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The Atlas

Provinces

A province is a local government made up of municipalities and component cities, led by a governor, a vice governor and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the provincial board.[1] A highly urbanized city lies inside a province but governs itself apart from it, so the PSA counts its people apart from the province's.[2, 3]

Only Congress can create a province, by law, and only when the voters of the places affected approve it in a plebiscite.[1, 2] The law asks for an income of at least ₱20 million a year and either 2,000 km² of land or 250,000 people.[1]

AbraBenguetIfugaoKalingaMountain ProvinceApayaoIlocos NorteIlocos SurLa UnionPangasinanBatanesCagayanIsabelaNueva VizcayaQuirinoBataanBulacanNueva EcijaPampangaTarlacZambalesAuroraBatangasCaviteLagunaQuezonRizalMarinduqueOccidental MindoroOriental MindoroPalawanRomblonAlbayCamarines NorteCamarines SurCatanduanesMasbateSorsogonAklanAntiqueCapizIloiloGuimarasNegros OccidentalNegros OrientalSiquijorBoholCebuEastern SamarLeyteNorthern SamarSamarSouthern LeyteBiliranSuluZamboanga del NorteZamboanga del SurZamboanga SibugayBukidnonCamiguinLanao del NorteMisamis OccidentalMisamis OrientalDavao del NorteDavao del SurDavao OrientalDavao de OroDavao OccidentalCotabatoSouth CotabatoSultan KudaratSaranganiAgusan del NorteAgusan del SurSurigao del NorteSurigao del SurDinagat IslandsBasilanLanao del SurTawi-TawiMaguindanao del NorteMaguindanao del SurSpecial Geographic Area

Map of the Philippines, every province in a colour of its own

AbraBenguetIfugaoKalingaMountain ProvinceApayaoIlocos NorteIlocos SurLa UnionPangasinanBatanesCagayanIsabelaNueva VizcayaQuirinoBataanBulacanNueva EcijaPampangaTarlacZambalesAuroraBatangasCaviteLagunaQuezonRizalMarinduqueOccidental MindoroOriental MindoroPalawanRomblonAlbayCamarines NorteCamarines SurCatanduanesMasbateSorsogonAklanAntiqueCapizIloiloGuimarasNegros OccidentalNegros OrientalSiquijorBoholCebuEastern SamarLeyteNorthern SamarSamarSouthern LeyteBiliranSuluZamboanga del NorteZamboanga del SurZamboanga SibugayBukidnonCamiguinLanao del NorteMisamis OccidentalMisamis OrientalDavao del NorteDavao del SurDavao OrientalDavao de OroDavao OccidentalCotabatoSouth CotabatoSultan KudaratSaranganiAgusan del NorteAgusan del SurSurigao del NorteSurigao del SurDinagat IslandsBasilanLanao del SurTawi-TawiMaguindanao del NorteMaguindanao del SurSpecial Geographic Area
Every province in a colour of its own, no two side by side alike.

At a glance

Provinces
82[4]
The Special Geographic Area of Bangsamoro, listed with them, is counted apart.
Most people
Cavite[5]
CALABARZON
4,573,884 people
Fewest people
Batanes[5]
Cagayan Valley
18,937 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
Palawan[3]
MIMAROPA
13,511.74 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
Cavite[3]
CALABARZON
3,599 people per km²
Fastest growingGrowth 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
Basilan[5]
Bangsamoro (BARMM)
5.93% 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
12 provinces[5]
The steepest fall: Dinagat Islands, −1.45% a year.
Island group: All
Region: All
Sort: Most people

Each row is a province, 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.

82 provinces and the Special Geographic Area, 51 to 83 shown, most people first.

Provinces, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
51AklanProvince · Western Visayas634,4223711,710.10 km²0.73% a year
52Misamis OccidentalProvince · Northern Mindanao621,9933082,021.01 km²0.18% a year
53Ilocos NorteProvince · Ilocos Region618,8501873,309.78 km²0.36% a year
54Camarines NorteProvince · Bicol Region604,6662732,218.56 km²−0.97% a year
55Davao OrientalProvince · Davao Region590,0421035,726.46 km²0.56% a year
56SaranganiProvince · SOCCSKSARGEN580,9151503,862.92 km²0.93% a year
57Surigao del NorteProvince · Caraga565,6442752,053.75 km²1.36% a year
58BasilanProvince · Bangsamoro (BARMM)541,9474371,239.38 km²5.93% a year
59Nueva VizcayaProvince · Cagayan Valley530,106975,481.56 km²1.54% a year
60Occidental MindoroProvince · MIMAROPA511,417756,859.72 km²−0.64% a year
61Tawi-TawiProvince · Bangsamoro (BARMM)482,6453611,335.72 km²2.23% a year
62BenguetProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region473,1901483,200.20 km²0.64% a year
63Eastern SamarProvince · Eastern Visayas472,683915,173.75 km²−0.23% a year
64Southern LeyteProvince · Eastern Visayas434,3722861,518.40 km²0.27% a year
65Agusan del NorteProvince · Caraga404,1001512,678.59 km²1.01% a year
66Davao OccidentalProvince · Davao Region317,5981552,051.08 km²0.03% a year
67RomblonProvince · MIMAROPA302,8242191,385.70 km²−0.48% a year
68CatanduanesProvince · Bicol Region261,1691781,466.91 km²−0.96% a year
69AbraProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region246,948574,365.52 km²−0.39% a year
70AuroraProvince · Central Luzon240,824623,860.73 km²0.51% a year
71KalingaProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region235,391733,224.37 km²0.60% a year
72MarinduqueProvince · MIMAROPA226,522266851.01 km²−1.30% a year
73Special Geographic AreaSpecial Geographic Area · Bangsamoro (BARMM)214,703388552.82 km²−0.08% a year
74QuirinoProvince · Cagayan Valley210,841673,139.48 km²0.81% a year
75IfugaoProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region208,668762,757.25 km²0.13% a year
76GuimarasProvince · Western Visayas192,874325594.26 km²0.64% a year
77BiliranProvince · Eastern Visayas184,095349527.39 km²0.63% a year
78Mountain ProvinceProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region149,775542,764.68 km²−1.30% a year
79ApayaoProvince · Cordillera Administrative Region126,587274,746.51 km²0.43% a year
80Dinagat IslandsProvince · Caraga120,533146826.48 km²−1.45% a year
81SiquijorProvince · Negros Island Region107,642335321.00 km²0.97% a year
82CamiguinProvince · Northern Mindanao94,892437217.23 km²0.53% a year
83BatanesProvince · Cagayan Valley18,93791208.25 km²0.13% a year

How it fits

A province is a local government led by a governor and made up of cities and municipalities. A highly urbanized city, or an independent component city, lies within a province but governs itself apart from it.

  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. 2.1986 Constitutional Commission. The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Published February 2, 1987. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  3. 3.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
  4. 4.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
  5. 5.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

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.