Zamboanga Del Sur (Excluding Zamboanga City) Exceeded 900 Thousand Population Mark

Reference Number:

2010-131

Release Date:

Monday, August 9, 2010

Total population increased by 78,061 persons

The total population of Zamboanga del Sur (excluding Zamboanga City) was 914,278 persons as of August 1, 2007, based on the 2007 Census of Population. This figure is higher by 78,061 persons than the population count reported in 2000 (836,217 persons). The total population count of the province for census years 2000 and 2007 translated to an annual population growth rate of 1.24 percent for the period 2000 to 2007.

The number of households reached 179,510, higher by 17,832 households than the 161,678 households reported in 2000. The average household size in 2007 was 5.1 persons, slightly lower than the average household size of 5.2 persons recorded in 2000.

Pagadian City topped in terms of population size

Among the lone city and 26 municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur (excluding Zamboanga City), Pagadian City, the provincial capital, was the most populous with 17.6 percent of the provincial total population. It was followed by the municipalities of Molave (5.3 percent), Aurora (5.2 percent), and Dumingag (5.0 percent). The rest of the municipalities had a share of less than 5.0 percent each.

Males continued to outnumber females

Of the 912,687 household population of Zamboanga del Sur (excluding Zamboanga City), 51.1 percent were males and 48.9 percent were females, or a sex ratio of 105 males for every 100 females. This is higher than the sex ratio of 103 males per 100 females posted in 2000.

Median age of household population was 20 years

In 2007, the household population of Zamboanga del Sur (excluding Zamboanga City) had a median age of 20 years, which means that half of the household population of the province were younger than 20 years old. This median age is one year higher than the median age of 19 years recorded in 2000.

Children aged 10 to 14 years comprised the largest age group with 13.1 percent of the total household population, followed by age groups 0 to 4 years (12.8 percent), 5 to 9 years (12.4 percent), and 15 to 19 years (11.3 percent). The rest of the age groups had a share of less than 8.0 percent each.

There were more males than females in age groups 0 to 59 years. On the other hand, females outnumbered males in the older age groups (60 years and over).

Voting age group comprised more of males than females

In 2007, more than half (54.3 percent) of the household population were of voting ages (18 years old and over). This is higher by 1.9 percentage points than the proportion of voting age group recorded in 2000 (52.4 percent). Of the voting age group in 2007, 51.2 percent were males and 48.8 percent were females.

Dependency ratio decreased to 74 dependents per 100 persons in the working age group

The proportion of persons in the working age group (15 to 64 years) to household population was 57.5 percent; young dependents (0 to 14 years) comprised 38.4 percent while old dependents (65 years and over) made up 4.1 percent.

The overall dependency ratio in 2007 was 74, which implies that there were 74 dependents (67 young dependents and 7 old dependents) for every 100 persons in the working age group. This is lower than the overall dependency ratio of 79 dependents (73 young dependents and 6 old dependents) reported in 2000.

More males than females were never-married

Of the household population 10 years old and over in 2007, 46.9 percent were married while 45.1 percent were never married. The rest of the population was categorized as follows: widowed (4.8 percent), divorced/separated (1.0 percent), had common law/live-in marital arrangement (1.9 percent), and had unknown marital status (0.4 percent). Among never-married persons, 55.0 percent were males while 45.0 percent were females. Males, however, were outnumbered by females in the rest of the categories for marital status.

More females pursued higher levels of education

Of the household population 5 years old and over, 47.5 percent had attended or finished elementary education, 26.9 percent had reached or completed high school, while 5.7 percent were college undergraduates. The proportion of academic degree holders was 6.0 percent, which is markedly higher than the 2.5 percent recorded in 2000.

More females than males pursued higher levels of education, as 57.7 percent of those who were reported to have earned academic degrees and 56.7 percent of those who had taken post baccalaureate courses were females.

Among household population 5 to 24 years old, 62.9 percent had attended school at anytime during School Year 2007 to 2008. Of the total females aged 5 to 24 years, 65.2 percent had attended school at anytime during the said school year, while school attendance for males was 60.7 percent of the total males aged 5 to 24 years.

Number of occupied housing units increased to 177,400

From 159,624 occupied housing units in 2000, the number of occupied housing units in Zamboanga del Sur (excluding Zamboanga City) reached 177,400 in 2007, or an increase of 11.1 percent. A ratio of 101 households per 100 occupied housing units was reported in 2007. This is equal to the ratio of households per 100 housing units reported in 2000. In terms of the number of occupants per occupied housing unit, a ratio of 5.1 persons per occupied housing unit was recorded in 2007. This is slightly lower than the ratio of 5.2 persons per occupied housing unit reported in 2000.

Most occupied housing units were made of strong materials

The proportion of occupied housing units with outer walls made of wood increased from 44.0 percent in 2000 to 47.4 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, the proportion of occupied housing units with outer walls made of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa dropped from 33.7 percent in 2000 to 27.8 percent in 2007, or a difference of 5.9 percentage points.

Further, 65.2 percent of occupied housing units in 2007 had roofs made of galvanized iron/aluminum. The use of cogon/nipa/anahaw as roofing materials had decreased. From 39.8 percent in 2000, housing units with roof made of strong materials decreased to 32.2 percent in 2007.