The number of Filipinos has reached 106.2 million, making the Philippines the 13th most populous country in the world and the second in Southeast Asia, the Commission on Population (POPCOM) said on Friday.

"Based on the population projections, the Philippine population will increase by 1.8 million by the end of 2018, growing at a rate of 1.69 percent. That means we will be adding 4,965 Filipinos per day, or 206 every hour in 2018," said Juan Antonio Perez, POPCOM executive director, in a statement.

In January this year, the commission projected the Philippine population to reach around 107.19 million by Dec. 31, 2018.

The commission said it made the projection using the geometric method based on the latest population census of the Philippine Statistics Authority released in 2015. The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia.

According to the 2017 National Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the fertility rate of women in the Philippines dropped from an average of three children to 2.7.

However, the PSA said teenage pregnancy still remains high with 9 percent of women age 15-19 having begun childbearing.

PSA data also state that there are more than 200,000 women who are pregnant with 130,000 minors giving birth every year and needing family planning and adolescent health services.