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The Atlas

Municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur

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 del Sur
Lanao del NorteMisamis OccidentalZamboanga del NorteZamboanga SibugayAuroraBayogPagadian CityZamboanga CityDimatalingDinasDumalinaoDumingagGuiposJosefinaKumalarangLabanganLakewoodLapuyanMahayagMargosatubigMidsalipMolavePitogoRamon MagsaysaySan MiguelSan PabloSominotTabinaTambuligTigbaoTukuranVincenzo A. Sagun

Municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur, at a glance

Municipalities
26[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
838,643[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
3,999.94 km²[5]
Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people
Aurora[4]
Zamboanga del Sur
52,746 people
Fewest people
Josefina[4]
Zamboanga del Sur
11,190 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
Dumingag[5]
Zamboanga del Sur
389.30 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
Margosatubig[5]
Zamboanga del Sur
416 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
Lakewood[4]
Zamboanga del Sur
2.19% 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
13 municipalities[4]
Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Sominot, −2.37% a year.
Island group: Mindanao
Region: Zamboanga Peninsula
Province: Zamboanga del Sur
Sort: Most people

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.

26 municipalities, most people first.

Municipalities in Zamboanga del Sur, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1AuroraZamboanga del Sur52,746330159.67 km²−0.11% a year
2MolaveZamboanga del Sur52,540189277.73 km²−0.27% a year
3MahayagZamboanga del Sur48,695276176.69 km²0.22% a year
4DumingagZamboanga del Sur48,495125389.30 km²−0.19% a year
5LabanganZamboanga del Sur45,343258175.75 km²0.58% a year
6TukuranZamboanga del Sur42,683321132.99 km²0.14% a year
7TambuligZamboanga del Sur37,400265141.33 km²−0.05% a year
8MargosatubigZamboanga del Sur36,02541686.60 km²−1.68% a year
9MidsalipZamboanga del Sur35,643126281.77 km²1.35% a year
10DinasZamboanga del Sur35,409205172.67 km²−0.59% a year
11DumalinaoZamboanga del Sur34,188291117.64 km²0.90% a year
12DimatalingZamboanga del Sur33,156292113.44 km²1.36% a year
13BayogZamboanga del Sur32,68792354.64 km²−1.30% a year
14KumalarangZamboanga del Sur30,815204151.41 km²1.07% a year
15LapuyanZamboanga del Sur28,686187153.69 km²0.81% a year
16Ramon MagsaysayZamboanga del Sur28,41929297.40 km²0.99% a year
17PitogoZamboanga del Sur28,37537276.34 km²0.74% a year
18San PabloZamboanga del Sur26,166233112.22 km²−0.44% a year
19TabinaZamboanga del Sur24,59134471.45 km²−1.08% a year
20LakewoodZamboanga del Sur23,599120196.48 km²2.19% a year
21Vincenzo A. SagunZamboanga del Sur22,61934366.01 km²−2.23% a year
22GuiposZamboanga del Sur22,17323992.64 km²0.48% a year
23San MiguelZamboanga del Sur20,03723386.08 km²0.24% a year
24TigbaoZamboanga del Sur19,716144137.18 km²−2.25% a year
25SominotZamboanga del Sur17,247146118.49 km²−2.37% a year
26JosefinaZamboanga del Sur11,19018560.33 km²−2.06% 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.

  1. Island groups3Luzon, the Visayas, Mindanao: a grouping, not a government
  2. Regions18Big areas that group provinces
  3. Provinces82Each led by a governor
  4. Cities and municipalities1,642Each led by a mayor
  5. Barangays42,010The smallest unit, led by a punong barangay (kapitan)

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.