As the population increased over the years, the large provinces had to be split up into two or three separate provinces for easier administration. After World War II, the movement of people into the old province of Zamboanga was so great and so fast that it had to be divided into Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur in 1952. Dipolog is the capital city of Zamboanga del Norte while Pagadian is the capital of Zamboanga del Sur. The two Zamboangas are separated by the Zamboanga Cordilleras which extend all the way down the Zamboanga Peninsula. Of the two Zamboangas, Zamboanga del Sur is the more Visayas, the Cebuano dialect is more widely spoken than any other migrant dialect.
Rubber is the primary commercial crop.
There is also foreshore fishing from the nearby bays. Food crops include rice, corn, vegetables and citrus. With the ceding of the municipality of Margosatubig of the Ipil Prelature to the Diocese of Pagadian in January of 1995, the diocese now has 24 parishes under its jurisdiction. The population covered by the diocese is now 711,244 of which 72 per cent are Catholics. The area covered is 2,860 square kilometers.