Based on the 2024 Census of Population, the capital town of Virac and neighboring Bato remain as the most densely populated municipality in the province of Catanduanes at more than 400 persons per square kilometer of land area.
Virac, with a population of 75,135 living on 152.4 square kilometers of land, has a population density of 493, the 2025 Catanduanes Countryside in Figures report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in last week’s Dissemination Forum held Oct. 30, 2025 at the Catanduanes Provincial Statistical Office.
On the other hand, Bato, which has the smallest land area among the 11 towns with just 48.62 square kilometers, has a population of 21,325 for a population density of 439.
The two towns’ figures are more than twice the province’s population density of 175 people per square kilometer.
The biggest municipality in terms of land area, Caramoran with 263.74 square kilometers, has a population density of 114, which is more than double Gigmoto’s 46 as the least densely populated town.
In stark contrast, the most densely populated city in the world, according to the World Population Review, is Manila, which has approximately 42,857 people per square kilometer.
BIRTHS
Preliminary statistics of registered live births for 2024 showed that a total of 5,864 births were registered that year, of which 3,079 were females and 2,785 were males, PSA Chief Statistical Specialist Anavi F. Camacho disclosed to representatives of national agencies and local governments, local civil registrars and the media.
By the usual residence of the mother, 1,212 babies were born in the capital town of Virac, accounting for about 20 percent of the total registered births.
Caramoran tallied 896 live births in 2024, just above San Andres’ 855 while Panganiban had the smallest total births at 156 for the year, 30 more than Bagamanoc’s 186 total births.
Incidentally, it was only in Panganiban where more male babies (82) were born than females (74).
However, the number of actual live births by usual residence of the mother is actually smaller at just 3,834 for the entire province of Catanduanes:
Majority of the actual live births or 2,413 are considered illegitimate or born to unmarried parents while 1,302 or about 34 percent are legitimate.
Of the total actual births, 95 percent were delivered in hospitals while the remaining were done in birthing homes (3%) and at home by hilots (2%).
TEENAGE PREGNANCY
Teenage pregnancy in 2024 rose by 39 percent, with 556 registered births to mothers under the age of 20 compared to the previous 400 in 2023.
The towns which saw considerable increases in teenage pregnancies were Baras (59%), Bato (95%), Caramoran (38%), Pandan (76%), Panganiban (64%), San Andres (47%), and Virac (45%).
Nearly 60 percent of the teenaged mothers or 317 were housekeepers while 40 percent or 223 were students, with the rest either housewives, farmers or laundress.
DEATHS
Of the 1,682 deaths registered in Catanduanes in 2024, 946 were males while 736 were females, with Virac (474), San Andres (254) and Caramoran (154) accounting for just over half of the total deaths.
Sixty percent of the actual deaths belonged to those aged 60 and above while there were more deaths in the 0-9 age group (90) than the 10-19 age group (29).
Actual infant deaths rose sharply from just 29 in 2023 to 48 last year, an increase of 65 percent while fetal deaths likewise climbed from zero in 2023 to 25.
Maternal deaths followed suit, with six recorded in 2024 compared to none a year earlier.
The top 5 underlying causes of deaths based on 2024 preliminary statistics were Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease, Ischemic Heart Disease, Coronary Artery Disease, Hypertension, and Pulmonary Tuberculosis.
Vehicular accidents (23) accounted for the most number of deaths due to external causes in 2024, followed by drowning (16), intentional self-harm (12), other accidents (10), and electrocution (5).
MARRIAGES
Of the 705 actual marriages in 2024, majority was contracted by grooms and brides in the 26-30 age group, followed by those in the 31-35 and 36-40 age groups.
Only three grooms were in the 18-20 age range while 14 brides were in that group, the preliminary data stated. On the other hand, 14 of those who were married were aged 60 and above.
Slightly over half or 54 percent of the actual marriages were done in Roman Catholic rites while 41 percent of the couples chose to do so in civil weddings.
The months of May (113), June (104) and July (93) accounted for the highest number of marriages im 2024, with November (24) and December (27) having the least. The love month of February was fourth in the list, with 60 weddings.
MORBIDITY
From 2023 to 2024, the leading causes of morbidity in Catanduanes shifted, with dental caries (5,475 cases) emerging as the top cause, followed by acute upper respiratory tract infection (2,040) and animal bites (2,029), while wounds (all forms), hypertensive diseases, skin diseases, urinary tract infections, tuberculosis, respiratory infections, and diseases of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum as well as hypersensitivity reaction remained prevalent, the PSA report indicated.
MORTALITY
Hypertensive diseases (290 deaths last year) and ischemic heart disease (251) remained the top two leading causes of mortality for 2023 and 2024, while pneumonia (152) and cerebrovascular diseases (127) alternated in rank.
The others are all forms of cancer (95), other forms of heart diseases (88), chronic lower respiratory diseases (60), diabetes mellitus (56), chronic renal failure (49) and all forms of tuberculosis (32).