Population and Household
At the time of the first national census conducted
in 1920, the population in the present City of Sagamihara was about 27,000,
and then it continued to increase at an tremendous tempo, partly because
many factories were established under the local government's "Bill
for Attraction of Businesses'' enacted in 1955, and partly because
the city was designated as "Urban Development Area'' under the Japanese
government's law, "Capital Region Development Act'' enforced in 1958.
During the ten-year period from 1960 to 1970 in particular, the population
increased by about 177,000 and the city developed into one of the fastest
growing cities in population in the whole country. In May, 2000, the total
population exceeded 600,000 and at present, it is the 17th largest city
all over the country in terms of population. As shown in the following
Chart 1, the growth rate of population was 70.7% for the period from 1965
to 1970, 35.4%, from 1970 to 1975, and 16.4% from 1975 to 1980. In recent
years, the rate has been getting somewhat stabilized, about 10% for each
of the five years from 1980 to 1985 and from 1986 to 1990, 7.3% from 1990
to 1995, and 6.1% from 1995 to 2000.
Chart 1. Population Growth
(Based on national census except for 2001)
| Year |
Population |
Number of
Household |
Year |
Population |
Number of
Household |
| Oct. 1, 1920 |
27,016 |
4,707 |
Oct. 1, 1965 |
163,381 |
41,144 |
| Oct. 1, 1925 |
28,176 |
4,932 |
Oct. 1, 1970 |
278,326 |
78,504 |
| Oct. 1, 1930 |
30,047 |
5,114 |
Oct. 1, 1975 |
377,398 |
112,607 |
| Oct. 1, 1935 |
30,464 |
5,258 |
Oct. 1, 1980 |
439,300 |
139,437 |
| Oct. 1, 1940 |
37,874 |
6,400 |
Oct. 1, 1985 |
482,778 |
156,236 |
| Oct. 1, 1947 |
61,395 |
11,776 |
Oct. 1, 1990 |
531,542 |
187,413 |
| Oct. 1, 1950 |
68,898 |
13,452 |
Oct. 1, 1995 |
570,597 |
212,209 |
| Oct. 1, 1955 |
83,841 |
17,426 |
Oct. 1, 2000 |
605,561 |
237,936 |
| Oct. 1, 1960 |
101,655 |
22,882 |
Oct. 1, 2001 |
610,888 |
242,391 |
|
