Camarines Sur

The province of Camarines Sur

Camarines Sur (Tagalog: Timog Camarines) is a province of the Philippines located in the BicolRegion in Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and Quezon to the north, and Albay to the south. To the east lies the island province of Catanduanes across Maqueda Channel.

Camarines Sur is the largest among the six provinces in the Bicol Region both in terms of population and land area. Its territory encompasses two cities: Naga City, the lone chartered city, is the province's and the region's most progressive city, also commercial, financial, and cultural center, while Iriga City, a component city, is the center of the Rinconada area and Ri��konāda Language. Lake Buhi is where the smallest commercially harvested fish can be found, the Sinarapan or tabyos (Mistichthys luzonensis).

Population. According to the May 2010 census, there is a total of 2,693,821 residents in Camarines Sur, making it the most populous in the region and the 7th most populous in the whole country. The same census also states that Camarines Sur has 288,172 households with an average household size of 5.37 persons, significantly higher than the national average of 4.99. The annual growth rate is 1.86%, much lower than the national growth rate of 2.36%. This rate of growth will double the population of Camarines Sur in 8 years.

Languages. Being in the Bicol Region, the main language spoken in Camarines Sur are Coastal Bikol and Inland Bikol. A dialect of Coastal Bikol, called Bikol Partido is used in the eastern portion of the province around Lagonoy Gulf. Filipino linguists consider the dialect of Coastal Bikol called Bikol Central spoken around Naga City as the standard Bikol easily understood by all Bicolanos. The variant of Bikol Central dialect spoken in Canaman, Camarines Sur is said to be the purest form of Coastal Bikol according to Jesuit Anthropologist Frank Lynch, S.J.). The other important Bikol language spoken in the province is Ri��konāda also known as Rinconada Bikol (under the umbrella of Inland Bikol group of languages), which is used by most people in Rinconada District of the province especially in Nabua, Iriga City and people of Rinconada in diaspora. Buhi-non (a language of Albay Bikol another member of Inland Bikol), is a minority language spoken in the town of Buhi and around Lake Buhi. Del Gallego (formerly Danawin, until 1937) is the only town in the province that has a majority of population that speaks Tagalog. Most inhabitants of Camarines Sur understand Tagalog and English.