in May 2000 a 15.8 percent jump, the government said Wednesday. The official population count was released by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Proclamation No. 1489. "The result of the 2007 Census of Population shows an annual growth rate of 2.04 percent from 2000 to 2007," Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos told reporters. Compared with its Southeast Asian peers, the Philippine population growth was much higher compared to Malaysia, which had a 2.1 percent growth rate from 2001 to 2006; Vietnam, 1.4 percent annual population growth rate from 2001-2006; Indonesia, 1.3 percent; and Thailand, 0.8 percent. Santos also said the population growth from 2006 to 2007 is slightly faster than the annual increase for the past seven years and is slightly higher than the government's target of 1.95 percent up to 2010. "The increasing population will increase demand for food. We have generated more mouths to feed," Santos said. Despite the increasing number of Filipinos, Santos said the government is still not planning to change its population policy. He said the government is advocating responsible parenthood and promotion of natural family planning. The population count was conducted by the National Statistics Office in August to September 2007 with August 1 as the reference period. - GMANews.TV