HAGATÑA – The Consulate General of the Philippines announced today the release of the results of the 2007 Population Census conducted by the National Statistics Office.

             Based on the Census, the total population of the Philippines in 2007 was 88.57 million.  Compared to the total population in 2000, which was 76.50 million, the country’s population grew by about 12.07 million over the past seven years, translating into an average annual growth rate of 2.04 percent for the period 2000-2007.  According to the report, this is the lowest population growth rate recorded for the Philippines since the 1960s.

             For the period 2005-2010, the NSO projects that the average annual population growth rate of the country is 1.95 percent.  Based on this estimate, it is plausible that the country’s 2008 population is now around 90 million.

             The report also identified the top three most populous administrative regions, with Region IV-A (CALABARZON), which is composed of five provinces, namely, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon, having the largest population count at 11.74 million.  The National Capital Region (NCR), comprised of the Metro Manila cities and municipalities, is the second most populous region with 11.55 million, while Region III (Central Luzon), composed of 7 provinces, is in third place with 9.72 million.   This three regions combined comprise more than one-third (37.3%) of the total Philippine population.

             Among the country’s provinces, the three with the most population are Cavite, with 2.86 million, Bulacan, with 2.83 million, and Pangasinan, with 2.65 million.

             Of the 32 highly urbanized cities (HUCs), only four had populations exceeding the one million mark.  Three of these are in the NCR-Metro Manila area:  Quezon City (2.68 million), Manila (1.66 million) and Kalookan City (1.38 million).  The only HUC outside NCR with a population of more than a million is Davao City with 1.36 million.

             The smallest government unit (barangay) with the largest population is Barangay 176 of Kalookan City, which has 221,874 residents.

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