Biliran, the island province of Eastern Visayas, had steadily grown to 140,274 persons based on the 2000 Census of Population and Housing. It registered an increase of 8,065 persons from 132,209 persons five years ago. This translated to an annual growth rate of 1.28 percent from 1995 to 2000. Similarly, the number of households also rose to 27,909, higher by 2,263 households from the 1995 figure. This gave an average household size of 5.02 persons, lower than the 1995 average of 5.15 and slightly higher than the national average of five persons.

Of the eight municipalities in Biliran, Naval, which comprised 27.07 percent of the total provincial population, was the largest in terms of population size. Caibira (13.98%), Cabucgayan (12.61%), and Kawayan (12.48%) followed, while Maripipi had the least population (5.93 %).

Biliran had the lowest population among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas, contributing only 3.88 percent to the 3.6 million population of the region. At the national level, Biliran shared 0.18 percent to the total Philippine population of 76.5 million as recorded in the Census 2000.

Biliran registered a median age of 20 years in the Census 2000 from a median age of 19 years in 1990 and 1995. Male population outnumbered their female counterparts with a sex ratio of 103 males for every 100 females. However, in the age group 50 years and over, females dominated their male counterparts.

In 2000, the 0 to14 age group made up 40.5 percent of the total population in Biliran while 5.4 percent were aged 65 years and above. The economically active population aged 15 to 64 years made up 54 percent.

The overall dependency ratio in 2000 was 85. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 85 dependents (75 persons aged 0 to 14 years - young dependents; and ten persons aged 65 years and over - old dependents). The 2000 ratio was the same as reported in 1995.

Of the total household population five years old and over, more than half (53.56 percent) had attended or completed elementary education. About 22 percent had either attended or finished high school while 7.25 percent had attended college. Only three percent were academic degree holders. More than half of those who had attended or finished elementary education (52.49 percent) were males. On the other hand, those who had attended or finished high school, college and post baccalaureate were predominantly females.

Among the household population in Biliran, two out of five persons classified themselves as Waray. Bisaya/Binisaya came next with 30.8 percent while 26.2 percent were reported as Cebuano. Other ethnic groups included Tagalog (0.25 percent), Kankanai/Kankaney/Kankanaey (0.15 percent), and Boholano (0.10 percent).

The proportion of single individuals was almost the same as that of married population 10 years old and over (43.27 and 43.56, respectively). The remaining 13.17 percent were either widowed, divorced/separated, common-law/live-in or with unknown marital status.

There were 28,551 housing units in Biliran, of which 27,514 were occupied. This registered an increase of 22.47 percentage points from 1990, a ratio of one household per housing unit, and 5.09 household members per occupied housing unit. Majority (96.65 percent) of occupied housing units were single houses. Duplex and multi-unit residential houses accounted for only 1.23 and 0.41 percent, respectively.

 

 

(Sgd.) CARMELITA N. ERICTA Administrator

 

BILIRAN The island province of Biliran lies a few kilometers north of the coast of Leyte. Carigara Bay to the south and Biliran Strait to the west of the island separate it from Leyte. It is the smallest province in Eastern Visayas with an area of about 532 sq. kms. In 1768, when Samar and Leyte were divided, Biliran became part of Leyte. It remained part of that province until 1959, when it was constituted as a sub-province with the enactment of Republic Act No. 2141. Finally, in May 1992, the island became a separate province of the Philippines by virtue of Republic Act No. 7160. Naval is the capital town of Biliran province. As of year 2000, Biliran has a total of 132 barangays.

Table 1. Total Population Distribution by Municipality and Sex: Biliran, 2000

Municipalities	Total Population	Percent	Male	Female
Biliran	140,274	100.0	71,259	69.015
Almeria	13,854	9.88	7,077	6,777
Biliran	13,817	9.85	6,981	6,836
Cabucgayan	17,691	12.61	8,999	8,692
Caibira	19,606	13.98	10,088	9,518
Culaba	11,506	8.20	5,877	5,629
Kawayan	17,507	12.48	8,836	8,671
Maripipi	8,319	5.93	4,221	4,098
Naval	37,974	27.07	19,180	18,794

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Table 2. Total Population by Age Group, Sex and Sex Ratio: Biliran, 2000

Age Group	Total Population	Male	Female	Sex Ratio
Biliran	140,274	71,259	69,015	103.25
Under 1	3,527	1,822	1,705	106.86
1 to 4	15,007	9,507	9,027	105.32
5 to 9	19,910	10,299	9,611	107.16
10 to 14	18,408	9,357	9,051	103.38
15 to 19	13,963	7,446	6,517	114.26
20 to 24	10,446	5,392	5,054	106.69
25 to 29	8,906	4,573	4,333	105.54
30 to 34	8,518	4,346	4,172	104.17
30 to 34	7,854	3,950	3,904	101.18
40 to 44	6,966	3,536	3,430	103.09
45 to 49	5,716	2,898	2,818	102.84
50 to 54	5,206	2,551	2,655	96.08
55 to 59	4,387	2,174	2,213	98.24
60 to 64	3,830	1,800	2,030	88.67
65 to 69	2,935	1,376	1,559	88.26
70 to 74	2,284	1,015	1,269	79.98
75 to 79	1,249	542	707	76.66
80 & Over	1,162	503	659	76.33

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Table 3. Household Population 5 Years Old and Over by
Highest Educational Attainment and Sex: Biliran, 2000

Highest Educational Attainment	Household Population 5 Years Old & Over	Male	Female
Biliran	121,641	61,680	59,961
No Grade Completed	8,090	4,333	3,757
Pre-School	3,110	1,611	1,499
Elementary	65,157	34,199	30,958
High School	26,998	12,817	14,181
Post Secondary	3,103	1,796	1,307
College Undergraduate	8,816	4,222	4,594
Academic Degree Holder	3,434	1,273	2,161
Post Baccalaureate	301	116	185
Not Stated	2,632	1,313	1,319

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Table 4. Total Household Population by Ethnicity and Sex: Biliran, 2000

Ethnicity	Both Sexes	Male	Female
Biliran	140,174	71,187	68,987
Waray	57,020	29,116	27,904
Bisaya/Binisaya	43,231	21,787	21,444
Cebuano	36,757	18,737	18,020
Tagalog	354	167	187
Kankanai/Kankaney/Kankanaey	216	112	104
Boholano	142	68	74
Others	981	504	477
Not Reported	1,473	696	777

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Table 5. Total Population 10 Years old and Over by Age Group and Marital Status: Biliran, 2000

Age Group	Total Population 10 Yrs Old & Over	Single	Married	Widowed	Divorced/ Separated	Others	Unknown
Biliran	101,830	44,064	44,357	4,675	1,065	6,493	1,176
Below 20	32,371	30,674	590	20	15	434	638
20 - 24	10,446	6,739	2,523	14	48	963	159
25 - 29	8,906	2,960	4,771	40	92	956	87
30 - 34	8,518	1,383	6,033	67	113	867	55
35 - 39	7,854	793	6,000	96	135	783	47
40 - 44	6,966	483	5,483	142	168	653	37
45 - 49	5,716	310	4,535	227	130	486	28
50 - 54	5,206	240	4,070	364	111	400	21
55 - 59	4,387	158	3,342	445	92	325	25
60 - 64	3,830	117	2,765	618	73	238	19
65 - 69	2,935	80	1,967	672	36	166	14
70 - 74	2,284	40	1,281	785	25	131	22
75 - 79	1,249	44	597	535	15	51	7
80 & Over	1,162	43	400	650	12	40	17

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

Table 6. Total Occupied Housing Units, Households, Household Population and Ratio of Household and Household Population to Occupied Housing Unit by Type of Building: Biliran, 2000

TYPE OF BUILDING	Occupied Housing Unit	Household	Household Population	RATIO OF HOUSEHOLDS AND HOUSEHOLD POPULATION
				Household to Occupied Housing Unit	Household Population to Occupied Housing Unit
Biliran	27,514	27,909	140,174	1.01	5.09
Single House	26,592	26,956	135,188	1.01	5.08
Duplex	338	356	1,716	1.05	5.08
Multi-Unit Residential	112	118	502	1.05	4.48
Commercial/Industrial/Agricultural	55	57	222	1.04	4.04
Institutional Living Quarters	4	4	22	1.00	5.50
Other Housing Unit	2	2	11	1.00	5.50
Not Reported	411	416	2,513	1.01	6.11

Source: NSO, 2000 Census of Population and Housing

 

TECHNICAL NOTES Average Household Size - average number of people who live in the household Growth Rate - the rate at which the population is increasing (or decreasing) in a given year due to natural increase and net migration, expressed as a percentage of the base population Median Age - the age at which exactly half of the population is young and half is old Sex Ratio - the ratio of males to females in a given population expressed as the number of males per 100 females Age-Dependency Ratio - the ratio of persons in the "dependent" ages (under 15 years and over 64 years) to those in the "economically productive" ages (15 to 64 years old) in the population Household - a social unit consisting of a person or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have common arrangements in the preparation and consumption of food The 2000 Census of Population and Housing (Census 2000) was undertaken by the National Statistics Office (NSO) in May 2000, as mandated by Commonwealth Act No.591, Batas Pambansa Blg. 72 and Executive Order No. 121. It was the 11th census of population and 5th census of housing undertaken in this country since the first census in 1903. It was designed to take an inventory of the total population and housing units all over the Philippines and to collect information about their characteristics. Census day for the Census 2000 was May 1, 2000 (12:01 a.m.). Enumeration started on May 1, 2000 and lasted for about 30 days.

 

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