Ozamiz City is not the capital city of Misamis Occidental yet its populace almost doubles that of Oroquieta, the latest Census of Population (POPCEN 2007) result said.
POPCEN 2007 was conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) August nationwide last year down to barangay level pursuant to Batas Pambansa Blg. 72 and Commonwealth Act 591.
Its result was made official by President Gloria Arroyo’s Proclamation No. 1489 dated April 16, 2008.
In the final and official result, Philippine population was placed at 88,574,614 persons as of August 1, 2007 while Misamis Occidental, in particular, has 531,680 inhabitants.
The province’s 1.23 percent annual growth rate is placed as the slowest among the five provinces in Region 10. The fastest growing province in the region is Lanao del Norte, with an average annual growth rate of 1.80 percent.
Of the three cities, Ozamiz pegged the highest population, with 123,137 followed by Oroquieta with 65,349 and Tangub with 56,644.
Among the 14 municipalities, Clarin and Plaridel have the most count with 33,299 and 33,073, respectively.
Next is Bonifacio, with 29,514; Tudela, 25,113; Jimenez-24,340; Aloran, 23,450; Lopez Jaena, 22,120; Calamba, 19,597; Sinacaban, 16,772; Sapang Dalaga, 16,567; Baliangao, 14,927; Don Victoriano, 10,157;
Both Panaon and Concepcion only have three-figure population, with 9,266 and 8,355, respectively; Concepcion being the lowest comprising 1.57 of the total inhabitants in the province.
In the 2000 Census of Population and Housing, the country’s total population was 76.50 million while it was recorded at 68.62 million during the 1995 Mid-Decade Census.
The 2007 population growth was the slowest rate recorded for the country since the 1960s. By 2010, it is projected that the annual population growth rate would be 1.95 percent.
For the record, some 40,000 fieldworkers were deployed by NSO during its nationwide census count last year.
The population counts proclaimed by the President as official for all purposes were based on census questionnaires from the different barangays all over the country.
ARCHIE AJIAS