RESULTS of the 2025 national demographic and health survey (NDHS) showed a decline in
the total fertility rate in Northern Mindanao at 1.9 children per woman aged 15 to 49 years.
The regional TFR generally declined from 2003 to 2025 with the highest TFR recorded in 2003 at 3.8 children per woman.
The national TFR in 2025 was recorded at 1.7 chiidren per woman.
Total fertility rate (TFR) is defined as the average number of children a woman would have by the end of her childbearing years if she were to bear children at the current age-specfic fertility rates.
Age-specific fertility rates are calculated for the three years before the survey based on detailed pregnancy histories provided by women.
The 2025 NDHS results also showed that more than half (53.3 percent) of the curently married
women 15 to 49 years old in the region no longer desire children, the highest among fertility
preferences.
About 17.7 percent of the women wanted to delay their next birth for two years or more while 11.6 percent wanted to have another child within two years.
Moreover, around 6.2 percent were already sterilized (both male and female) and 1.8 percent declared that they were already infected.
In 2025, 6.4 percent of the women in Northerm Mindanao aged 15 to 19 years had ever been
pregnant lower than 10.9 percent recorded in 2025.
Zamboanga Peninsula recorded the highest percentage of teenage pregnancy in 2025 at 9.3 percent while National Capital Region (NCR) posted the lowest at 1.8 percent.
Northern Mindanao ranked seventh in terms of
highest teenage pregnancy in 2025.
For all women aged 15 to 49 years old in Northern Mindanao in 2025, 34.3 percent reported
that they used any method of contraception.
Among currently married and sexually active
unmarried women, 58.3 percent reported that they used any method of contraception.
