Population growth rate at 1.97 percent

The total population of Zamboanga del Sur, as of May 1, 2000, was 1,333,456 persons. This implied an increase of 116,198 persons over the 1995 census figure with an average annual growth rate of 1.97 percent, slightly higher than the average growth rate recorded in 1995 (1.87 percent). A corresponding increase on the number of households was also registered, from 202,548 households in 1995 to 255,621 households in 2000. This resulted to an average household size of 5.21 persons, higher than the national average of five persons.

Pagadian City, the provincial capital, the largest in terms of population

Among the 40 municipalities and one city in Zamboanga del Sur, Pagadian City, the capital of the province, was the largest in terms of population size with 142,585 persons or 10.69 percent of the total population of the province. This was followed by Ipil (3.94 percent), Molave (3.38 percent), Aurora (3.21 percent), Mahayag (3.18 percent) and Dumingag (3.16 percent). All other municipalities had less than three percent each. Josefina, the least populated municipality accounted for only 0.66 percent of the total population of the province.

Zamboanga del Sur, the most populated in Western Mindanao

Zamboanga del Sur was the most populated among the three provinces in Western Mindanao (Region IX), comprising 43.1 percent of the 3.1 million persons in the region. At the national level, the province contributed 1.7 percent to the total population of 76.5 million.

Median age of 18 years

Zamboanga del Sur had a median age of 18 years, lower than the regional figure of 19 years. This meant that about half of the total population of the province were below 18 years old.

Sex ratio recorded at 103.67 

For all ages, the sex ratio in Zamboanga del Sur was about 104 with 678,739 males and 654,717 females. There were more males than females below 75 years old.

Four dependents out of five economically active persons

About 55 percent belonged to the economically active population (aged 15 to 64 years) while 41.5 percent were young dependents (aged 0 to 14 years) and less than four percent, old dependents (aged 65 years and over). The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 81. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 75 young dependents and six old dependents, an improvement of 3.7 percentage points over the 1995 figure.

More males in the voting population 

There were 688,287 persons or 51.62 percent of the total population belonging to 18 years old and over (voting population). Among them, the proportion of males (51.26 percent) was slightly higher than females (48.74 percent).

About half of female population were in the childbearing age group

Out of 654,717 females, 312,975 or 47.80 percent belonged to childbearing or reproductive age group (15 to 49 years).

Nearly 18 thousands were incoming Grade I pupils 

Potential grade 1 pupils were those five or six years old and had completed pre-school education in 2000. There were 17,230 children or 1.5 percent of the total household population five years and over in Zamboanga del Sur, of which 49.12 percent were boys and 50.88 percent girls.

Females dominated higher level of education 

About 52.49 percent of population five years old and over had attended or completed elementary education; 22.67 percent, high school; 1.38 percent, post secondary education, and 9.55 percent with higher education. Males dominated those in the elementary level (53.37 percent) while females for the rest.

Cebuano was the predominant ethnic group

Cebuano was the predominant ethnic group in Zamboanga del Sur. Of the total household population, 40.20 percent classified themselves as Cebuanos. It was followed closely by Bisaya/Binisaya (32.27 percent), then Subanen (9.00 percent). The remaining 18.53 percent were either Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, Tausug, Maguindanao or were from other ethnic groups.

About 47 percent were married 

Married persons accounted for 46.68 percent of the total persons 10 years old and over, lower by 3.67 percentage points than the 1995 figure (50.35 percent). Single persons comprised 44.32 percent in 2000, from 44.73 percent in 1995. The proportion of widowed was 3.76 percent, slightly less than the proportion registered in 1995 (3.35 percent). Those in other marital arrangements constituted 3.72 percent, an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the 1995 figure.

Three in five housing units had floor area of less than 20 square meters 

Three in five (64.6 percent) occupied housing units had floor area of less than 20 square meters; 25.4 percent, 20 to 49 square meters; and less than 10 percent, 50 square meters and over.

Single houses were most preferred

A large proportion (96.5 percent) of the occupied housing units in Zamboanga del Sur in 2000 were single houses. About two-thirds (65 percent) of the occupied housing units did not need repair or if needed one, with minor repair only while 19.6 percent needed major repair. Forty five of the occupied housing units were built from 1996 to 2000.

One out of two housing units had roof made of galvanized iron/aluminum

Out of the 251,977 occupied housing units in Zamboanga del Sur, the proportion with roof made of galvanized iron/aluminum was 48.26 percent, an improvement of 22.48 percentage points from the 1990 figure (25.78 percent). On the other hand, the proportion of housing units with walls made of concrete/brick/stone was 8.0 percent in 2000, three times higher than the proportion recorded in 1990 (2.7 percent).

As to the combination of construction materials used for roof and outer walls, one out of four of the occupied housing units were made of galvanized iron/aluminum as roof and wood as outer walls. This was almost two times higher than the 1990 figure (16.74 percent).

Table 1. Total Population of Top Ten Cities/ Municipalities and Sex: Zamboanga del Sur, 2000