Highlights of Census 2000: New Mindanao Groupings Mindanao Population growth rate slightly increased The island of Mindanao registered a total population of 18.1 million as of May 1, 2000, an increase of 1.9 million persons over the results of the 1995 Census of Population. This also translates to an annual population growth rate of 2.44 percent. The growth rate of the population of Mindanao slightly increased by 0.07 percentage point over the 1995 figure (2.37 percent). The population in the island is expected to double within the period of about three decades if the growth rate continues at 2.44 percent. Of the total 76.5 million Philippine population, about 24 percent were living in Mindanao. Among the regions in Mindanao, Davao Region was the biggest in terms of population as it registered a total of 3.7 million persons or more than 20 percent of the total population of Mindanao while Caraga Region was the smallest with only 2.1 million or about 12 percent. Table A. Population Distribution by Region Mindanao: 2000   Region Number Percent   Region IX 2,831,412 15.61   Region X 3,505,708 19.33   Region XI 3,676,163 20.27   Region XII 3,222,169 17.77   ARMM 2,803,045 15.46   Caraga 2,095,367 11.55   Total 18,133,864 100.00 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing Average household size was 5.18 persons In 2000, the number of households in the island accounted for 3.5 million and about 18.1 million household population. This translates to an average household size of 5.18 persons or five persons in every household, lower than the 1995 figure (5.22 persons). As compared to Luzon and Visayas, both had lower average household size of 4.90 and 5.06 persons, respectively. Among the regions in Mindanao, ARMM had the highest average household size of 6.07 persons, followed by Caraga with 5.32 persons. On the other hand, Davao Region had the lowest with 4.86 persons per household. The number of dependents increased by more than one-half In SOCCSKSARGEN, 57.52 percent of the total population were 15 to 64 years old (working age group). Individuals aged 0 to 14 years (young dependents) constituted 39.62 percent and 2.86 percent for those aged 65 years and above (old dependents). The dependency ratio for SOCCSKSARGEN was recorded at 74 persons, same with national level. This means that for every 100 persons in the working age group, there were 74 dependents, that is, 69 young dependents and five old dependents. In Luzon, the dependency ratio was lower at 65 persons, while in Visayas, it was also 74 persons. Of the six regions in Mindanao, Caraga had the highest dependency ratio of 80 persons, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula with 76 persons. Davao Region, on the other hand, had the lowest with only 70 persons. More males than females In 2000, males outnumbered females in SOCCSKSARGEN with a sex ratio of 104 males for every 100 females. Males dominated in all age groups except in the age groups 15-19 years and 70 years and above. In Luzon, females outnumbered males with a sex ratio of 98, while in Visayas, males outnumbered females with a sex ratio of 102. Sex ratio in Mindanao varies by region. Caraga had the highest sex ratio of 105, followed by Davao Region, which is the same as SOCCSKSARGEN, with a sex ratio of 104 and Zamboanga Peninsula and Northern Mindanao with 103 each. On the other hand, ARMM had the lowest sex ratio of 97, which means that its population was dominated by females. Aged 5 to 9 years comprised the biggest group of SOCCSKSARGEN's populace Children aged 5 to 9 years dominated the island of Mindanao with 13.73 percent share to the total population. This was followed by those aged 10 to 14 years at 12.78 percent and 15 to 19 years at 11.07 percent. The age structure of SOCCSKSARGEN Region also showed the same evident characteristic deviating from the usual pyramid shape, that is, as age increases, population decreases. Figure 1. Age-Sex Population Pyramid SOCCSKSARGEN Region: 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing Bachelors led in number For SOCCSKSARGEN Region, a large proportion (44.45%) of 1.08 million household population 10 years old and over were still single. Married persons comprised 45.80 percent; other marital arrangements, 4.42 percent; and widowed, 3.59 percent. Those couples who were separated or divorced registered 0.65 percent. Figure 2. Household Population 10 Years Old and Over by Sex and Marital Status SOCCSKSARGEN Region: 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing More females achieved higher level education in SOCCSKSARGEN Of the household population five years old and over in SOCCSKSARGEN, 43.07 percent attended or completed elementary and 26.94 percent at most high school. Those who were college undergraduates comprised 8.52 percent and academic degree holders, 2.72 percent. Those who had not completed any grade made up 10.31 percent, of which 50.49 percent were females. In SOCCSKSARGEN, there were more males than females among those who attended or finished pre-school (50.35%), elementary (53.74%), and post secondary education (50.35%). On the other hand, there were more females than males among those who had secondary education (50.68%), were college undergraduates (52.22%), academic degree holders (59.06%), and with post baccalaureate courses (57.11%). Figure 3. Household Population 5 Years Old and Over by Highest Educational Attainment and Sex SOCCSKSARGEN Region: 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing About 39.43 percent of the Mindanao's population five years old and over had reached at least secondary education. Northern Mindanao had the highest proportion (43.92 percent), followed by Davao Region (43.20%), and Caraga (39.91%). In contrast, ARMM had the lowest proportion with only 29.59 percent. More than half of the population in SOCCSKSARGEN were Roman Catholic Roman Catholic was still the dominant religious affiliation in Mindanao with 58.60 percent of the household population while Islam comprised 16.07 percent. Other religions were Evangelical (9.84%), Aglipayan (1.44%), Iglesia ni Cristo (2.20%), and Seventh Day Adventist (1.79%). Figure 4. Household Population 10 Years Old and Over by Religious Affiliation SOCCSKSARGEN Region: 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing Islam was the dominant religious affiliation in ARMM (90.10%). On the other hand, Davao Region had the highest proportion of Roman Catholics (76.69%), followed by Northern Mindanao (75.30%), Caraga (74.15%) and Zamboanga Peninsula (69.88%). One-fourth of the Mindanawans were Cebuanos Around 25.8 percent of the household population in Mindanao classified themselves as Cebuanos. Other ethnic groups included Bisaya/Binisaya (18.4%), Hiligaynon/Ilonggo (8.2%), Maguindanaon (5.5%), and Maranao (5.4%). The remaining 36.6 percent belonged to other ethnic groups. Cebuano registered the highest proportion of ethnic group in Northern Mindanao and Davao Region with 35.59 percent and 37.76 percent, respectively. In SOCCSKSARGEN, it was Hiligaynon/Ilonggo (31.58%), Binisaya/Bisaya (33.10%) in Zamboanga Peninsula, Maranao (26.40%) in ARMM, and Surigaonon (25.67%) in Caraga. More male-headed households in SOCCSKSARGEN Majority (89.67%) of the households in Mindanao were headed by males. The same is true in Luzon (85.59%) and Visayas (85.30%). Among males in SOCCSKSARGEN, headship rate peaked at ages 30 to 39 years (31.12%) while headship rate for females was the highest at ages 50 to 59 years (22.40%). Figure 5. Percent Distribution of Household Heads by Age and Sex Group SOCCSKSARGEN Region: 2000 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing ARMM had the highest proportion of male-headed households (91.78%), followed by SOCCSKSARGEN (89.84%), Zamboanga Peninsula (89.55%), Davao Region (89.17%), Caraga (89.16%), and Northern Mindanao (89.03%). Literacy rate was higher for female Mindanawans About 86.45 percent of the household population 10 years old and over in Mindanao were literate. Literacy rate for females (86.5%) was slightly higher than for males (86.4%). Caraga had the highest literacy rate of 91.99 percent, followed by Northern Minsanao (90.83%), Davao Region (90.67%), Zamboanga Peninsula (86.77%), and SOCCSKSARGEN (87.38%). ARMM, on the other hand, had the lowest with 69.62 percent. The age group 20 to 24 years registered the highest proportion (90.99%) of literate persons while the age groups 15 to 19 years (90.44%) and 25 to 29 years (89.66%) followed. The age group 20 to 24 years registered the highest proportion (90.99%) of literate persons while the age groups 15 to 19 years (90.44%) and 25 to 29 years (89.66%) followed. Table B. Literacy Rate of Household Population 10 Years Old and Over by Age Group and Sex: Mindanao, 2000   Age Group Both Sexes Male Female 10-14 84.97 83.76 86.21 15-19 90.44 89.61 91.27 20-24 90.99 90.55 81.43 25-29 89.66 89.60 89.72 30-34 89.09 89.38 88.80 35-39 86.38 87.14 85.59 40-44 86.32 86.83 85.78 45-49 84.47 85.56 83.29 50-54 81.85 82.70 80.93 55-59 79.09 80.25 77.74 60-64 76.22 77.27 75.11 65-69 73.75 75.21 72.28 70 and over 73.75 75.21 72.28 Mindanao 86.45 86.38 86.51 Source: National Statistics Office, 2000 Census of Population and Housing Average number of children ever-born was three There were 62.37 percent ever-married women aged 15 to 49 years in Mindanao, of which 37.43 percent had four or more children and 47.45 percent had one to three children. The average number of children born to an ever-married woman in Mindanao was 3.07. The proportion of ever-married women who were still childless at the end of their reproductive period (45 to 49 years old) was 1.34 percent. Among the regions in Mindanao, Caraga had the highest average number of children born to an ever-married woman (3.35 children). ARMM had 3.20 children, Northern Mindanao had 3.08 children, SOCCSKSARGEN had 3.03 children, Zamboanga Peninsula had 2.99 children and Davao Region had 2.91 children. For more information or data request on the final report of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing of the New Mindanao Groupings, send us email or visit NSO SOCCSKSARGEN Regional and Provincial Offices near you.