Municipality of Kauswagan

Social Composition & Characteristics

Ethnicity

Kauswagan can be considered a melting pot in  the province of Lanao del Norte.  As such, the presence of several ethnic groups is eminent considering the strategic location of the Municipality to some neighboring provinces and cities in the country particularly Iligan City, the regional Industrial Hub of the South.

The most dominant ethnic group, with 14,290 population constituting 77.181% of total, is the Cebuano since they are the pioneer settlers in the Municipality.  This is followed by the Maranao being the inhabitants of the place and the Boholano, the second settlers in the town, with populations of 3,918 or 20.655% and 246 or 0.643% respectively.  See Table 13.

Table No. 13

MUNICIPAL POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE / ETHNIC GROUPS, SEX AND PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Kauswagan, Lanao  del Norte : 2007

Source :    2007  NSO Official Report

Supplemented by MPDO Statistical Computation

Religious Affiliation

It has been observed that Kauswagan is a predominantly Christian Community having 19,803 or 85.78 % of its total population. These Christian populace are belonging to the Roman Catholic Church which has numerous followers constituting 12,813 or 68.47% and various protestants religions like the Aglipay, Iglesia ni Kristo, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Church of Christ of the Latter Day Saints, Jehovas  Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist, Assemblies of God, different Baptist Congrations, Philippine Benovolent Missionaries, Salvation Army of the Philippines, Alliance of Bible Christian Committee and other Evangelical Churches which summing up all together, constitute 32.28 % of the total Population of the Municipality.

On the other hand, only 3,284 or 16.54% are Muslims who are devoted Followers of Islam, while 254 or 0..03  % falls under the category of other religions not specifically stated.  See Table 14.

Table No. 14

MUNICIPALPOPULATION BY RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, SEX AND PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Population Distribution by Barangay,  Average Household Size and Annual Growth Rate

Kauswagan has thirteen (13) barangays and of its current total population of 23,087 as of July 2007 Census of Population Official Report conducted by the National Statistics Office, barangay Poblacion recorded the highest population of 4,456 giving a share of nearly 20%.  This is followed by barangays Libertad, Tacub and Bagumbayan with population of more than and almost 3,000 each representing, more than 12% to almost 14% shares. The nine other barangays posted an average bottom population of 707 and less with Paiton registering the lowest at 638 which is barely 2.76 % of the total. see Table 15.

It is very noticeable that greater populations are found in barangays located along the coastal areas and major thoroughfares, probably taking advantage of the existing facilities and services therein.  While areas in the remote barangays as expected have the least population.

In the other hand population growth as recorded since the 1990 Census had irregular growth rate which is in decreasing  trend from 1990 – 2000 but extremely increasing in 2007. This is an impact of the Armed Conflict in the area which was experienced in March of year 2000 where a lot of local residents evacuated in the safer place for their family and it was just recovered in the years of 2005 – 2007. See table 16 for more details.

Table No. 15

MUNICIPAL POPULATION DISTRIBUTION AND AVERAGE HOUSEHOLD SIZE BY BARANGAY

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Table No. 16

Population Size and Average Annual Growth Rate

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Growth of Barangay Population

Barangay   Population Growth is visibly observed in the coastal barangays which constitute about 13% – 19 % participation rate and percent distribution. Please see Table 17 for the Municipal by Barangay, Participation Rate and Percent Distribution.

Table No. 17

MUNICIPAL POPULATION BY BARANGAY, PARTICIPATION RATE AND PERCENT DISTRIBUTION

Kauswagan,  Lanao del Norte : 2007

Migration Patterns

Large migration of population is noticeably quantified in the  four (4) interior barangays which has an average 14.28% annual growth rate. This is happened because of the questionable results of Census 2000 in the  said barangays which was declared zero population by the Census Supervisors and legally protested by the respective Local Officials of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte while the remaining two (2) interior barangay which is Barangays Baraason and Tingintingin had recorded  about 4.65% and 18.85% respectively. There are also about two (2) coastal barangays who recorded a negative annual growth rate which are Barangays Kawit Oriental and Poblacion. See Table No. 18. The in-migration rate is computed 27.63% in the year 2002 and decreases to 6.99% in the year 2007. This means that there a lot of in-migration in between 2000 – 2005 and only a meager migration between 2006 – 2007. See table 19 for details.

Table No. 18

Population Size and Average Annual Growth Rate By Barangay

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Table No. 19

Household Population 5 Years Old and Over, Place of Residence 5 Years Ago and Rate of Migration

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Population Density

Currently, the municipality of Kauswagan has a favorable population density.  As of year 2007 , it only posted a gross density of 3.82 persons per hectare, a little bit increase since 2005 which was 3.53.  See Table 20.

In the urban areas or the Poblacion and Bagumbayan, although Bagumbayan  reached a density of 6.09 and 7.88 persons per hectare in 2005 and 2007, respectively, is still within the bracket of area with low population density.  While in the rural areas which composed of all barangays outside Poblacion and Bagumbayan having an aggregate land area of 5,591.9239 hectares has likewise posted a very low gross population density compared to the urban areas.  With its total population of 21,327 in 2005, the rural population density in the municipality is only 3.53 persons per hectare and increased slightly to 3.82 with its total population of 15,448 in 2007.

Table No. 20

Net Population Density by Barangay

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007

Household Distribution

The municipality has a total of 4,536 Households as of the latest 2007 Census of Population conducted by the National Statistics Office. It reveals that barangay Poblacion has the greatest number of households which is 863 constituting almost 20%, followed by barangays Bagumbayan, Libertad and Tacub with 650 (14.33%), 614 (13.54%) and 598 (13.18 %), respectively.  Barangay Tingintingin is reported as the smallest number of household with  only 117 or 2.58%, followed by barangays Inudaran and Paiton with 124 (2.73%)  and 138 (3.04%), respectively.  see Table 21.

Considering the municipality’s population of the same year and its total households, Kauswagan has an average household size of 5.09 members.  Barangay Tingintingin has the largest average at 7.02, while Cayontor has the smallest average at 4.24  members. 

Table No. 21

Total Population, Household Population and Average Household Size

Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte : 2007