| 1961 | 1966 | 1971 | 1979 | 1981 | 1986 | 1991 | 1996 | 2002 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,818,341 | 2,884,002 | 2,978,248 | 3,368,217 | 3,443,405 | 3,540,643 | 3,525,719 | 3,626,087 | 3,917,203 | ||
| Male | 1,416,549 | 1,449,032 | 1,495,760 | 1,693,272 | 1,729,354 | 1,769,690 | 1,753,418 | 1,800,232 | 1,946,164 | |
| Female | 1,401,792 | 1,434,970 | 1,482,488 | 1,674,945 | 1,714,051 | 1,770,953 | 1,772,301 | 1,825,855 | 1,971,039 | |
| Age groups: Number aged | ||||||||||
| 0-14 | Total | 877,259 | 900,396 | 931,152 | 1,029,908 | 1,043,729 | 1,024,701 | 940,574 | 859,424 | 827,428 |
| Male | 448,740 | 459,406 | 475,786 | 527,030 | 535,409 | 525,646 | 482,838 | 441,452 | 424,044 | |
| Female | 428,519 | 440,990 | 455,366 | 502,878 | 508,320 | 499,055 | 457,736 | 417,972 | 403,384 | |
| 15-24 | Total | 391,839 | 444,645 | 482,978 | 583,639 | 602,556 | 617,524 | 601,598 | 632,890 | 641,522 |
| Male | 200,767 | 228,053 | 246,734 | 298,087 | 307,123 | 313,999 | 307,887 | 323,093 | 325,705 | |
| Female | 191,072 | 216,592 | 236,244 | 285,552 | 295,433 | 303,525 | 293,711 | 309,797 | 315,817 | |
| 25-34 | Total | 298,164 | 295,942 | 324,344 | 459,542 | 478,011 | 501,128 | 495,392 | 519,974 | 617,369 |
| Male | 147,530 | 148,802 | 164,559 | 234,338 | 242,665 | 251,284 | 243,828 | 257,098 | 308,477 | |
| Female | 150,634 | 147,140 | 159,785 | 225,204 | 235,346 | 249,844 | 251,564 | 262,876 | 308,892 | |
| 35-44 | Total | 337,086 | 317,634 | 301,836 | 337,885 | 359,753 | 421,491 | 463,572 | 496,117 | 562,890 |
| Male | 166,421 | 157,424 | 151,912 | 173,556 | 184,606 | 214,372 | 232,580 | 246,204 | 279,831 | |
| Female | 170,665 | 160,210 | 149,924 | 164,329 | 175,147 | 207,119 | 230,992 | 249,913 | 283,059 | |
| 45-54 | Total | 331,747 | 331,474 | 319,206 | 304,127 | 301,530 | 309,251 | 344,568 | 412,047 | 480,447 |
| Male | 170,724 | 167,952 | 159,572 | 153,362 | 153,101 | 157,925 | 175,304 | 208,634 | 241,566 | |
| Female | 161,023 | 163,522 | 159,634 | 150,765 | 148,429 | 151,326 | 169,264 | 203,413 | 238,881 | |
| 55-64 | Total | 267,183 | 270,904 | 288,913 | 291,741 | 288,872 | 282,193 | 277,115 | 291,753 | 351,546 |
| Male | 133,054 | 137,446 | 146,560 | 143,931 | 141,267 | 137,733 | 137,256 | 146,499 | 177,386 | |
| Female | 134,129 | 133,458 | 142,353 | 147,810 | 147,605 | 144,460 | 139,859 | 145,254 | 174,160 | |
| 65-74 | Total | 196,278 | 204,325 | 210,737 | 232,071 | 237,057 | 240,494 | 240,077 | 239,351 | 245,603 |
| Male | 95,251 | 97,289 | 99,086 | 110,796 | 112,686 | 111,961 | 110,139 | 110,380 | 117,009 | |
| Female | 101,027 | 107,036 | 111,651 | 121,275 | 124,371 | 128,533 | 129,938 | 128,971 | 128,594 | |
| 75-84 | Total | 100,250 | 98,385 | 98,150 | 106,843 | 108,913 | 118,403 | 133,383 | 139,868 | 148,672 |
| Male | 46,368 | 44,568 | 43,437 | 44,057 | 44,587 | 48,761 | 54,678 | 56,302 | 59,660 | |
| Female | 53,882 | 53,817 | 54,713 | 62,786 | 64,326 | 69,642 | 78,705 | 83,566 | 89,012 | |
| 85 years and over | Total | 18,535 | 20,297 | 20,932 | 22,461 | 22,984 | 25,458 | 29,440 | 34,663 | 41,726 |
| Male | 7,694 | 8,092 | 8,114 | 8,115 | 7,910 | 8,009 | 8,908 | 10,570 | 12,486 | |
| Female | 10,841 | 12,205 | 12,818 | 14,346 | 15,074 | 17,449 | 20,532 | 24,093 | 29,240 | |
| Dependency ratio: | ||||||||||
| 0-14 years | 54.0 | 54.2 | 54.2 | 52.1 | 51.4 | 48.1 | 43.1 | 36.5 | 31.2 | |
| 65 years and over | 19.4 | 19.5 | 19.2 | 18.3 | 18.2 | 18.0 | 18.5 | 17.6 | 16.4 | |
| Total | 73.3 | 73.7 | 73.4 | 70.4 | 69.6 | 66.1 | 61.6 | 54.1 | 47.6 | |
| Density: Number of persons per square kilometre | 41 | 42 | 43 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 51 | 52 | 56 | |
Source: Central Statistics Office

