Southern Leyte’s population increases 1.03% annually

By Rebecca S. Cadavos

Friday 31st of August 2012

MAASIN CITY, Southern Leyte, Aug. 31 (PIA) -- Results of the 2010 Census of Popluation and Housing reveal that Southern Leyte’s population increased by 38,977 from 360,160 in year 2000 to 399,137 in 2010.

NSO-Southern Leyte, in a press release, reports that the increase in population count from 2000 to 2010 translated to an average annual growth rate (APGR) of 1.03 percent, which means that one person was added every year, on the average, to every 100 people residing in Southern Leyte from 2000 to 2010.

The report disclosed that the province’s APGR from 2000 to 2010 is slightly lower than those from 1990 to 2000 (1.13 percent) and from 1990 to 2010 (1.08 percent).

“Since the first census was taken in 1903, the population of Southern Leyte increased to about six times that of its population size of 72,369 persons in 1903,” it stated.

It reveals further that in terms of population growth rate among city/municipalities in the province, Padre Burgos registered the highest with 1.66 percent, while Silago came in close at 1.62 percent followed by San Francisco at 1.43 percent.

The data reveal that the municipalities with the lowest growth rate were Anahawan, Bontoc, Hinundayan, Macrohon, St. Bernard, San Juan and Tomas Oppus with less than 1 percent each.

The negative growth rate o the municipality of Pintuyan (-0.32) indicates an average annual decrease rather than an increase, it revealed further.

The City of Maasin, being the provincial capital, was the most populous with a population size of 81,250 making up 20.4 percent of the total provincial population. Sogod town came in second with 10.4 percent share, followed by the municipalities of Hinunangan (7.1 percent) and Bontoc (7 percent).

The rest of the municipalities contributed less than 7 percent each, while the least populated area was the municipality of Limasawa with 1.5 percent share of the total provincial population. (PIA8, Southern Leyte)