Population growth rate decreased to 1.13 percent

The total population of Leyte as of May 2000, was 1,592,336 persons, an increase of 81,085 persons over the 1995 Census of Population (POPCEN) results. This translated to an annual growth rate of 1.13 percent, from 1.89 percent in 1995. If the current annual growth rate continues, the population of Leyte will double in 62 years. A corresponding increase on the number of households was also recorded at 322,579 households, higher by 21,421 households over the 1995 figure. This resulted to an average household size of 4.92 persons, slightly lower than the average household size recorded in 1995 and the national average of five persons.

Tacloban City (provincial capital) was the largest in terms of population size

Tacloban City, the provincial capital, shared the largest population in Leyte, contributing 11.22 percent. It was followed by Ormoc City (9.69 percent), and Baybay (6.01 percent). On the other hand, the least populous municipality was Tunga (0.38 percent). In terms of population growth rate, Dulag had the fastest growth rate among the 41 municipalities and 2 cities in Leyte with 2.45 percent, while San Isidro registered a negative growth rate of 2.6 percent.

Leyte ranked first in terms of population size in Eastern Visayas

Among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas, Leyte ranked first in terms of population size with 44.10 percent of the 3.6 million persons of the region. At the national level, the province contributed 2.08 percent to the total population of 76.5 million.

Leyte had a median age of 19 years

Leyte had a median age of 19 years. This meant that half of the population were below 19 years. In 1995, the median age was 18 years.

Sex ratio was recorded at 103.99

There were 811.7 thousand males and 780.6 thousand females in Leyte. This gave a sex ratio of 103.99 males for every 100 females in 2000, slightly higher than the 1995 figure of 103.30. There were more males in the age group 0 to 54 years, while more females in the 55 years and above age group.

More than half of the population were economically active persons

More than half (55.48 percent) of the population of Leyte belonged to the economically active population aged 15 to 64 years. About 39.84 percent were aged 0 to 14 years (young dependents), while 4.68 percent were aged 64 years and above (old dependents). The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 80.25, lower than the 1995 ratio of 83.45. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 80 dependents, i.e., 72 young dependents and 8 old dependents.

Voting population comprised more than half of the total population

There were 853,416 persons or 53.60 percent of the total population belonging to the voting population (aged 18 years and over), higher than the 1995 figure (52.19 percent).

One out of two women in childbearing age group

In 2000, about 46 percent of the female population belonged to the childbearing age group (15 to 49 years old), slightly higher by 0.31 percentage point from the 1995 figure (45.62 percent).

Females had higher levels of education

Of the total five years old and over, more than half of the population completed or attended elementary education (51.67 percent); 22.74 percent, high school; 7.69 percent, college undergraduates; and 3.56 percent, academic degree holders. Males dominated the elementary (52.99 percent) and post-secondary levels (50.93 percent), while the rest by females.

Three-fourth of the population were Binisaya/Bisaya and Waray

Majority of the household population in Leyte classified themselves as Binisaya/Bisaya (39.94 percent) or Waray (37.62 percent). Other ethnic groups included Cebuano (20.25 percent), Tagalog (0.34 percent), and Kankanai/Kankaney/Kankanaey (0.11 percent).

Married persons down by 3.67 percentage points

About 42.61 percent of the total population 10 years old and over were married, lower than the 1995 figure (46.28 percent). On the other hand, the proportion of single was registered at 43.78 percent, and the remaining 13.61 percent were either widowed, divorced/separated, with other arrangements or with unknown marital status. Majority of the single persons were men (54.69 percent). The proportion of widowed females was remarkably higher (73.63 percent) than males (26.37 percent).

One out of four occupied housing units had floor area of 10 to 19 square meters

Out of 318,878 occupied housing units in Leyte, 26.27 percent had floor area of 10 to 19 square meters; 24.49 percent, less than 10 square meters; and 16.50 percent, 20 to 29 square meters.

One out of five occupied housing units had roof made of galvanized iron and walls made of concrete/brick/stone

One out of five or 19.61 percent of the occupied housing units had roof made of galvanized iron/aluminum and walls made of concrete/brick/stone. On the other hand, 25.22 percent had roof made of cogon/nipa/anahaw and walls made of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa. About 62.45 percent of the occupied housing units needed no repair or if needed one with minor repair only, and 34.31 percent were relatively new (built from 1996 to 2000).

Table 1. Population Distribution of Top Ten Cities/Municipalities by Sex: Leyte, 2000