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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
Bangsamoro (BARMM)Northern MindanaoSuluZamboanga del NorteZamboanga del SurZamboanga SibugayIsabela CityZamboanga City

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: All
Region: Zamboanga Peninsula
Province: All
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.

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

Municipalities in Zamboanga Peninsula, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1JoloSulu152,0676,71122.66 km²2.49% a year
2TalipaoSulu107,901637169.51 km²1.82% a year
3IndananSulu105,384936112.62 km²3.00% a year
4SindanganZamboanga del Norte104,514195536.03 km²0.13% a year
5SiasiSulu100,076980102.16 km²4.99% a year
6IpilZamboanga Sibugay96,363572168.46 km²1.81% a year
7PatikulSulu92,600608152.18 km²3.71% a year
8MaimbungSulu85,6811,47957.92 km²9.10% a year
9ParangSulu83,0921,12973.63 km²3.67% a year
10TitayZamboanga Sibugay55,534160346.82 km²0.68% a year
11Old PanamaoSulu53,90369977.11 km²1.89% a year
12AuroraZamboanga del Sur52,746330159.67 km²−0.11% a year
13MolaveZamboanga del Sur52,540189277.73 km²−0.27% a year
14SioconZamboanga del Norte51,239161317.97 km²1.31% a year
15MahayagZamboanga del Sur48,695276176.69 km²0.22% a year
16DumingagZamboanga del Sur48,495125389.30 km²−0.19% a year
17KabasalanZamboanga Sibugay48,366154314.76 km²0.75% a year
18TungawanZamboanga Sibugay48,013108445.86 km²0.77% a year
19LabanganZamboanga del Sur45,343258175.75 km²0.58% a year
20LuukSulu44,74158876.14 km²4.08% a year
21Roseller LimZamboanga Sibugay44,735206217.01 km²0.63% a year
22LabasonZamboanga del Norte44,615241185.38 km²0.37% a year
23KatipunanZamboanga del Norte43,427213204.08 km²−0.67% a year
24SiayZamboanga Sibugay43,233153282.86 km²1.53% a year
25Kalingalan CaluangSulu42,84557874.08 km²1.94% a year
26TukuranZamboanga del Sur42,683321132.99 km²0.14% a year
27NagaZamboanga Sibugay42,270203207.91 km²0.30% a year
28LiloyZamboanga del Norte41,881330126.90 km²−0.19% a year
29PangutaranSulu41,575136306.48 km²3.26% a year
30SiayanZamboanga del Norte40,93783494.75 km²2.97% a year
31PolancoZamboanga del Norte40,485189214.11 km²−1.03% a year
32SirawaiZamboanga del Norte39,836131304.00 km²6.07% a year
33AliciaZamboanga Sibugay39,484216183.08 km²0.02% a year
34TongkilSulu39,202255153.65 km²2.33% a year
35BuugZamboanga Sibugay38,730266145.76 km²0.19% a year
36Pres. Manuel A. RoxasZamboanga del Norte38,649161239.88 km²−0.34% a year
37SibucoZamboanga del Norte37,88355684.67 km²1.20% a year
38GutalacZamboanga del Norte37,51288426.43 km²0.93% a year
39TambuligZamboanga del Sur37,400265141.33 km²−0.05% a year
40Panglima EstinoSulu37,15786842.83 km²1.97% a year
41MargosatubigZamboanga del Sur36,02541686.60 km²−1.68% a year
42ManukanZamboanga del Norte35,669251142.22 km²−0.80% a year
43MidsalipZamboanga del Sur35,643126281.77 km²1.35% a year
44LugusSulu35,41291387.42 km²4.87% a year
45DinasZamboanga del Sur35,409205172.67 km²−0.59% a year
46PandamiSulu35,36962057.07 km²1.55% a year
47DumalinaoZamboanga del Sur34,188291117.64 km²0.90% a year
48OlutangaZamboanga Sibugay34,12453264.14 km²−2.81% a year
49MalangasZamboanga Sibugay33,194275120.61 km²0.87% a year
50DimatalingZamboanga del Sur33,156292113.44 km²1.36% 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.