BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CAGAYAN VALLEY

Geographic Profile

Region 02, also known as Cagayan Valley Region consists of three cities, City of Cauayan, Santiago City and Tuguegarao City and five provinces namely, Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.  It has 90 municipalities and 2,311 barangays spread over 26,837.6 square kilometer land area.

Highlights of 2000 Census

  Region 02 Philippines
Total Population 2,813,159 76,498,735
Number of Households 544,004 15,271,545
Average Household Size 5.7 5.00
Population Density 105 255
Annual Growth Rate
1990-1995
1995-2000
1990-2000
 
1.51
2.25
1.85
 
2.23
1.36
2.34

Source:  Final Count - Philippines and Regions

Population and Population Growth Rate by Regions, 2000

Region Population* Population Growth Rate**
National Capital Region 9,923,560 1.06
Cordillera Administrative Region 1,365,200 1.82
Region 1 - Ilocos 4,200.478 2.15
Region 2 - Cagayan Valley 2,813,159 2.25
Region 3 - Central Luzon 8,030,945 3.72
Region 4 - Southern Tagalog 11,793,655 3.72
Region 5 - Bicol 4,674,855 1.68
Region 6 - Western Visayas 6,208,733 1.56
Region 7 - Central Visayas 5,701,064 2.79
Region 8 - Eastern Visayas 3,610,355 1.51
Region 9 - Western MIndanao 3 2.18
Region 10 - Northern Mindanao 2,747,585 2.19
Region 11 - Southern Mindanao 5,189,335 2.60
Region 12 - Central MIndanao 2,698,210 2.08
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao 2,412,159 3.86
CARAGA 2,095,367 1.63
      * Population as of May 1, 2000
      ** Population Growth Rate for the period 1995-2000
Source:  Final Count - Philippines and Regions

 Population Trends of Region 2 from 1903-2000

Year Population Size
1903 295,213
1918 348,332
1939 600,151
1948 669,006
1960 1,045,750
1970 1,462,723
1975 1,665,245
1980 1,919,091
1990 2,340,652
1995 2,536,035
2000 2,813,159

Through the years, the population of Region 02 has been increasing.  It experienced the biggest increase during the period between 1980 and 1990.  It reached the first million population on 1960 and the second million in 1990.

Population Distribution Among the Provinces and Cities in Region 2 as of May 1, 2000

Province/City

 Population Percentage Population to Total Population Rank
Batanes 16,467 .59 8
Cagayan 872,935 31.03 2
Isabela 1,073,092 38.14 1
Nueva Vizcaya 366,962 13.04 3
Quirino 148,575 5.28 4
City of Cauayan 103,952 3.70 7
Santiago City 110,531 3.93 6
Tuguegarao City 120,645 4.29 5

*Based from Census 2000 Final Count

The total population of the Region is placed at 2,813,159, accounting for 3.68 percent of the country's population of 76,498,735.  The Province of Isabela has the biggest share in population among the fie provinces while Batanes remains as the least populated provinces in the region.  Among the three cities, Tuguegarao City is the most densely populated, followed by Santiago City and the least is the City of Cauayan.

Population Growth Rate by Province, Region 2 and the Philippines, 1980-2000

Province

 1980-1990 1990-1995 1995-2000
Batanes 2.16 1.08 3.25
Cagayan 1.53 1.43 2.2
Isabela 2.12 1.35 2.25
Nueva Vizcaya 2.20 2.01 1.97
Quirino 3.20 2.63 2.71
Region 02 1.99 1.51 2.25
Philippines 2.35 2.32 2.36

The population of Cagayan Valley grew at the rate of 2.25 percent in the second half of the nineties.  This mean that during this period, the population increased by about 55 thousand persons per year on the average or six persons per hour.  Among the provinces in the region, Batanes was the fastest growth province with an average annual growth rate of 3.25 percent while Nueva Vizcaya was the slowest with 1.97 percent.

If the average annual growth rate of the population of Cagayan Valley continues at 2.25 percent, then the population of the region is expected to double in 31 years.

Land Area by Province, Region 2

Province

 Land Area (sq. km.) Proportion to Total Land Area of Region 02
Batanes 209.3 78%
Cagayan 9,002.7 33.55%
Isabela 10,664.5 39.74%
Nueva Vizcaya 3,903.9 14.55%
Quirino 3,057.2 11.39%

In terms of land area,  Isabela is the biggest province followed by Cagayan and the smallest is the island Province of Batanes.

Population Density by Province, Region 02 and Philippines, 1980-2000

Province

 1980 1990 1995 2000
Batanes 58 72 68 79
Cagayan 79 92 99 110
Isabela 82 101 108 121
Nueva Vizcaya 62 77 86 94
Quirino 27 37 43 49
Region 02 72 87 94 105
Philippines 160 202 228 255

Population density of Region 2 shows an increasing trend from 72 persons per square kilometer in 1980 to 105 in May 1, 2000 Census.  However, the region's population density is lower than the national average at 255.

Among the provinces, the same trend is observed, except for Batanes which experienced a declining trend in population density from 1990 to 1995.

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