Based on the 2020 census
TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Eastern Visayas has announced that that region’s population now stand at 4,547,150 as of May, 2020.
The region’s population is higher by more than 107,000 compared to the 2015 population survey.
PSA Regional Director Wilma Perante said that the census of the region’s inhabitants was successfully conducted despite of the raging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
All six provinces of the region have posted increase of population with Leyte posting the highest population with 1,776,847 followed by Samar with 793,183 and Northern Samar, 639,186, she said on her report.
Eastern Samar has 477,168 inhabitants; Southern Leyte, 429,573; and Biliran, 179,312, which incidentally posted the fastest population growth rate with 0.93 percent of all the provinces.
Tacloban City, the regional capital and the only highly urbanized city, has a population of 251,881, higher by 9,792 compared to the 2015 survey.
Following Tacloban is Ormoc City in Leyte with 230,998 people followed by Calbayog City in Samar, 186,960 and Baybay City, Leyte with 111,848.
Meantime, Catbalogan City in Samar has a population of 106,440 and Borongan City in Eastern Samar as the least populated city with 71, 961.
The least populated town in the region, based on the 2020 survey, is the municipality of Maslog in Eastern Samar with 5,463 inhabitants.
The number of residents of the said town is lower compared to the most populated barangay in the region which is Barangay 105 in Tacloban City with 12,296 inhabitants.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)
