Central Mindanao population stands at 3.8M

KORONADAL CITY, Philippines - Central Mindanao has increased its population by at least half a million within a seven-year period, the regional National Statistics Coordination Board said Thursday. Herlita G. Caraan, regional statistics chief, said the four-province, five-city region has a total population of at least 3.8 million as of August 2007, or 606,912 more people from the May 2000 population of 3.2 million. "The region's population grew at an average of 2.41 percent annually from 2000 to 2007, faster than the 2.04 percent national growth rate," she said. Based on the latest census, the country's official population now stands at 88.6 million. Across Central Mindanao's provinces, North Cotabato breached the one million mark with 1,121,974 population. The province grew at an average of 2.19 percent annually from 2000 to 2007, the highest among the provinces in the region. South Cotabato, excluding General Santos City, listed a total population of 767,254 with an annual population growth rate of 1.46 percent for the period 2000-2007. Sultan Kudarat grew by 1.97 percent annually during the same period and posted a total population of 675,644. Sarangani province listed a total population of 475,514 at 2.04 percent annual growth rate. General Santos City had surpassed the half million mark (529,542) at 3.53 percent annual growth rate, slower than the 5.05 percent annual growth it registered from 1995-2000. Cotabato City grew fastest among the region's provinces and key cities at 6.52 percent annually and posted a total population of 259,153. Carlito Uy, president of the South Cotabato Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc., said additional people in the area mean increase in sales of business in the services or retail sectors. The purchasing power of these additional warm bodies will have to be taken into account to say they can contribute to economic growth, he added. But for local government units, Uy stressed it means additional burden since they have to provide more for the basic social needs such as health and education of the growing population. Central Mindanao's population growth rate makes it the third fastest growing region from 2000 to 2007 after the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which posted the highest growth rate at 5.46 percent, and Region IV-A (Calabarzon) with 3.21 percent. Two other regions posted growth rates higher than the national figure of 2.04 percent -- Region III (Central Luzon) with 2.36 percent and the National Capital Region with 2.11 percent. Caraan said the National Statistics Office deployed some 40,000 field enumerators for the conduct of the nationwide census last year. The agency adopted a new technology which involved digital imaging and intelligent character recognition in processing the census forms. The census was conducted pursuant to Batas Pambansa Blg. 72 and Commonwealth Act 591. - Sun.Star