Marriage is declining but babies keep coming in Western Visayas

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

More than half of all babies born in Western Visayas in 2024 were to parents who were not legally married, the Philippine Statistics Authority Regional Statistical Services Office VI (PSA-RSSO VI) reported, pointing to a demographic shift in how Ilonggo families are formed.

Of the 49,909 registered live births in the region, 29,529, or 59 percent, were classified as nonmarital.

Iloilo carried the bulk of this trend, accounting for 41.7 percent of all nonmarital births, followed by Capiz at 17.5 percent, Aklan at 15.1 percent, Antique at 12.2 percent, Iloilo City at 9.1 percent, and Guimaras at 4.3 percent.

The data was contained in a PSA special release on “Women and Men in Western Visayas” published on March 16, 2026.

It excludes Negros Occidental following the enactment of Republic Act No. 12000, also known as the Negros Island Act, which reestablished the Negros Island Region as a separate administrative region comprising Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.

The Philippines remains the only country in the world aside from Vatican City without a legal framework for divorce, which means couples in failed marriages who enter new relationships cannot remarry, contributing to the high proportion of children born outside of legally recognized unions.

Mothers aged 25 to 29 accounted for the highest share of births at 27.7 percent, or 13,789, followed by those aged 30 to 34 at 23.8 percent, 20 to 24 at 21 percent, 35 to 39 at 13.1 percent, and 15 to 19 at 9.5 percent.

About 9.8 percent of registered births were to teenage or adolescent mothers, including those below 15 and those aged 15 to 19.

The sex ratio at birth was 107.2, translating to about 107 males born for every 100 females across all provinces.

The region registered 15,408 marriages in 2024, averaging about 42 marriages per day.

The crude marriage rate was 3.1, or roughly three marriages per 1,000 population.

Iloilo accounted for the largest share of registered marriages at 41 percent, while Guimaras had the smallest share at 4 percent.

Marriages were most common among individuals aged 25 to 29 for both sexes.

Among teenagers, more females than males were married, indicating that women tend to marry at younger ages than men.

From ages 15 to 19 up to 25 to 29, the number of married females exceeded that of males, but beginning in the 30 to 34 age group up to 60 and over, married males outnumbered married females.

The vast majority of marriages, or 15,004 out of 15,408, were unions between Filipino nationals, while 404 marriages, or 3 percent, involved a Filipino and a foreign national.

Among intermarriages involving Filipino women, American nationals accounted for the largest share at 121 cases, or 32.4 percent, followed by British at 7 percent, Canadian at 6 percent, Australian at 5 percent, and Korean at 3 percent.

For intermarriages involving Filipino men, the highest number was with Canadian women at six cases, or 24 percent, followed by American and Australian women each at 12 percent, and British and German women each at 8 percent.