The Atlas

Municipalities in Zamboanga Peninsula

A municipality is a local government made up of barangays, led by a mayor, a vice mayor and the Sangguniang Bayan, the municipal council.^[1] Only Congress can create one, by law, approved in a plebiscite. The law asks for an income of ₱2.5 million a year, 25,000 people and 50 km² of land.^[1]

A municipality that grows can become a component city by law, once it earns ₱100 million a year and has 100 km² of land or 150,000 people.^{[1, 2]}

Open Zamboanga Peninsula

Municipalities in Zamboanga Peninsula, at a glance

Municipalities: 86^[3]
People, 2024CensusA count of every person in the country, all on one day. The 2024 census counted people as they were on 1 July 2024.More in the glossary: 3,489,078^[4]
Land areaLand areaThe land inside the place's official boundary. A square kilometre is a square 1 km on each side, about the size of 140 football fields.More in the glossary: 15,879.73 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Jolo^[4]; Sulu; 152,067 people
Fewest people: La Libertad^[4]; Zamboanga del Norte; 7,874 people
Largest by landLand areaThe land inside the place's official boundary. A square kilometre is a square 1 km on each side, about the size of 140 football fields.More in the glossary: Sibuco^[5]; Zamboanga del Norte; 684.67 km²
Most crowdedPopulation densityHow crowded a place is on average: its people divided by its land area. 1,000 people per square kilometre is 10 people per hectare, a square of 100 by 100 metres.More in the glossary: Jolo^[5]; Sulu; 6,711 people per km²
Fastest growing, 10,000 people or moreGrowth a yearHow fast the number of people changed each year between two censuses. 1% a year means about 1 more person for every 100 people, each year.More in the glossary: Maimbung^[4]; Sulu; 9.10% a year, 2020 to 2024
Fewer people than in 2020Growth a yearHow fast the number of people changed each year between two censuses. 1% a year means about 1 more person for every 100 people, each year.More in the glossary: 28 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Talusan, −10.05% a year.

Island group: Mindanao

Region: Zamboanga Peninsula

Province: All

Sort: Most people

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Each row is a municipality, with its 2024 census figures. Choose a column heading or a sort button to order the list, and choose it again to turn the order round. Narrow it with the menus.

86 municipalities, 51 to 86 shown, most people first.

Municipalities in Zamboanga Peninsula, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
51	PayaoZamboanga Sibugay	33,156	172	192.33 km²	0.04% a year
52	SalugZamboanga del Norte	33,060	233	141.88 km²	0.68% a year
53	BayogZamboanga del Sur	32,687	92	354.64 km²	−1.30% a year
54	DiplahanZamboanga Sibugay	32,423	254	127.47 km²	−0.12% a year
55	Sergio Osmeña Sr.Zamboanga del Norte	31,187	56	557.07 km²	−0.57% a year
56	OmarSulu	30,847	270	114.07 km²	2.29% a year
57	KumalarangZamboanga del Sur	30,815	204	151.41 km²	1.07% a year
58	ImeldaZamboanga Sibugay	29,652	353	84.03 km²	1.50% a year
59	Leon T. PostigoZamboanga del Norte	29,535	112	263.27 km²	1.60% a year
60	LapuyanZamboanga del Sur	28,686	187	153.69 km²	0.81% a year
61	Ramon MagsaysayZamboanga del Sur	28,419	292	97.40 km²	0.99% a year
62	PitogoZamboanga del Sur	28,375	372	76.34 km²	0.74% a year
63	PataSulu	27,974	389	71.97 km²	2.99% a year
64	Jose DalmanZamboanga del Norte	27,951	150	185.93 km²	−0.78% a year
65	San PabloZamboanga del Sur	26,166	233	112.22 km²	−0.44% a year
66	BaliguianZamboanga del Norte	25,585	58	441.52 km²	1.78% a year
67	TampilisanZamboanga del Norte	24,653	163	150.96 km²	−0.03% a year
68	TabinaZamboanga del Sur	24,591	344	71.45 km²	−1.08% a year
69	MabuhayZamboanga Sibugay	24,296	299	81.17 km²	−9.82% a year
70	LakewoodZamboanga del Sur	23,599	120	196.48 km²	2.19% a year
71	KalawitZamboanga del Norte	23,381	74	317.79 km²	−0.44% a year
72	Vincenzo A. SagunZamboanga del Sur	22,619	343	66.01 km²	−2.23% a year
73	GuiposZamboanga del Sur	22,173	239	92.64 km²	0.48% a year
74	TapulSulu	21,830	243	89.93 km²	1.17% a year
75	San MiguelZamboanga del Sur	20,037	233	86.08 km²	0.24% a year
76	TigbaoZamboanga del Sur	19,716	144	137.18 km²	−2.25% a year
77	PiñanZamboanga del Norte	19,184	115	167.11 km²	−1.25% a year
78	SibutadZamboanga del Norte	18,199	278	65.57 km²	1.01% a year
79	GododZamboanga del Norte	18,040	71	254.37 km²	0.72% a year
80	TalusanZamboanga Sibugay	17,925	356	50.32 km²	−10.05% a year
81	SominotZamboanga del Sur	17,247	146	118.49 km²	−2.37% a year
82	RizalZamboanga del Norte	15,347	205	74.89 km²	0.47% a year
83	MutiaZamboanga del Norte	12,197	147	82.74 km²	0.95% a year
84	JosefinaZamboanga del Sur	11,190	185	60.33 km²	−2.06% a year
85	Hadji Panglima TahilSulu	8,441	120	70.14 km²	1.58% a year
86	La LibertadZamboanga del Norte	7,874	140	56.11 km²	−0.73% a year

How it fits

Cities and municipalities are the local governments of the towns, each led by a mayor, a vice mayor and a council, and each made up of barangays. A municipality becomes a city by a law of Congress, once it earns enough and has enough people or land.

Sources

The list shows each place's own figures: people from the PSA's 2024 census, growth from its 2020 census, land areas from the Land Management Bureau's 2019 masterlist. Every figure's source is on its place's page; how Scene works out the rest.

1.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 7160: the Local Government Code of 1991. Published October 10, 1991. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
2.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 9009: amending Section 450 of the Local Government Code, raising the income a municipality needs to become a component city. Published February 24, 2001. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
3.Philippine Statistics Authority. Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC), 2nd Quarter 2026: Publication Datafile. Published June 30, 2026. Read by Scene September 24, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
4.Philippine Statistics Authority. Population and Annual Population Growth Rate of the Philippines and its Regions, Provinces, and Highly Urbanized Cities Based on the 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024 Population Census (OpenSTAT table 0211A6DAPG0). Published August 7, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
5.Philippine Statistics Authority, from the Land Management Bureau (DENR). Population, Land Area, Population Density, and Percent Change in Population Density by Region, Province/Highly Urbanized City, and City/Municipality: 2015, 2020, and 2024 (OpenSTAT table 0221A6DLPD0). Published August 7, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source

Scene adds what the sources do not print themselves: growth rates, shares, barangay areas and densities, coordinates, neighbours and distances, each computed from the figures and borders above. How each is made.

See something wrong on this page? Write to hello@scene.ph with the page address. We check every report against the source.