Population to double in 26 years

The population of Tarlac, as of May 1, 2000, was 1,068,783 persons. This was up by 122,973 persons as compared to 945,810 persons recorded in the 1995 Census of Population.

The highest annual population growth rate for Tarlac since 1903 was during the intercensal period 1970 to 1975 at an annual population growth rate of 2.75 percent. This was slightly higher than the annual population growth rate registered during the 1995 to 2000 period of 2.65 percent. If the current growth rate continues, the population of Tarlac is expected to double in 26 years.

In 2000, the number of households was 215,395, resulting to an average household size of 4.96 persons. This was lower than that of 1995 (5.1 persons) and national average (five persons).

Tarlac, ranked fourth in Central Luzon Region in terms of population

Tarlac ranked fourth in terms of population size among the six provinces and two highly urbanized cities in Central Luzon (Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Olongapo City and Angeles City) contributing 13.31 percent to the eight million population of the region. At the national level, the province shared 1.44 percent to the total population of 76.5 million as recorded in the 2000 Census of Population and Housing.

Tarlac City, the provincial capital, was the biggest in terms of population

Of the 17 municipalities and one city in Tarlac, Tarlac City, the provincial capital, was the biggest in terms of population size. This registered a population of 262,481 persons or 27.75 percent of the total provincial population. It was followed by Concepcion (12.18 percent) and Capas (10.07 percent). The other municipalities had less than 10 percent share each.

Tarlac had a median age of 22 years

Tarlac had a median age of 22 years. This means that in 2000, half of the population were below 22 years old. In 1995, the median age was 21 years.

Sex ratio was recorded at 102.72

Males outnumbered their female counterparts with a sex ratio of 102.72 males for every 100 females.

Dependency ratio down to 66

The proportion of the total population belonging to age group 0 to 14 years was 35.47 percent. The oldest group (65 years and over) accounted for 4.40 percent, while 60.13 percent were in 15 to 64 year-age group (economically active population).

The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 66.30. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 66 dependents (59 persons aged 0 to 14 years - young dependents; and seven persons aged 65 years and over - old dependents). In 1995, the dependency ratio was recorded at 69.

More than half of the voting population were men

There were 538,273 persons or 58.33 percent of the total population belonging to the voting population. Among them, the proportion of males (50.11 percent) was higher than that of the females (49.89 percent).

More than half of females were in childbearing age group

Out of 527,212 females, 269,126 or 51.05 percent belonged to childbearing or reproductive age group (15 to 49 years). The highest percentage of females belonging to childbearing age were those at 15 to 19 year age group (19.84 percent).

Females dominated higher levels of education

About 42 percent of the household population aged five years and over in Tarlac had attended or completed elementary education; 32.37 percent, high school; 9.30 percent were college undergraduates; 3.56 percent were academic degree holders, and only 0.29 percent with post baccalaureate courses. On the other hand, the number of children 5 to 6 years old who had completed pre-school and were likely to become Grade I students in the next school year was 18,854 pupils (2.01 percent).

There were more females than males among academic degree holders. The same is true among those with post baccalaureate courses. On the other hand, those who had attended or finished elementary, high school, post secondary, and were college undergraduates were predominantly males.

Two out of five were Kapampangan

Two out of five of the household population in Tarlac classified themselves as Kapampangan. Ilocano (40.9 percent) and Tagalog (12.7 percent) followed. Other ethnic groups included Pangasinan/Panggalatok and Kankanai/Kankaney, Kankanaey with 0.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Married persons outnumbered single persons

Of the total population 10 years old and over in Tarlac, a higher proportion of married persons (49.4 percent) was reported as compared to single persons (42.2 percent). The remaining 8.4 percent were either widowed, divorced/separated, with other arrangements or with unknown marital status.

A quarter of the housing units had floor area of 10 to 19 square meters

Almost one-fourth (24.3 percent) of the occupied housing units had floor area of 10 to 19 square meters and about 19 percent had floor area of 20 to 29 square meters. Only five percent of the occupied housing units had floor area of 120 square meters or more.

About half of the households used strong materials for their houses

Majority of the households in Tarlac used galvanized iron/aluminum (77.9 percent) and a small percentage still used cogon/nipa/anahaw (12.8 percent) as roof of their houses. As to the construction material of the outer walls, almost half (49.6 percent) of the occupied housing units had walls made of concrete/brick/stone, and 23.2 percent made of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa.

Of the total occupied housing units, 47.79 percent had roof made up of galvanized iron/aluminum and walls made of concrete/brick/stone.

Table1. Total Population Distribution of Top 5 Municipalities by Sex: Tarlac, 2000