The Atlas

Municipalities in Eastern Visayas

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 Eastern Visayas

Municipalities in Eastern Visayas, at a glance

Municipalities: 136^[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: 3,560,662^[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: 18,210.37 km²^[5]; Each municipality's official area, added up.
Most people: Catarman^[4]; Northern Samar; 97,738 people
Fewest people: Maslog^[4]; Eastern Samar; 5,438 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: Quinapondan^[5]; Eastern Samar; 786.92 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: Bontoc^[5]; Southern Leyte; 1,844 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: Silago^[4]; Southern Leyte; 2.73% 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: 25 municipalities^[4]; Of those with 10,000 people or more, the steepest fall: Llorente, −2.99% a year.

Island group: Visayas

Region: Eastern Visayas

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.

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

Municipalities in Eastern Visayas, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
1	CatarmanNorthern Samar	97,738	431	226.96 km²	−0.03% a year
2	PaloLeyte	80,291	917	87.55 km²	1.26% a year
3	HilongosLeyte	66,774	347	192.53 km²	0.83% a year
4	AbuyogLeyte	61,854	204	302.98 km²	0.25% a year
5	LaoangNorthern Samar	60,980	247	246.94 km²	0.15% a year
6	KanangaLeyte	60,885	391	155.63 km²	0.47% a year
7	TanauanLeyte	60,212	875	68.83 km²	1.13% a year
8	PalomponLeyte	59,486	322	184.48 km²	0.48% a year
9	NavalBiliran	59,236	563	105.15 km²	0.43% a year
10	AlangalangLeyte	59,063	385	153.57 km²	0.78% a year
11	BaseySamar	57,645	113	509.36 km²	0.40% a year
12	CarigaraLeyte	56,060	509	110.21 km²	0.61% a year
13	BurauenLeyte	54,635	172	317.33 km²	0.96% a year
14	GuiuanEastern Samar	52,749	304	173.73 km²	−0.28% a year
15	DulagLeyte	50,728	628	80.76 km²	0.84% a year
16	SogodSouthern Leyte	48,815	223	219.20 km²	0.63% a year
17	AlbueraLeyte	47,333	674	70.20 km²	0.09% a year
18	IsabelLeyte	46,858	732	64.02 km²	0.04% a year
19	DoloresEastern Samar	45,314	140	322.61 km²	0.37% a year
20	JaroLeyte	44,643	217	205.38 km²	0.48% a year
21	MondragonNorthern Samar	43,116	137	313.58 km²	0.97% a year
22	VillabaLeyte	42,981	719	59.81 km²	0.07% a year
23	Santa RitaSamar	42,397	116	364.42 km²	0.01% a year
24	DaramSamar	41,932	438	95.81 km²	0.19% a year
25	LeyteLeyte	40,622	224	181.26 km²	0.13% a year
26	BatoLeyte	39,275	543	72.30 km²	0.48% a year
27	Las NavasNorthern Samar	37,425	98	381.08 km²	0.52% a year
28	GandaraSamar	36,826	115	320.51 km²	1.06% a year
29	DagamiLeyte	36,700	550	66.75 km²	0.34% a year
30	OrasEastern Samar	35,997	173	207.83 km²	−0.95% a year
31	BarugoLeyte	35,402	374	94.70 km²	0.62% a year
32	ParanasSamar	35,281	66	536.73 km²	2.08% a year
33	PalapagNorthern Samar	34,954	232	150.50 km²	0.64% a year
34	CapoocanLeyte	34,388	238	144.79 km²	0.47% a year
35	PambujanNorthern Samar	34,174	200	170.62 km²	−0.93% a year
36	TabangoLeyte	33,888	893	37.93 km²	0.01% a year
37	CatubigNorthern Samar	32,688	162	201.45 km²	0.38% a year
38	MatalomLeyte	32,604	274	119.16 km²	0.01% a year
39	MeridaLeyte	32,373	401	80.76 km²	0.60% a year
40	BontocSouthern Leyte	32,082	1,844	17.40 km²	1.79% a year
41	CalubianLeyte	31,990	746	42.86 km²	0.26% a year
42	San IsidroLeyte	30,792	770	39.98 km²	0.05% a year
43	HinunanganSouthern Leyte	30,384	201	151.51 km²	1.00% a year
44	San RoqueNorthern Samar	29,993	198	151.49 km²	0.09% a year
45	LavezaresNorthern Samar	29,801	279	106.76 km²	0.33% a year
46	BabatngonLeyte	29,587	215	137.50 km²	0.63% a year
47	MahaplagLeyte	28,424	174	163.44 km²	0.48% a year
48	Saint BernardSouthern Leyte	28,131	288	97.73 km²	−0.24% a year
49	VillarealSamar	27,909	287	97.25 km²	0.45% a year
50	JavierLeyte	27,759	201	137.79 km²	0.98% 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.