Among the provinces, Bukidnon has the highest population at 1,190,284, although that is still lower than Davao City’s. Only three Mindanao provinces have a population of over a million each: Bukidnon, Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato.
Conducted by the National Statistics Office, Popcen 2007 has placed the Philippine population at 88,574,614 persons as of August 1, 2007. The results were made official with the signing by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Proclamation No. 1489 last April 16.
Of 88.57 million Filipinos, 23.59 million are in Mindanao.
MindaNews collated the regional reports of the Mindanao portion of the 2007 Census and came up with the following Top 10 cities and Top 10 provinces in Mindanao:
The Top 10 Cities are Davao (1.36M), Zamboanga (774,407), Cagayan de Oro (553,966), General Santos (529,542), Iligan (308,046), Butuan (297,378), Cotabato (257,997), Tagum (215,967), Marawi (177,391) and Valencia (162,745).
The least populated Mindanao City is El Salvador (41,905) in Misamis Oriental, one of six newly-created cities and one of the subjects of protest by the League of Cities of the Philippines.
Davao City’s barangays Buhangin Poblacion, Talomo Poblacion and Sasa have higher population than El Salvador City, with at least 50,000 each.
The Top 10 Provinces are Bukidnon (1.19 M), Lanao del Sur (1,138,544), North Cotabato (1,121,974), Zamboanga del Sur (914,278), Zamboanga del Norte (907,238), Sulu (849,670), Davao del Norte (847,440), Davao del Sur (822,406), South Cotabato (767,254) and Misamis Oriental (748,885).
Among the five island provinces (Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Camiguin, Dinagat), Sulu has the highest population.
Overall, Camiguin Island has the least population among the 27 provinces, at 81,293.
The cities ranked from 11th to 33rd and their population:
11. Pagadian 161,312
12. Panabo 154,329
13. Koronadal 149,622
14. Digos 145,514
15. Malaybalay 144,065
16. Surigao 132,151
17. Ozamiz 123,137
18. Mati 122,046
19. Kidapawan 117,610
20. Dipolog 113,118
21. Gingoog 112,247
22. Bislig 102,009
23. Bayugan 95,032
24. Island Garden City
of Samal 90,291
25. Isabela 87,985
26. Tacurong 82,546
27. Lamitan 82,074
28. Dapitan 72,792
29. Oroquieta 65,349
30. Cabadbaran 61,564
31. Tangub 56,644
32. Tandag 50,459
33. El Salvador 41,905
The provinces ranked 11th to 27th and their population:
11. Maguindanao 710,829
12. Sultan Kudarat 675,644
13. Compostela Valley 637,366
14.Agusan del Sur 609,447
15. Shariff Kabunsuan 562,886
16. Zamboanga Sibugay 546,186
17. Surigao del Sur 541,347
18. Lanao del Norte 538,283
19. Misamis Occidental 531,680
20. Davao Oriental 486,104
21. Sarangani 474,514
22. Tawi-tawi 450,346
23. Surigao del Norte 409,468
24. Basilan 408,520
25. Agusan del Norte 314,027
26. Dinagat Islands 120,813
27. Camiguin 81,293
Overall, Camiguin is the third least populated area in the country. Batanes has a population of only 16,000 and Siquijor has 81,000, the NSO reported. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)