The Atlas

Municipalities in Bangsamoro (BARMM)

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 Bangsamoro (BARMM)

Municipalities in Bangsamoro (BARMM), at a glance

Municipalities: 105^[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: 3,785,458^[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: 13,941.05 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Datu Odin Sinsuat^[4]; Maguindanao del Norte; 152,907 people
Fewest people: Turtle Islands^[4]; Tawi-Tawi; 7,665 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: Butig^[5]; Lanao del Sur; 712.92 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: Tamparan^[5]; Lanao del Sur; 4,355 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: Lantawan^[4]; Basilan; 11.45% 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: 6 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Ligawasan, −1.20% a year.

Island group: Mindanao

Region: Bangsamoro (BARMM)

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.

105 municipalities, 1 to 50 shown, most people first.

Municipalities in Bangsamoro (BARMM), most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	Datu Odin SinsuatMaguindanao del Norte	152,907	358	427.49 km²	6.68% a year
2	BongaoTawi-Tawi	131,887	999	132.08 km²	3.10% a year
3	Sultan KudaratMaguindanao del Norte	124,965	612	204.19 km²	4.23% a year
4	ParangMaguindanao del Norte	123,209	581	212.20 km²	4.41% a year
5	MalusoBasilan	66,817	578	115.62 km²	9.52% a year
6	UpiMaguindanao del Norte	65,363	123	532.30 km²	2.48% a year
7	BuluanMaguindanao del Sur	60,931	1,128	54.03 km²	1.44% a year
8	MalabangLanao del Sur	58,377	707	82.55 km²	4.24% a year
9	SumisipBasilan	55,778	210	266.05 km²	4.01% a year
10	Panglima SugalaTawi-Tawi	52,657	266	198.05 km²	2.22% a year
11	WaoLanao del Sur	51,081	140	363.88 km²	0.34% a year
12	Lumba-BayabaoLanao del Sur	50,959	78	656.96 km²	2.53% a year
13	South UpiMaguindanao del Sur	50,018	111	451.41 km²	3.58% a year
14	PagalunganMaguindanao del Sur	49,326	260	189.78 km²	1.54% a year
15	LantawanBasilan	48,777	319	153.14 km²	11.45% a year
16	MarantaoLanao del Sur	46,233	1,309	35.31 km²	4.97% a year
17	BuldonMaguindanao del Norte	45,676	102	446.08 km²	3.43% a year
18	BariraMaguindanao del Norte	43,301	167	259.77 km²	4.43% a year
19	PagagawanMaguindanao del Sur	42,181	271	155.51 km²	2.98% a year
20	SitangkaiTawi-Tawi	42,172	1,370	30.79 km²	2.98% a year
21	LanguyanTawi-Tawi	41,587	111	373.37 km²	2.78% a year
22	MatanogMaguindanao del Norte	41,146	204	201.58 km²	3.23% a year
23	PiagapoLanao del Sur	40,558	244	166.29 km²	7.39% a year
24	BalindongLanao del Sur	40,047	874	45.83 km²	5.08% a year
25	TalayanMaguindanao del Sur	39,182	309	126.91 km²	3.35% a year
26	Tabuan-LasaBasilan	38,964	881	44.22 km²	7.05% a year
27	Datu PaglasMaguindanao del Sur	38,446	336	114.42 km²	3.22% a year
28	SibutuTawi-Tawi	38,070	333	114.34 km²	2.57% a year
29	Shariff AguakMaguindanao del Sur	37,437	969	38.63 km²	2.35% a year
30	MaguingLanao del Sur	37,292	93	399.16 km²	4.99% a year
31	TamparanLanao del Sur	37,190	4,355	8.54 km²	3.61% a year
32	Sapa-SapaTawi-Tawi	37,129	282	131.75 km²	2.44% a year
33	MasiuLanao del Sur	36,803	1,034	35.59 km²	2.22% a year
34	MalidegaoSpecial Geographic Area	36,427	715	50.96 km²	−0.01% a year
35	SimunulTawi-Tawi	35,616	626	56.90 km²	0.95% a year
36	Datu Abdullah SangkiMaguindanao del Sur	35,274	315	111.99 km²	3.86% a year
37	Datu Anggal MidtimbangMaguindanao del Sur	35,243	632	55.78 km²	5.47% a year
38	TandubasTawi-Tawi	34,702	192	180.60 km²	0.27% a year
39	GanassiLanao del Sur	33,897	1,456	23.28 km²	2.32% a year
40	TugunanSpecial Geographic Area	33,721	615	54.79 km²	0.40% a year
41	Gen. S.K. PendatunMaguindanao del Sur	33,710	118	286.72 km²	1.82% a year
42	MarogongLanao del Sur	33,595	185	181.28 km²	2.65% a year
43	Datu Saudi AmpatuanMaguindanao del Sur	33,374	560	59.61 km²	1.74% a year
44	Poona BayabaoLanao del Sur	33,307	1,686	19.76 km²	1.63% a year
45	MamasapanoMaguindanao del Sur	32,831	699	47.00 km²	4.06% a year
46	Hadji Mohammad AjulBasilan	32,806	569	57.65 km²	7.12% a year
47	Tipo-TipoBasilan	32,734	695	47.07 km²	6.14% a year
48	Datu Blah T. SinsuatMaguindanao del Norte	32,088	146	219.35 km²	3.11% a year
49	South UbianTawi-Tawi	31,942	768	41.59 km²	1.86% a year
50	KabuntalanMaguindanao del Norte	31,863	314	101.48 km²	5.55% 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.