Based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH), the province of Zamboanga del Norte  posted a total population of 957,997 persons as of May 1, 2010.  This is larger by 134,867 persons compared to its total population of 823,130 persons counted in the 2000 CPH.  The increase in the population count from 2000 to 2010 translated to an average annual population growth rate (PGR) of 1.53 percent.  This is lower than the 1.99 percent annual PGR of the province between the census years 1990 and 2000.

Fifty years ago, the population of Zamboanga del Norte was only 281,429 persons.  This population size is less than one third of the population of the province in the 2010 CPH.

 

 

 

 

Among the two cities and 25 municipalities comprising the province of Zamboanga del Norte, the City of Dipolog was the most populous with a population size making up 12.6 percent of the total provincial population.  The municipality of Sindangan was second with 9.8 percent share, followed by the City of Dapitan with 8.1 percent, Katipunan with 4.5 percent, Siocon 4.3 percent, Labason with 4.2 percent, and Liloy with 4.1 percent.  The rest of municipalities contributed less than 4.0 percent each.

 

The least populated area was the municipality of La Libertad with 0.8 percent share to the total population of the province. It was also the least populated area in 2000.

 

 

 

 

Of the 955,668 household population in 2010, males accounted for 51.3 percent while females comprised 48.7 percent.  These figures resulted in a sex ratio of 105 males for every 100 females, which is similar to the sex ratio reported in 2000 (104 males per 100 females).

 

 

 

In 2010, the median age of the population of the province was 21.8 years, which means that half of the population was younger than 21.8 years. This is higher than the median age of 19.9 years that was recorded in 2000.

 

Moreover, 35.9 percent of the household population were under 15 years old.  Children aged 10 to 14 years (12.1 percent) comprised the largest age group, followed by those in the age groups 0 to 4 years and 5 to 9 years (11.9 percent each).  Males outnumbered females in the age groups 0 to 59 years.  On the other hand, there were more females than males in the older age groups (60 years and over).

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2010, the young dependents (0 to 14 years) comprised 35.9 percent of the household population while the old dependents (65 years and over) posted a share of 4.6 percent. The working-age population (15 to 64 years) accounted for the remaining 59.5 percent.

           

The overall dependency ratio was 68, which indicates that for every 100 working-age population, there were about 68 dependents (60 young dependents and eight old dependents). This ratio is lower than the dependency ratio in 2000, which was recorded at 76 dependents per 100 working-age population (70 young dependents and six old dependents).

 

 

 

Of the household population 10 years old and over, 47.6 percent were married while 43.4 percent were never married. The rest of the population were categorized as follows: widowed (4.2 percent), in common-law/live-in marital arrangement (3.8 percent), and divorced/separated (0.9 percent).

 

Among the never-married persons, 55.7 percent were males while 44.3 percent were females.  For the rest of the categories for marital status, the females outnumbered the males.

 

 

 

Of the household population aged five years and over, 48.1 percent had attended or completed elementary education, 27.0 percent had reached or finished high school, 6.6 percent were college undergraduates, and 6.5 percent were academic degree holders.  Among those with an academic degree, the females (56.3 percent) outnumbered the males (43.7 percent).  Similarly, more females (60.5 percent) than males (39.5 percent) had pursued post baccalaureate courses.

 

 

 

In 2010, around 14,500 persons or 1.5 percent of the 955,668 household population had a disability.  This proportion of persons with disability (PWD) is higher than the proportion in 2000, which was 1.2 percent of the 821,921 household population of the province during that year.  The number of PWD for the same year was around 10,200.

 

 

 

Of the 842,415 household population five years and over, 3.1 percent (or 26,279 persons) had at least one type of functional difficulty either in seeing, hearing, walking or climbing steps, remembering or concentrating, self-caring (bathing or dressing), or communicating.  There were more males (50.1 percent) than females (49.9 percent) among those persons with at least one type of functional difficulty.

 

Moreover, of the total 26,279 persons aged five years and over with at least one type of functional difficulty, 68.5 percent reported difficulty in seeing, even if wearing eyeglasses.  There were 23.3 percent who had difficulty in hearing, even if using a hearing aid; 23.2 percent had difficulty in walking or climbing steps; 15.3 percent had difficulty in remembering or concentrating; 11.7 percent had difficulty in communicating; and 9.7 percent had difficulty in self-caring (bathing or dressing).

 

 

 

Of the 729,048 household population 10 years old and over in Zamboanga del Norte, 1.0 percent (or 7,089 persons) were overseas workers.  Male overseas workers slightly outnumbered their female counterparts as they comprised 50.1 percent of all the overseas workers from this province.  Overseas workers aged 45 and over made up the largest age group, comprising 18.6 percent of the total overseas workers from this province in 2010, followed by the age groups 30 to 34 years (18.4 percent), 25 to 29 years (17.9 percent), and 35 to 39 years (15.7 percent).

 

 

 

The number of households in 2010 was recorded at 205,338, higher by 43,826 households compared with the 161,512 households posted in 2000.  The average household size in 2010 was 4.7 persons, lower than the average household size of 5.1 persons in 2000.

 

 

 

 

A total of 203,468 occupied housing units were recorded in the province of Zamboanga del Norte in 2010.  This translates to a ratio of 101 households for every 100 occupied housing units, with 4.7 persons per occupied housing unit.  In 2000, there were 101 households for every 100 occupied housing units, and 5.1 persons per occupied housing unit.

 

 

 

In 2010, 41.5 percent of the occupied housing units in the province had outer walls made of bamboo/sawali/cogon/nipa. This is lower than the proportion of 45.6 percent recorded in 2000.  The proportion of occupied housing units with outer walls made of wood decreased from 35.5 percent in 2000 to 32.4 percent in 2010. Those with walls made of concrete/brick/stone increased from 8.7 percent in 2000 to 15.8 percent in 2010.  Meanwhile, 49.6 percent of the occupied housing units in 2010 had roofs made of galvanized iron/aluminum.  This is higher than the proportion recorded in 2000 at 37.0 percent.  The proportion of occupied housing units with roofs made of cogon/nipa/anahaw decreased from 59.4 percent in 2000 to 47.7 percent in 2010.

 

 

           

In 2010, of the total 205,338 households, more than half (56.1 percent) owned or amortized the lots that they occupied.  The corresponding figure in 2000 was 51.2 percent.

 

Moreover, 36.0 percent of the households occupied lots which were rent-free but with consent of the owner, 5.3 percent rented the lots that they occupied while 1.3 percent occupied lots which were rent-free but without consent of the owner.

 

 

 

  (Sgd) CARMELITA N. ERICTA

                  Administrator