MIGRATION of people from nearby provinces is the major contributory factor to Zamboanga City’s population growth, a local official said.

City Social Welfare and Development Officer (CSWDO) Francisco Barredo said Zamboanga City’s birth rate has remained steady at 3.56 percent annually since 1995.

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He said the migrants are from Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and as far as Visayas and Luzon areas.

Most of the migrants from the Visayas and Luzon areas are members of the military and police forces who settled together with their families in the city upon retirement from the service.

Barredo said the city’s population in 1995 was 511,139 and grew by 90,655 to 601,794 in 2000 based on the census conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO).

Barredo said the latest survey conducted by the NSO showed that the city’s population has increased to 774,000 or with an increase of 172,206.

He said employment and livelihood opportunities are the main reasons most people from nearby provinces have migrated to Zamboanga City as it is the trade and commerce hub of the region.

Barredo foresees the need for de-urbanization to decentralize the population in the city’s outskirts, noting the seven-kilometer radius is heavily populated.