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Release Date :
Reference Number :
2002-062

 

Population growth rate decreased to 2.11 percent

The Census 2000 results showed that Northern Samar registered a total population of 500,639 persons, higher by 46,244 persons over the 1995 results. This translated to a 2.11 percent annual growth rate, from 3.21 percent in 1995. A corresponding increase on the number of households was also recorded at 94,410 households, higher by 9,046 households over the 1995 figure. This resulted to an average household size of 5.3 persons, almost the same as the average household size recorded in 1995 but higher than the national average of five persons.

Palapag had the highest population growth rate

Among the 24 municipalities, Palapag showed a remarkable growth rate of 4.41 percent. This was followed by Mapanas (3.78 percent), Las Navas (3.47 percent), Lavezares (3.34 percent), and Laoang ( 3.03 percent). Catarman, the provincial capital, had a growth rate of 2.00 percent. It also had the biggest share to the province in terms of the population size. It was followed by Laoang (10.89 percent) and Palapag ( 6.10 percent). On the other hand, San Vicente had the smallest population, only 1.16 percent of the provincial total.

Northern Samar ranked third in terms of population size in Eastern Visayas

Northern Samar ranked third in terms of population size from among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas, with 13.87 percent of the 3.6 million persons of the region. It ranked second in terms of population growth rate. At the national level, the province contributed 0.65 percent to the total population of 76.5 million.

Sex ratio was recorded at 103.99

There were 255.2 thousand males and 245.4 thousand females in Northern Samar. This gave a sex ratio of 103.99 males for every 100 females in 2000, slightly higher than the 1995 figure of 103.49. There were more males in the age group 0 to 49 years, while more females were in the 50 years and above age group.

More than half of the population were economically active persons

More than half (52.19 percent) of the population of Northern Samar belonged to the economically active population aged 15 to 64 years. About 43.61 percent were young dependents aged 0 to 14 years while 4.20 percent were aged 64 years and above (old dependents). The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 91.61, higher than the 1995 ratio of 89.62. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 92 dependents, i.e., 84 young dependents and 8 old dependents.

Over 60 percent of degree holders were females

About 56.72 percent of the population five years old and over had attended or completed elementary education, 20.03 percent in high school, one percent in post secondary education, 2.02 percent were academic degree holders, 6.7 percent were college undergraduates and less than one percent pursued post baccalaureate studies. There were more males than females who had attended or finished elementary (52.38 percent). On the other hand, there were more females who had attended/completed high school (52.52 percent), post-secondary courses (54.00 percent), college undergraduates (51.09 percent), academic degree holders (60.68 percent) and post baccalaureate courses (60.22 percent).

Nine in ten were Warays

Ninety two percent of the household population classified themselves as Waray. Other ethnic groups included Cebuano (2.89 percent), Sama/Samal/Abaknon (2.13 percent), Bisaya/Binisaya (1.78 percent), and Tagalog (0.15 percent).

Married persons down by 7.36 percentage points

Married persons accounted for 40.95 percent of the total persons 10 years old and over, lower than the 1995 figure (48.31 percent) by 7.36 percentage points. Single persons comprised 41.93 percent in 2000, from 42.37 percent in 1995. The widowed (4.44 percent) had almost the same proportion registered in 1995 (4.11 percent). Those with other type of arrangements increased from only 4.34 percent in 1995 to 10.88 percent in 2000.

Housing occupancy rate was almost 100 percent

Out of 93,375 housing units in Northern Samar, 93,332 units (99.95 percent) were occupied by 94,410 households (500,002 persons). It recorded a ratio of 1.01 households for every occupied housing unit or 5.36 persons per occupied housing unit.

More than 70 percent of the housing units were made of light materials

The occupied housing units with roof made of cogon/nipa/anahaw registered 71.26 percent in 2000. This was lower than the 1990 figure of 79.64 percent. As to construction material of the outer walls, almost half (46.73 percent) of the occupied housing units were made of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa.

NORTHERN SAMAR

The province occupies the entire northern portion of Samar Island. It is bounded on the north by San Bernardino Strait, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the west by Samar Sea, and on the south by the province of Samar.

During Spanish times, the San Bernardino Strait was along the route of the Spanish galleons that plied between Manila and Acapulco, while the royal port was established in Palapag. In 1649, the shipbuilders were called from Palapag to the Cavite shipyards to build galleons and other vessels. On the same year, the shipbuilders led by Sumuroy started the revolt against the Spaniards in Visayas and Mindanao islands.

On June 19, 1965, by virtue of Republic Act No. 4221, the provinces of Northern Samar, Eastern Samar and Western Samar were created.

The people speak the Waray dialect. Agriculture is the major activity wherein most of the land is devoted to growing of coconuts, rice, corn, abaca and other subsistence crops.

Source: Fast Facts About Philippine Provinces
               By: Conrado M. Lancion, Jr.
               (Tahanan Books, Manila)

 

(Sgd.) CARMELITA N. ERICTA
Administrator

 

Table 1. Population Distribution of Top Six Municipalities by Sex: Northern Samar, 2000

MunicipalitiesTotal PopulationPercentMaleFemale
Northern Samar500,639100.00255,218245,421
     Catarman (Capital)67,67113.5234,27533,396
     Laoang54,52310.8927,79526,728
     Palapag30,5206.1015,46515,055
     Las Navas29,3465.8614,88114,465
     Miondragon28,0985.6114,27413,824
     Catubig26,9175.3813,79913,118
     Other Municipalities263,56452.64134,729128,835

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

Table 2. Total Population by Age Group, Sex and Sex Ratio: Northern Samar, 2000

Age GroupTotal PopulationMaleFemaleSex Ratio
Northern Samar500,639255,218245,421103.99
     Under 115,4627,9997,463107.18
     1 to 463,85932,66231,197104.70
     5 to 975,17038,63736,533105.76
     10 to 1463,83132,53031,301103.93
     15 to 1949,35925,89423,465110.35
     20 to 2438,57919,87118,708106.22
     25 to 2933,76617,16216,604103.36
     30 to 3429,71515,24514,470105.36
     35 to 3926,01713,31012,707104.75
     40 to 4421,98811,12410,864102.39
     45 to 4918,6039,5079,096104.52
     50 to 5416,4048,1298,27598.24
     55 to 5914,7167,3337,38399.32
     60 to 6412,1315,9676,16496.80
     65 to 698,3614,0024,35991.81
     70 to 745,8802,7933,08790.48
     75 to 793,4311,5811,85085.46
     80 & Over3,3671,4721,89577.68

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

Table 3. Household Population 5 Years Old and Over by Highest Educational Attainment and Sex: Northern Samar, 2000

Highest Educational AttainmentHousehold Population
5 Years Old & Over
MaleFemale
Northern Samar420,703214,064206,639
     No Grade Completed35,12719,21315,914
     Pre-School9,7224,8874,835
     Elementary238,602124,988113,614
     High School84,28540,01944,266
     Post Secondary4,3872,0182,369
     College Undergraduate28,18813,78714,401
     Academic Degree Holder8,4813,3355,146
     Post Baccalaureate2,3489341,414
     Not Stated9,5634,8834,680

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

Table 4. Household Population by Ethnicity and Sex: Northern Samar, 2000

EthnicityBoth SexesMaleFemale
Northern Samar500,002254,709245,293
     Waray460,390234,519225,871
     Cebuano14,4367,4257,011
     Sama/Samal/Abaknon10,6685,3655,303
     Bisaya/Binisaya8,8854,5474,338
     Tagalog746373373
     Others3,3061,6771,629
     Not Reported1,571803768

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

Table 5. Total Population 10 Years Old and Over by Age Group and Marital Status: Northern Samar, 2000

Age GroupTotal Population
10 Yrs Old & Over
SingleMarriedWidowedDivorced/
Separated
OthersUnknown
Northern Samar346,148145,137141,75115,3763,31537,6452,924
     Below 20113,190105,9422,7141041102,5811,739
     20 - 2438,57921,66910,0821183076,020373
     25 - 2933,7668,77017,7091994046,475209
     30 - 3429,7153,60219,9093524515,283118
     35 - 3926,0171,76618,7394473834,59290
     40 - 4421,9881,00416,4737223613,35771
     45 - 4918,60366914,0038762832,71854
     50 - 5416,40449512,2581,2032802,13137
     55 - 5914,71636310,6861,6332711,71548
     60 - 6412,1313048,1852,1852021,21837
     65 - 698,3611915,1582,09112376335
     70 - 745,8801633,1442,0246744537
     75 - 793,431891,5771,5233118130
     80 & Over3,3671101,1141,8993216946

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

Table 6. Occupied Housing Units by Construction Materials of Outer Walls and Roof: Northern Samar, 2000

CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS OF THE
OUTER WALLS
Total
Occupied
Housing
Units
CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS OF THE ROOF
Galvanized
Iron/
Aluminum
Tile/
Concrete/
Clay Tile
Half
Galvanized,
Iron and
Half
Concrete
Cogon/
Nipa/
Anahaw
WoodMakeshift/
Salvaged/
Improvised
Materials
Asbestos/
Others/
Not Reported
Northern Samar93,33220,9813282,49666,5121,1752921548
     Concrete/Brick/Stone11,6558,8411822512,33023523
     Wood25,2946,5915855017,3196573683
     Half Concrete/
       Brick/Stone
       and Half Wood
9,5834,168551,3573,916401235
     Galvanized
       Iron/Aluminum
3121198391212041
     Bamboo/Sawali/Nipa43,6101,073-26941,67041272114
     Others/Not Reported2,83216925291,134221621291
     No walls4620-122111

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing 

 

TECHNICAL NOTES

Average Household Size - average number of people who live in the household

Growth Rate - the rate at which the population is increasing (or decreasing) in a given year due to natural increase and net migration, expressed as a percentage of the base population

Median Age - the age at which exactly half of the population is young and half is old

Sex Ratio - the ratio of males to females in a given population expressed as the number of males per 100 females

Age-Dependency Ratio - the ratio of persons in the "dependent" ages (under 15 years and over 64 years) to those in the "economically productive" ages (15 to 64 years old) in the population

Household - a social unit consisting of a person or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have common arrangements in the preparation and consumption of food

The 2000 Census of Population and Housing (Census 2000) was undertaken by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in May 2000, as mandated by Commonwealth Act No. 591, Batas Pambansa Blg. 72 and Executive Order No. 121. It was the 11th census of population and 5th census of housing undertaken in this country since the first census in 1903. It was designed to take an inventory of the total population and housing units all over the Philippines and to collect information about their characteristics. Census day for the Census 2000 was May 1, 2000 (12:01 a.m.). Enumeration started on May 1, 2000 and lasted for about 30 days.

 

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