The number of registered marriages decreased by 7.8 percent, with 414,213 in 2023, compared to 449,428 in 2022, according to the latest Commission on Population and Development (CPD) data.

Meanwhile, the 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) revealed that the proportion of women aged 15 to 49 living together has gradually quadrupled over the past three decades, from 5 percent in 1993 to 19 percent in 2022.

The 2021 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) Study showed that about 12 percent of the 20 million youth aged 15 to 24 are living in or cohabiting.

This also coincides with the released data that the number of children outside marriage is at 842,728, compared to 605,794 births from couples in formal union, as per the 2023 Civil Registration and Vital Statistics.

CPP Executive Director Undersecretary Lisa Grace S. Bersales said the decline in marriages reflects changing realities as families today "come in many forms."

“Policymakers, government agencies, and organizations should continue working together to strengthen the family, the basic unit of our society," Bersales said.

“While we uphold marriage as a sacred institution, we must also protect couples who choose alternative arrangements and ensure the welfare of every individual, ensuring no family is left behind in our nation's development,” she added.

Further, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), February recorded the highest number of registered marriages with 52,501 or 12.7 percent of the total marriages in the country in 2023.

Specifically, the 14th of February was consistently the day with the highest number of marriages since 2009, except last 2021.

Moreover, the month of December ranked second with 43,966 (10.6 percent share), followed by the month of June with 43,295 (10.5 percent share). This is the same with PSA’s 2024 Monthly release of Vital events, February has recorded 44,093 marriages. Meanwhile, the month of November remains to have the least number of registered marriages with 20,525 in 2023 and 23,862 in 2022.

Among the 17 regions, Calabarzon recorded the highest number of registered marriages with 60,541 or 14.6 percent of the total marriages. The National Capital Region recorded the second highest number of marriages with 51,892, followed by Central Luzon with 47,684.

On the other hand, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao had the lowest number of registered marriages, with only 2,162.

Of the total registered marriages in 2023, 42.9 percent, or 177,627 marriages were contracted through a civil ceremony, a 0.4 percentage point decrease from 2022 (43.3 percent share).

About one-third (130,170 or 31.4 percent share) were officiated in the Roman Catholic Church, while about one in four (97,538 or 23.5 percent share) were performed in other religious rites. Marriages solemnized in Muslim traditions accounted for 1.5 percent of the total registered marriages, whereas 0.7 percent were performed in tribal ceremonies.

In 2023, the median age of marriage was 28 years for women and 30 years for men. The same median ages were recorded in the previous year.

A total of 12,630 marriages involved adolescent females below 20 years old. This is four times more than the number of marriages involving adolescent males (3,058 or 0.7 percent share). Of the 12,630 adolescent females, 54 percent married men aged 20-24 years, and 22.5% married men aged 25-29 years.