• Asof 01 May 2020, the population of the provinceof Palawan was 939,594 based on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH). Meanwhile, the City of Puerto Princesa, a highly urbanized city, registered a total population of 307, 079 persons, (Figure 1).

   

  
• With a total land area of 14,649.73 squarekilometers, the population density of the province of Palawan in 2020 was recorded at 64 persons per square kilometer. This represents an increase of about 10.3 percent or 6 persons per square kilometer from the population density of 58 persons per square kilometer in 2015. In 2010, there were 53 persons residingin the province for everysquare kilometer of land.

On the other hand, the City of Puerto Princesa with total land area of 2,381.02 square kilometers, posted a population density of 129 persons per square kilometer in 2020. This represents an increase of 22 personsper square kilometer or 20.6 percent from the population density of 107 persons per square kilometer in 2015. In 2010, there were 94 persons residing in every square kilometer of land in the city, (Table 1).

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• In Palawan (excluding Puerto Princesa City), the three biggest municipalities in terms of land area were: San Vicente with 1,462.94 square kilometers, Brooke’s Point with 1,303.40 square kilometers, and Taytay with 1,257.68 square kilometers. If combined, the total land area of the three municipalities comprised more than 25 percent of the total land area of the province. The municipality of Cagayancillo has the smallest land area of 26.39 square kilometers.

• Among municipalities, Agutaya recorded the most densely populated area with a population density of 345 persons per square kilometer. This figure is almost 6 times of the population density of 64 persons per square kilometer posted at the provincial level. This translates to an additional 9 persons per square kilometer or
  2.6 percent from the 336 persons per square kilometer reported in 2015. The population density of Agutaya in 2010 was 319 per square kilometer. This was followed by Cuyo with 277 persons, and Cagayancillo with 261 persons. The top three densely populated municipalities in 2020 were island municipalities located in the northern part of the province.

• Majority, or 60.9 percent of the municipalities surpassed the provincial population density of 64 persons per square kilometer in 2020.

• Kalayaan was the most sparsely populated municipality in the province in 2020, with only one person residing in every square kilometer. Other municipalities with the  lowest  population density were San Vicente with 23 persons,  and Rizal with 45 persons.

TECHNICAL NOTES

The population figuresin this report were based from the results of the 2020 CPH. The population density (or the number of persons per square kilometer of land) was derived based on the population residingonly in the province of Palawan and the City of Puerto Princesa as of 12:01 AM of May 01, 2020. Hence, residents of the province and the city residing in Philippine embassies, consulates, and missions abroadwere excluded from the total population count.

Meanwhile, the land areas stipulated in this report were based on the 2013 Masterlist of Land Areas of Cities and Municipalities providedby the Land Management Bureau (LMB) to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).