Based on the 2010 Census of Population and Housing (CPH), the province of South Cotabato, excluding General Santos City, posted a total population of 827,200 persons as of May 1, 2010. This is larger by 136,472 persons compared to its total population of 690,728 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 1.82 percent. This is lower than the 2.50 percent annual PGR of the province between the census years 1990 and 2000.