density of . The 1980 national census recorded the province of Southern Leyte with a population of 296,294 from the historic record in 1903 of 72,369. In 1990, the population of the province increased to 321,940 which was caused by in-migration and increasing rate of birth over death. In 2000, population increased to 360,160 with a rate of 2.73 from the negative growth rate recorded in 1995 period with 317,565. The sudden decrease of the 1995 records was due to the late census in the province. While regular censuses were done in May where most of the students were at their respective places of residence, in 1995 the census of the population was done in September where the students were out for schooling in nearby provinces. The decrease in population was also, theoretically, attributed to out-migration of the rural population to cities to seek better employment and livelihood opportunities. A corresponding increase on the number of households was also recorded at 72,894 households higher by 7,327 households over the 1995 figure. Southern Leyte ranked fifth in terms of population among the six provinces in Eastern Visayas with 9.98 percent of the 3.6 million persons of the region. On the contrary, it was the fastest-growing province in the region. At the national level, the province contributed 0.47 percent to the total population of the Philippines with 76.5 million. Ethnicity According to the 2000 census survey, of the total provincial population of 359,738, about were Bisaya, Boholano, Cebuano, Tagalogs, and Waray. In Panaon, an island situated in the southernmost part of the province, a certain aboriginal folk are found locally known as kongking or variously called mamanwa which means "mountain people". They were believed to be migrants from Mindanao, inhabiting the portions of Agusan, after their migration from the island to evade militarization and the logging/mining corporations’ intrusion to their ancestral domains in the early 1980s. They have a dark complexion and curly hair, and they are short in stature. Hunting and gathering, mat weaving and rattan craft are among the main economic activities of the Mamanwas, so they prefer to inhabit the forested areas in the newfound Southern Leyte mountains. However, they were again displaced by the recent landslides in the province. Language The native language is a Boholano dialect variant of Cebuano. Waray is sometimes spoken (concentrated in some barrios near Waray speaking towns such as Abuyog and Mahaplag), while