This chapter contains recent trends of the province’s population and other demographic characteristics using census returns. Included are the population size, growth rate, population density and distribution of the household population by sex, age group and sex ratio. Likewise presented are projections of population and the number of households both from 2021-2030 which are estimated based on the results of the Population Census 2020 for the number of households and the recent population undertaken by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Number of Housing units is also presented in this section.
Data on vital indices such as number of births and deaths, the leading causes of morbidity, mortality occurring in the area and the nutritional status of children to determine the extent of malnutrition are presented. Number of government and private hospitals with their bed capacity and the number of health manpower that provide health care services to the citizenry is also included. Meanwhile, social services data which serve as indicators of the result and impact of programs on human development especially the disadvantage sector of the society and the target primary clienteles of our social welfare programs are likewise discussed. The section also shows education statistics like the number of schools, enrolment, classroom and teachers for both elementary and secondary level. Several derived indicators such as classroom-student, teacher-student and performance indicators which include survival, failure, promotion, repetition, school leaver, drop-out and transition rate are also reflected. In the tertiary level, data contained in this section include the list of schools, number of enrolment and graduates both in Higher Education Institution (HEIS) and Technical – Vocational (Tech-Voc) Institution. These collected information are vital inputs in the planning, implementation and supervision of programs to improve our province’s educational system.
Population Size, Growth Rate and Population Density
The Philippine population represents the total number of persons living as of May 01, 2020 in the 17 administrative regions of the country. It also includes Filipinos in Philippine Embassies, consulates and mission abroad.
Based from the 2020 Census of Population (CPH), Pangasinan registered a total population of 3,163,190 and ranks sixth (6th) in the country. Compared to 2015 Census, Pangasinan ranked fourth (4th) nationwide and it was surpassed by provinces of Rizal and Cebu (2020 Census).
Among the four (4) cities and forty-four (44) municipalities of Pangasinan, San Carlos City had the largest population with 205,424 persons. This is followed by cities of Dagupan (174,302), Urdaneta (144,577), and the municipalities of Malasiqui (143,094) and Bayambang (129,011). These two municipalities exceeded the hundred thousand mark in population count higher than the population of Alaminos City (99,397).
On the other hand, the municipality of Sto. Tomas with a population of 14,878, is the least populated area.
In terms of growth rate (2015-2020), the province has 1.43% which is lower than the municipality of Labrador with 3.09. Among municipalities and cities, Labrador recorded the highest growth rate.
The projected population of the province for the year 2022 is estimated at 3,238,859 populace which was computed using 2020 Census as the base year. This projection was computed using the Geometric Method.
Based on the 2020 CPH, the population density of Pangasinan is 580 persons/sq.km. which is higher by 7% compared to the previous census with 542 persons/sq.km. Among cities/municipalities, City of Dagupan has the highest density with 4,682 person/sq.km., while municipality of Mabini has the least density with 91 persons/sq.km.
A household is a social unit consisting of a person living alone or a group of persons who sleep in the same housing unit and have a common arrangement in the preparation and consumption of food. Household population comprises of persons who belong to a household.
The total household population (Census 2020) for both male and female is 3,159,228 wherein 1,604,115 are male and 1,555,113 are female which both gender represent 50% of the total household population. Among age groups, ages 10-14 bracket has the highest population with 318,118 while ages 75-79 is the lowest with 35,345.
In terms of sex distribution, there were more males than females in the province with a sex ratio of 103. These means that there were 103 males for every 100 female.
The province’s household population is 3,159,228 (2020 CPH) and the total number of households is 776,202 with an average household size of 4.1.
Based on the average annual growth rate of 2.71% (2015-2020), the projected number of households in CY 2022 is 819,220, which shows an increase of 2.73% from the previous data.
Based on the 2020 Census, the province has 1,037,721 urban population, which shows an increase of 43.70% (315,521) from the 721,944 urban population in 2015 census. A barangay is considered urban when its population size is more than 5,000; or with at least have one establishment with a minimum of 100 employees; or with five or more establishments with 10 to 99 employees and five or more facilities within the two-kilometer radius from the barangay hall.
Health
In 2023, there were 56 hospitals operating in the province, of which 17 were managed by the Provincial Government and 39 were privately owned. From this figure, 14 hospitals were categorized as Primary Care Facility-Infirmary, of which two (2) are government and twelve (12) are private.
From these hospitals, there are 2,683 beds recorded by DOH, with 1,333 beds are owned by government and 1,350 beds are owned by private hospitals. Of these hospitals, Region I Medical Center in Dagupan City has the most beds at 300.
DOH data indicates that the province has 77 birthing homes, 43 of which are government and 34 are private. These healthcare facilities were situated in private hospitals and in Rural Health Units (RHUs). Of these birthing homes, Alaminos City Birthing Facility have the greatest number of beds with fifteen (15), followed by Asingan RHU-I and JDA Medical and Lying-In Clinic (Alaminos City), both with a bed capacity of twelve (12).
Out of 48 cities/municipalities in the province, there were five (5) municipalities without birthing homes. These were Mapandan, Manaoag, San Fabian, San Jacinto and Laoac. Nevertheless, there were community hospitals situated in these municipalities or nearby towns that provide maternal health care.
In addition, the province had other support health facilities to complement the health service deliveries in the province, with 81 City/Rural Health Units (RHUs) and 707 Barangay Health Stations (BHS) situated in all cities/municipalities.
From the different health services catered by different government hospitals, RHUs and Barangay Health Stations, there were 97 doctors, 287 nurses, 54 dentists, 524 midwives, 18 nutritionist/dieticians, 80 medical technologists and 12,099 active barangay health workers who are providing health care and medical treatment to various patients. This year, there was a slight decrease on the number of nurses and midwives in the government hospitals.
Respiratory Tract Infection (all types) was the most prevalent case of morbidity in the province registering 109,993 (CY 2023) cases which leapt by 92% or 52,786 cases compared to 2022 data. On the other hand, Cerebrovascular Accident is the leading cause of mortality in the province with total deaths of 1,550, followed by pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction with 1,381 and 1,366 lives respectively.
In 2023, the leading cause of infant mortality is respiratory distress syndrome, which recorded 12 infant deaths. Followed by aspiration pneumonia and congenital heart disease, as recorded by PHO.
On the other hand, the leading causes of maternal mortality are preeclampsia, abruption placenta and uterine atony with a total of 7 deaths reported in 2023.
Community Acquired Pneumonia was also the leading cause of under-five mortality in the province for CY 2023 with 14 cases reported.
As per PPCLDO report, Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR), recorded 62%, excluding Dagupan City. Out of 380,428 (CY 2023) Married Women of Reproductive Age (MWRA), 234,759 used the modern method of family planning.
The number of livebirths went down by 12% from 19,706 in 2022 to 17,409 in 2023 with crude birth rate of 5.72% (per 1,000 population). Meanwhile, the number of registered deaths increased by 7% from 14,139 registered deaths in 2022 to 15,085 in 2023 with a crude death rate of 4.95%.
Based from Provincial Health Office Operation Timbang (OPT) Result, malnutrition rate among pre-school children is 1.28% which is lowered by 0.22% compared to last year’s 1.50%.
Social Welfare
Based on the data from PSWDO, the province has served a total of 56,029 clients through its various programs implemented under the basic social services. These includes programs that provide day care services (DCS), assistance to individuals in crisis situation (AICS), and emergency shelter assistance (ESA).
The province had 422,804 clients who received basic social services. The elderly group consistently registered the highest number with 276,167 in 2023 among the other clientele groups. The figure has increased by 4.22% when compared to last year’s data of 405,676.
This year the province had 1,471 child development centers providing early childhood care and development to children aged 3-5 years old. A total of 54,604 day care children, of which 28,208 were boys and 27,736 were girls, were provided with day care services by 1,518 accredited child development workers.
There are 276,167 registered as senior citizens in the province and this excludes Dagupan City. Out of these number, 114,025 (41%) are males and 162,142 (59%) are females.
Education
Public elementary enrolment had a slight decrease from 398,474 in the previous school year (SY 2022-2023) to 393,234 this SY 2023-2024 with a minimum percentage of 1.31%. On the other hand, secondary enrolment increased by 2.26% from 285,457 to 291,912. As to number of graduates, around 61,876 students have finished their elementary requirements. While Junior High completers, a figure of 45,532 was recorded and 58,707 Senior High students have graduated for school year 2022-2023.
In the same school year, Pangasinan had sufficient number of public school teachers as evidenced by the teacher-pupil ratio of 1:26 for elementary and 1:25 for secondary level as against the planning standard of 1:45. On the other hand, the classroom-student ratio is 1:28 and 1:36 for elementary and secondary respectively. With the province being free from the pandemic restrictions, face to face classes are utilized in all schools.
Cohort survival rate for public elementary and secondary schools, for SY 2022-2023 was registered at 95.25 percent and 83.45 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, enrolment for the private elementary schools for SY 2023-2024, recorded a total of 25,791 students with a very slight increase of 0.1% compared to last school year with 25,759 students. Private secondary school enrollment totaled to 39,820 for junior high (JH) and 32,561 for senior high (SH) school, with an increase of 42% for JH and a decrease of 4% for SH compared to last school year (2022-2023).
In the province, there were 260 private elementary schools that are situated in different cities/municipalities. On the other hand, there were 260 schools offering junior high and 143 with senior high schools.
Data on the number of graduates in the province for SY 2022-2023 under private institutions, recorded a total of 3,700 for elementary and 18,227 for senior high school. While for junior high completers, there were 7,327 students.
Based from the Commission on Higher Education’s (CHED) report, there are 58 (12 government and 46 private) tertiary schools providing various courses of higher education in the province. A total of 147,849 students were enrolled for SY 2023-2024. There was an increase of 86% compared to its previous figure of 129,852.
From the above higher education institutions, the province recorded a total of 23,467 number of graduates in various courses for SY 2022 – 2023. There was a decrease of 42% compared with the previous school year with 33,370.
From the 58 tertiary schools in Pangasinan, PHINMA (former University of Pangasinan) registered the highest number of enrollees for school year 2023-2024. This was followed by Urdaneta City University and University of Eastern Pangasinan with 13,155 and 11,395 enrollees, respectively. This information was recorded by CHED Regional Office I.
As per records of CHED, data on courses by discipline, Business Administration course recorded the highest number of enrolled students in Pangasinan with 31,180 for SY 2023-2024. This is followed by Education Science and Teacher Training course with 25,739. Other courses with high percentage of enrolment are Other Disciplines (21,681), Engineering and Technology (16,376), Medical and Allied (15,811) and IT Related Discipline.
For SY 2023-2024, data from TESDA provincial office recorded a total of 161 technical-vocational schools situated in the province, with a total enrolment of 14,343. Out of the total enrolled individuals, 58% were males and 42% were females. On the other hand, there were 10,314 graduates coming from private and public tech-voc schools for CY 2023 and 12,112 for CY 2022.
One of the priority programs of the Provincial Government is the Provincial Scholarship Program. Under this program, a total of 893 scholars in various categories were enrolled for Academic Year 2023-2024. Out of these numbers, 721 are Highly Competitive College Students, 71 are Cultural Minorities (53 NCIP & 18 FPMA), 28 are PSP for Sports, 57 for Agriculture and 16 are PSP for the Arts.
Housing
There are 654,240 (2015 Census) occupied housing units in the province. Of this number, 85% are made of concrete walls with galvanized iron roofing materials.
Based on the report submitted by the Provincial Health Office in 2023, 728,841 or 97.43% of the total households have access to potable water sources, while 2.57% or 19,225 households still use unsafe water sources.
On the other hand, data on sanitary toilet recorded a total of 692,137 households, of which 688,551 or 92.04% are using sanitary toilet, while some 3,301 or 0.44% still do not have sanitary toilet facilities.
Employment
This year’s province’s employment rate is 95.47%, while the unemployment and underemployment rates are 4.53% and 12.64%, respectively. The labor force participation rate in Pangasinan is 62.53%, which encompasses the entire population of both employed and unemployed.
The daily minimum wage rate for agriculture and non-agriculture industries/sectors is P282.00 to P400.00 according to Wage Order No. RB1-21. This wage rate becomes effective on June 6, 2022 and will remain in effect until further update by DOLE.
Poverty Incidence
Poverty incidence refers to the proportion of families whose income as measured by the family income and expenditure is below the poverty threshold. While poverty threshold is the minimum annual income/expenditure for an individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) survey, the poverty incidence among families in Pangasinan decreased from 18.6% in the 2021 First Semester Poverty Incidence to 18.5% in 2023. The First Semester per Capita Poverty Threshold of the province increased from P15,534 in 2021 to P16,870 in 2023.
Urbiztondo’s poverty incidence rate in 2021 PSA small area poverty estimates (SAE) reached 24.1, while Pozorrubio’s poverty incidence rate was 13.2 as the lowest among LGUs. The remaining LGUs have poverty incidence rates ranging from 23.8 to 13.0.
There were about 25,674 indigenous people (IPs) residing in the province, of which around 18,174 are mostly residents of District V, particularly in the municipality of Sison. These IPs come from the tribes of Ibaloi, Bago, Kankanaey, Applai, Itneg, Ifugao, Ibanagi, Kalinga, Kiangan, Tingyan, Dumagat, Kalanguya, Balanguya, Isenai, Tiboli, and Bontoc.
Protective Service
The total number of PNP officers and Police Non-Commission Officers serving the province totaled 3,442. From this number, 3,259 are non-officers (including the non-uniform personnel) and 183 are police officers. The officers include the positions of Police Colonel (formerly Police Senior Superintendent) to Police Lieutenant (formerly Inspectors). The PNP implemented the new rank classification (R.A. No. 11200) signed by President Duterte last March 25, 2019.
The province’s crime clearance efficiency rate (CCE) for CY 2022 posted at 100% compared to the previous data with 98.5%, while the crime solution efficiency rate (CSE) rate was 82.7%. From these figures, the PNP recorded an average monthly crime rate of 14.1%.
The Bureau of Fire Protection reported that there are 68 serviceable fire trucks and 20 LGU owned fire trucks that are readily available during emergencies. These fire trucks were distributed to 48 fire stations with 705 personnel providing protective services. As to the cause/origin of fire occurrence, open flame from cooking (LPG/Gas stove/firewood) was mostly the cause of fire incidents. For the year, an estimated amount of 193,649,602.00 fire damages was recorded, noting an increase of P2,371,587.00 compared to last year’s data of P191,278,015.00.