An average of 226 deaths per day

In 2023, 96,411 deaths were registered by place of occurrence, and 82,410 deaths by usual residence in the National Capital Region (NCR). It is equivalent to a crude death rate¹ of 5.8, or 6 deaths per 1,000 population. This means there are about 226 deaths each day, or roughly 9 deaths every hour. Further, there is an increase of 4.4 percent from the total deaths of 78,917 in 2022, with usual residence in the NCR. (Figure 1 and Tables 1 and 2) 

The number of registered deaths from 2014 to 2023 has trended upward except in the years 2017, 2018, and 2022. The increase during the ten years was 14.1 percent, from 72,235 in 2014 to 82,410 in 2023. (Figure 1 and Table 1)

One in every four deaths in NCR occurs in Quezon City

The highest number of registered deaths by place of occurrence was reported in Quezon City with 27,554 (28.6% share), followed by the City of Manila with 20,185 (20.9% share), and the City of Caloocan with 8,463 (8.8% share). The combined share of these three cities was 58.3 percent of the total registered deaths in the region. On the other hand, Pateros (291 or 0.3% share), City of San Juan (1,004 or 1.0% share), and City of Navotas (1,127 or 1.2% share) had the least number of total registered deaths in the region. (Figure 2 and Table 2)

June has the most deaths per day

The average number of deaths registered per day was highest in June at 278, followed by the months of November and October at 276 and 275, respectively. Meanwhile, the month of February registered the lowest average deaths per day, with 249. (Figure 3 and Table 3)

More male deaths than female deaths

Figure 4 shows the age-sex structure of registered deaths by place of occurrence in 2023. It shows an inverted pyramid, with fewer deaths at younger ages (except for children aged one to four and under one) and progressively increasing as people grow older. 

The number of registered male deaths in NCR (53,524 or 55.5% share) was higher than female deaths (42,887 or 44.5% share). 

The proportion of males who died was highest at the age of 65 to 69 years old (6,273 or 11.7% of total male deaths), while for females, the largest was at the oldest age group, 85 years old and over (6,172 or 14.4% of total female deaths). 

The sex ratio of 125 indicates that there were about 125 male deaths for every 100 female deaths. Moreover, a sex ratio of over a hundred means that more male deaths were registered compared to their female counterparts in every age group spanning 0 to 74 years. (Figure 4 and Table 4)

Seven out of ten deaths are attended by a healthcare provider

Attendant refers to a private physician, public health officer, hospital authority, or any other allied healthcare provider who provided medical attendance to the deceased.

Out of 82,410 registered deaths with usual residence in NCR, 66.5 percent were medically attended (by private physicians, public health officers, hospital authorities, and other medically trained professionals), and the City of Mandaluyong reported the highest percentage at 58.6. (Figure 5 and Table 5)

Three out of ten deaths occur at home

Of the total registered deaths that occurred in NCR, 68.5 percent occurred in health facilities while 30.8 percent occurred at home, and about 0.7 percent occurred in places other than health facilities and homes, such as on the street, in public places, on board a vehicle, airplane or vessel while in transit, among others. Quezon City reported the highest percentage of deaths occurring in health facilities at 80.1 percent. (Figure 6 and Table 6)

Highest number of infant deaths is recorded in Quezon City

Infant deaths are deaths that occurred before reaching age 1. A total of 3,011 infant deaths were reported with usual residence in NCR. This translates to an average of about 8 infant deaths per day. Six out of ten infant deaths were males (1,736 or 57.7% share). Cities with large populations topped the list with the highest number of infant deaths, led by Quezon City (696 or 23.1% share), the City of Manila (425 or 14.1% share), and the City of Caloocan (318 or 10.6% share). (Figure 7 and Table 7)

Highest number of maternal deaths is recorded in Quezon City

Maternal death is defined by the World Health Organization as, “the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and the site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management, but not from accidental or incidental causes.” A total of 280 were identified as having died of maternal causes in the region. Quezon City recorded the highest number of maternal deaths in NCR, with 79 or 28.2 percent. On the other hand, the City of San Juan and the municipality of Pateros reported no maternal deaths by place of occurrence. (Figure 8 and Table 8)

Quezon City records the highest number of fetal deaths

Fetal death refers to the death of a fetus, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy prior to the complete expulsion or extraction of a product of conception from the mother’s womb. A total of 1,185 fetal deaths were reported. By usual residence of mother, Quezon City had the highest number with 301 or 25.4 percent, followed by the City of Manila (127 or 10.7% share) and the City of Caloocan (113 or 9.5% share). (Figure 9 and Table 9)

One in every four deaths in NCR is caused by Ischaemic Heart disease

Deaths due to Ischaemic Heart disease led the cause of death, making up 26.2 percent (25,301) of the total registered deaths by place of occurrence. This was followed by deaths due to Neoplasms at 14.0 percent (13,487), and Cerebrovascular Diseases at 8.8 percent (8,469). (Figure 10 and Table 10)

About 99 percent are registered on time

Registration of death shall be made in the office of the Civil Registrar of the city/municipality where the death occurred within thirty (30) days from the time of death. In 2023, 99.0 percent of deaths were registered on time, while 1.0 percent were registered late. The Cities of Malabon and Marikina recorded the highest percentage of timely registration, with 99.9 percent, while Quezon City recorded the lowest percentage with 98.2 percent. (Figure 11 and Table 11)

(Sgd.)PACIANO B. DIZON
Regional Director, RSSO NCR