CamSur’s population hits 2M in 2020 -- PSA

By Zyra D. Ponce

The province of Camarines Sur has a population of 2.07 million based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (CPH), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on Aug. 6 during the data dissemination forum via Zoom.

The forum was attended by: Danilo Lucena, chief of PSA Statistical Operations and Coordination Division; Florante Varona, assistant National Statistician for National Census Service; and officials of various local government units (LGUs) in the province.

In the results presented by Clemente Manaog, PSA Camarines Sur Chief Statistical Specialist, Camarines Sur has recorded an increase of 115,700 individuals compared to the 2015 CPH results of 1,952,544 total population. However, on the average, the rate by which the population of the province grew from 2015 to 2020 is at 1.22 percent annually, which is slower from the recorded annual rate from 2010 to 2015 at 1.32 percent.

“Across the Bicol region, Camarines Sur is the most populous in 2020. Followed by Albay with 1,374,768 population. Masbate ranks 3rd with 908,920, followed by Sorsogon with 828,655 then Camarines Norte with 629,699 population. Catanduanes has the least population in Bicol region with 271,879”, Manaog said comparing the CPH results from the other provinces in the region.

The PSA census shows that Camarines Sur takes up 34.01 percent of the total population in the entire Bicol region. Thus, out of 81 provinces in the country, Camarines Sur with the population of 2.07 million ranks as the 11th most populous province in the Philippines.

“In terms of total population by legislative districts in Camarines Sur, District 3 ranks first with a total population of 554,323. It is followed by District 5 or the Rinconada District with 499,713 then by District 4 or the Partido Area with 462,770 then District 2 with 343,942 and lastly District 1 with 207,496 population”, Manaog said, adding that half of the population of the province live in Districts 3 and 5.

Among the two cities and 35 municipalities in Camarines Sur, Naga City has the largest population in 2020 with 209,170 second to Legazpi City in the entire Bicol region. In municipalities category, Libmanan with 112,994 population has the highest number of residents, while the least populous municipality is Gainza with 11, 584 population or about 0.56 percent of the total Camarines Sur’s population followed by the municipalities of Bombon and Cabusao.

For the barangay level, seven out of 10 most populous barangays in the provine are found in Naga City. These are: Concepcion Pequena; San Felipe; Cararayan; Pacol; Calauag; Concepcion Grande; and Balatas.

Barangay Concepcion Pequena in Naga City is also hailed as the most populous barangay in the province and in the entire region with 25,139 individuals surpassing the population count in the province of Batanes in Region 2 with 18,831 residents.

“In terms of population growth across Bicol region, Camarines Sur is the second fastest growing province with an annual average population growth rate of 1.22 percent. This is slower by 0.10 percentage points from 1.32 percent recorded in 2015”, Manaog said comparing the annual growth rate of the province from the given results in 2015-2020.

In Camarines Sur, the fastest growing municipality in 2020 is Goa town with an average population growth rate of 2.55 percent, followed by Ocampo with 2.26 percent then Pili with 2.18 percent, San Fernando and Tigaon. Furthermore, with a 5,511.9 square kilometer land area, Camarines Sur’s population density in 2020 is 375 persons per square kilometer.

Manaog added that the disaggregated data on sex, demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population, household characteristics and barangay characteristics in the country will be available in the middle part of year 2022, in accordance with the law where it must be released 18 months after end of the census.

“We also assigned team supervisors, to oversee the data collection of barangays levels. At the end of enumeration for every barangay, we required that the barangay officials or the barangay chairperson certifies through a certification that their barangay has been fully covered”, Manaog said on the reliability of the data gathered.

The 2020 CPH results will served as official count of the Camarines Sur population that can be used by the LGUs and the national government for all purposes.

As of press time, Manaog also informed the public that the PSA Camarines Sur has registered 720,000 individuals in the Step 2 process of the Philippine Identification System or more popularly known as the national ID registration. Those who have registered comprised 34 percent of the total population in the province. A total of 43,000 ID cards were already delivered to those who registered for the national ID.

The Philippine 2020 Census started in May 2020.