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.

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, 101 to 136 shown, most people first.

Municipalities in Eastern Visayas, most people
Rank	Name	People, 2024	People per km²	Land area	Growth, 2020–2024
101	General MacarthurEastern Samar	14,606	131	111.75 km²	0.32% a year
102	San JulianEastern Samar	14,509	104	139.22 km²	−0.48% a year
103	BalangigaEastern Samar	14,473	134	108.08 km²	0.22% a year
104	HinabanganSamar	13,791	34	405.02 km²	0.17% a year
105	CulabaBiliran	13,563	185	73.45 km²	1.07% a year
106	Santo NiñoSamar	13,088	443	29.53 km²	1.07% a year
107	LawaanEastern Samar	13,063	77	169.47 km²	0.11% a year
108	HinundayanSouthern Leyte	13,042	320	40.72 km²	1.22% a year
109	GiporlosEastern Samar	12,974	142	91.17 km²	−0.26% a year
110	San FranciscoSouthern Leyte	12,897	188	68.59 km²	−0.98% a year
111	TabontabonLeyte	12,157	503	24.18 km²	0.51% a year
112	CapulNorthern Samar	12,127	362	33.52 km²	−0.38% a year
113	LapinigNorthern Samar	11,908	251	47.36 km²	0.13% a year
114	RosarioNorthern Samar	11,726	164	71.33 km²	1.66% a year
115	Padre BurgosSouthern Leyte	11,515	600	19.20 km²	0.76% a year
116	BiriNorthern Samar	11,005	443	24.87 km²	−0.58% a year
117	PintuyanSouthern Leyte	10,930	227	48.18 km²	1.67% a year
118	San RicardoSouthern Leyte	10,385	286	36.35 km²	−0.26% a year
119	BalangkayanEastern Samar	10,014	121	82.43 km²	−0.41% a year
120	Tagapul-AnSamar	9,139	335	27.25 km²	0.90% a year
121	San SebastianSamar	9,110	221	41.30 km²	1.10% a year
122	San AntonioNorthern Samar	8,904	319	27.91 km²	0.06% a year
123	AnahawanSouthern Leyte	8,766	306	28.62 km²	0.94% a year
124	JipapadEastern Samar	8,726	60	144.29 km²	0.81% a year
125	AlmagroSamar	8,571	360	23.78 km²	−1.87% a year
126	TalaloraSamar	8,530	305	27.96 km²	1.99% a year
127	TungaLeyte	8,301	955	8.69 km²	1.96% a year
128	HernaniEastern Samar	8,296	194	42.78 km²	−0.67% a year
129	PagsanghanSamar	8,145	306	26.60 km²	0.56% a year
130	San Jose De BuanSamar	7,939	26	310.78 km²	0.53% a year
131	MatuguinaoSamar	7,708	41	189.58 km²	1.10% a year
132	San VicenteNorthern Samar	7,308	730	10.01 km²	1.29% a year
133	LimasawaSouthern Leyte	6,480	1,009	6.42 km²	1.10% a year
134	MercedesEastern Samar	6,114	343	17.82 km²	0.01% a year
135	MaripipiBiliran	6,070	221	27.47 km²	−1.16% a year
136	MaslogEastern Samar	5,438	18	306.21 km²	−0.11% 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.