The total population, as of May 1, 2000, of Eastern Visayas, which covers the provinces of Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Samar, Southern Leyte and Biliran, was 3,610,355 persons. This implied an increase of 243,438 persons over the 1995 census figure or an average annual population growth rate of 1.51 percent, lower than the annual population growth rate recorded during the 1990 to 1995 period (1.84 percent). The growth of the population in the region was slow compared to the national growth (2.36 percent). If the average annual population growth rate continues at 1.51 percent, the population of the region is expected to double in 46 years while the population of the Philippines, as a whole, with its growth rate of 2.36 percent, is expected to double in 29 years only. The population of Eastern Visayas is increasing on the average, by 54,516 persons a year or about 149 persons per day.