Population to double in 17 years

The total population of Laguna, as of May 1, 2000, was 1,965,872 persons. This represents an increase of 260,850 persons over the figure in the 1995 Census of Population.

The annual population growth rate recorded during the 1995 to 2000 period of 4.08 percent was the highest annual growth rate for Laguna since 1918 Census. This was 0.8 percentage point higher than the annual growth rate during the 1995 count. If the current growth rate of the population continues at 4.08 percent, the population of Laguna was expected to double in 17 years.

The number of households edged up to 417,932 in 2000 from 337,018 households in 1995. The average household size was 4.7 persons, a slight decrease from 4.8 persons in 1995.

Laguna, ranked second in Southern Tagalog Region in terms of population

Laguna contributed 16.67 percent to the 11.8 million population of the region to become the second largest province in terms of population among the eleven provinces in Southern Tagalog. At the national level, the province shared 2.57 percent to the Philippine population of 76.5 million as recorded in the 2000 Census of Population and Housing.

Calamba, the hometown of our national hero, was the biggest in terms of population size

Among the 30 municipalities covering Laguna, Calamba was the largest constituting 281,146 persons or 14.30 percent of the total provincial population. It was also the hometown of our national hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. San Pedro (11.77 percent) and San Pablo (10.58 percent) followed. Municipalities of Famy and Rizal had the smallest population with 0.53 percent and 0.66 percent of the total population, respectively.

Laguna had a median age of 23 years

Laguna had a median age of 23 years, higher by one year five years ago. This meant that in 2000, about half of the population were below 23 years old.

Sex ratio was recorded at 98.49

Females outnumbered their male counterpart with a sex ratio of 98.49 males for every 100 females. There were more males than females in the age groups 0-14 and 35-54 years. On the other hand, females dominated in the rest of the age groups.

Dependency ratio down to 60.18

In 2000, the overall dependency ratio was 60.18. This meant that for every 100 persons aged 15 to 64 years, there were about 60 dependents – 55 persons aged 0 to 14 years (young dependents) and 5 persons aged 65 years and over (old dependents). In 1995, the ratio was 63.2.

More than half of females in the province were of childbearing age

Out of 990,402 females, 546,969 or 55.23 percent belonged to childbearing age or reproductive age group (15 to 49 years). The highest percentage of which, were those at age group 20 to 24 years (10.77 percent).

Females dominated higher levels of education

More than one-third of the household population aged five years old and over had either attended/finished elementary (34.3 percent) or high school (34.14 percent). Close to 13 percent were college under- graduates and 5.94 percent with higher education.

Majority of the population who were college undergraduates, academic degree holders, and with post baccalaureate courses were females. On the contrary, majority of the population who had post secondary courses were males.

Nine out of ten were Tagalog

Most people in Laguna classified themselves as Tagalog (90.86 percent), about 3 percent as Bicol and 1.62 percent as Bisaya/Binisaya. The remaining 4.6 percent were Ilocano, Hiligaynon/Ilongo, Cebuano, Waray or other ethnic groups.

Married persons outnumbered single persons

Married persons made up 47.26 percent of the total population 10 years old and over while 41.83 percent were reported single. The remaining 10.91 percent were either with other arrangement, widowed, separated/divorced or with unknown marital status.

One out of five households had 30 to 49 square meter-floor area

About 22 percent of the occupied housing units had floor area of 30 to 49 square meters, 18.12 percent with 20 to 29 square meters, and 15.91 percent with 10 to 19 square meters. On the other hand, the floor area of 90 to 119 square meters (4.87 percent) was the least preferred.

Occupied housing units were predominantly made of strong materials

As to the construction materials used for walls, 53.22 percent of the occupied housing units used concrete/brick/stone. This registered a 16.55 percentage points increase ten years ago. Moreover, 88.15 percent had roof made of galvanized iron/aluminum, an increase of 3.69 percentage points as compared to that of 1990.

Of the total occupied housing units, 51.43 percent had roof made up of galvanized iron/aluminum and concrete/ brick/stone for walls.