LOCATION

Samal Island lies between latitude of 6 degrees 54 minutes to 7 degrees 11 minutes 28 seconds north and longitude 125 degrees and 39 minutes 30 seconds to 125 degrees and 47 minutes 28 seconds East.

It is bounded on all sides by Davao Gulf, on the west by the municipal waters of Davao City, at north by the municipal waters of mainland Province of Davao del Norte, on the east by the municipal waters of the provinces of mainland Davao de Oro and Davao Oriental.

The northwest portion of the Island Garden City of Samal is approximately 900 meters away from Davao City, the major economic center of Mindanao Island.

It is located at the Apex of Davao Gulf which is part of the summit of the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Economic Region which is the richest zone for marine bio-diversity in the whole world.

LAND AREA

Total land area is 30,130 hectares inclusive of all component islets, tidal flats and roads which is approximately 3.7% of the total land area of the entire Davao del Norte Province.

It is composed of 46 Barangays. Four (4) of which are unattached to the mainland, being located at Talikud Island in Kaputian District.

The Island has extensive mountain ranges, a number of isolated hills and uneven distribution of lowlands.

The eastern part of the island is mountainous. Swampy patches and stretches of sandy beaches are found in the areas along the west coast.

The tallest mountain ranges of the city can be found in Barangay San Antonio of Babak District with a height of 479 meters above sea level.

In Samal District it is in Sitio Tayapoc of Barangay Tagbitan-ag with a height of 532 meters above sea level.

In Kaputian District, Barangay Bandera has the highest peak with 400 meters above sea level.

The terrain has five (5) major slopes with 71.87% of land belonging to 0- 8% slope which are suitable for urban land uses such as residential, commercial, industrial and institutional.

Undulating to rolling terrain (8% - 18% slope) or 11.14% of the land area are suitable for intensive agriculture.

Land suitable for specialized agriculture have slopes ranging from 18% to 30% or 8.74% of the land area.

Hilly to mountainous terrain ranging from 30% to 50% slope or 6.1% of the land area suitable for specialized agriculture.

Lands with mountainous slopes (above 50%) or 2.15 of the land area will require more intensive and oftentimes, expensive management practices and structures.

CLIMATE

Type IV climate with rain evenly distributed over the year.

Average annual rainfall intensity is estimated at 1,673.3mm to1, 941.8 mm while the mean annual temperature is estimated at 28 to 29 degrees Celsius, both are equal to that registered in Davao City (Davao.da.gov.ph/index.ph).

Being strategically hidden at the Apex of Davao Gulf, the Island Garden City of Samal is sheltered from typhoons and tropical depression.

DEMOGRAPHY

Some demographic characteristics of the city based on the 2010 National Census are:

Total household population – 95,874 or 10.14% of the province population.

Annual population growth rate (PGR) – 2.21% which is lower than the province PGR of 2.43%.

Urban population – 25,200 or 26.28%.

Rural population – 70,674 or 73.72%.

Population is predominantly labor force; more than half of population is aged 15 and over.

There are 107 males for every 100 females.

Male and female labor forces are almost equal.

Dependency rate – 62 dependents for every 100 working age population.

Average household size – 4.2 persons.

Literacy rate of 97.81% is higher than that of DAVAO DEL NORTE which is 97.1%.

Population Density

City population density is 3 persons per hectare.

5 barangays with a total land area of 3104 hectares or 31.04 sq. km. are classified as urban with an average urban density of 8 persons per hectare.

Barangays Miranda and Moncado have bigger density due to bigger population in a smaller land area.

The rest of the Barangays are classified as rural with a total gross area of 27,026 hectares and an average rural density of 3 persons per hectare.

Ethnicity

39,007 or 40.71% of total population are Cebuanos.

Bisaya/Binisaya which comprises of 19.60% of the total population followed and Sama/Samal tribe with 18.41% of the total population respectively.

There are more than 100 types of Philippine ethnic groups such as Boholano, Davaoweño, Tausug, Ilonggo, Waray and foreign nationals also reside in the city.

The city population is an assortment of various cultures and ethnic groupings.

Religion

72% of the population are Roman Catholics.

The rest of the population are members of 85 other denominations of either evangelicals and non-Christian or tribal religions and those without any reported religious affiliation.

Language/Dialects

Most of the “Generals” being families of settlers speak various dialects of their ethnic tribes in the following order: Cebuano, Bisaya/Binisaya, Sama/Samal, Boholano, Davaoweno, Tausug, and Ilonggo/Hiligaynon.

Poverty Incidence

The 2015 Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the poverty incidence in Davao del Norte is only 26.1%.