Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

Malungon was the most populated municipality

Among the seven municipalities comprising Sarangani, Malungon was the biggest in terms of population. This registered a population of 93,232 or 22.71 percent of the total population of the province. It was followed by Glan (20.23 percent). The provincial capital of Sarangani, Alabel comprised 14.80 percent of the population. Malapatan followed with 13.12 percent. Kiamba, Maasim and Maitum, on the other hand, had less than 11 percent each.

Half of the population were below 18 years old

Sarangani had a median age of 18 years, slightly higher than the 1995 median age of 17 years.

Sex ratio was recorded at 105.7

There were 211.0 thousand males and 199.6 thousand females in Sarangani. This gave a sex ratio of 105.7 males for every 100 females.

Eight dependents for every 10 economically active persons

More than 55 percent of the population of Sarangani belonged to the economically active population aged 15 to 64 years. About 42 percent were young dependents (aged 0 to 14 years), while less than three percent were old dependents (aged 65 years and over). The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 80.7, lower than the 1995 ratio of 84.9. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 81 dependents, i.e., 76 young dependents and five old dependents.

More female than male degree holders

More than 51 percent of population five years old and over had attended or completed elementary education. Almost 20 percent had attended or completed high school, while almost one percent had attended or finished post secondary education. Less than one percent were academic degree holders while almost five percent were college undergraduates. There were more males than females among those who had attended or finished elementary (53.50 percent). On the other hand, there were more females who had attended/completed high school, college and post baccalaureate courses. Among the academic degree holders, three out of five were females.

Most were Cebuanos

More than 42 percent of the household population classified themselves as Cebuano. Other ethnic groups included Bilaan/B’laan (19.64 percent); Maguindanao (6.24 percent); Hiligaynon, Ilonggo (6.15 percent); T’boli (5.10 percent); Ilocano (4.66 percent); Bisaya/Binisaya (3.89 percent) and Tagakaolo (3.80 percent).

Common-Law/Live-in arrangements up by 5.39 percentage points

Married persons accounted for 46.01 percent of the total persons 10 years old and over, lower than the 1995 figure (51.15 percent) by 5.14 percentage points. Single persons comprised 42.32 percent in 2000 from 44.32 percent in 1995 while the widowed (3.15 percent) had almost the same proportion registered in 1995 (2.59 percent). Those with common-law/live-in arrangements increased from 1.54 percent in 1995 to 6.94 percent in 2000.

Housing occupancy rate was almost 100 percent

Out of 81,572 housing units in Sarangani, 81,560 units (99.99 percent) were occupied by 82,896 households. This rate of occupancy was higher than that of the 1990 figure (95.63 percent). It recorded a ratio of 1.02 households for every occupied housing unit or 5.03 persons per occupied housing unit.

Single houses were most preferred

A very large proportion (96.89 percent) of the total occupied housing units in Sarangani in 2000 were single houses. This was lower by 0.39 percentage points from the 1990 figure. More than 70 percent of the occupied housing units did not need any repair or if ever, needed minor repair only, while almost 19 percent needed major repair. Moreover, one out of every two occupied housing units was built from 1996 to 2000.

Half of the housing units had roof made of cogon/nipa/anahaw

The proportion of occupied housing units with roofs made of cogon/nipa/anahaw declined from 65.82 percent in 1990 to only 59.06 percent in 2000. On the other hand, roofs made of galvanized iron/aluminum rose from 26.59 percent in 1990 to 33.88 percent in 2000. As to construction material of the outer walls, the use of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa rose from 67.25 percent in 1990 to 68.75 percent in 2000. The use of galvanized iron/aluminum for the outer walls, however, declined from 5.50 percent in 1990 to only 0.42 percent in 2000.

Table 1. Population Distribution by Sex and Municipality: Sarangani, 2000