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The Atlas

Regions in Mindanao

A region groups provinces and cities so that their officials and the national government's offices can plan the region's growth together.[1] A region is not a local government: those are the provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays.[1] Of the 18, only Bangsamoro governs itself, with a parliament of its own.[2]

The national government sets the regions. The newest, the Negros Island Region, was established by law on June 11, 2024, from Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.[3]

Metro ManilaCordillera Administrative RegionIlocos RegionCagayan ValleyCentral LuzonCALABARZONMIMAROPABicol RegionWestern VisayasNegros Island RegionCentral VisayasEastern VisayasZamboanga PeninsulaNorthern MindanaoDavao RegionSOCCSKSARGENCaragaBangsamoro (BARMM)
Each region in a colour of its own. Pick one to open it.

Regions in Mindanao, at a glance

Regions
6[4]
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
27,531,140[5]
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
115,208.21 km²[6]
Each region's official area, added up.
Most people
Davao Region[5]
5,389,422 people
Fewest people
Caraga[5]
2,865,196 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
Caraga[6]
21,820.20 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
Bangsamoro (BARMM)[6]
314 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
Bangsamoro (BARMM)[5]
3.46% 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
None of the 6[5]
Every one had more people in 2024 than in 2020.
Island group: Mindanao
Sort: Most people

Each row is a region, 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.

6 regions, most people first.

Regions in Mindanao, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1Davao RegionMindanao5,389,42224821,733.04 km²0.66% a year
2Northern MindanaoMindanao5,178,32627818,622.74 km²0.73% a year
3Zamboanga PeninsulaMindanao5,089,93427818,291.44 km²1.04% a year
4Bangsamoro (BARMM)Mindanao4,545,48631414,478.08 km²3.46% a year
5SOCCSKSARGENMindanao4,462,77622020,262.71 km²0.55% a year
6CaragaMindanao2,865,19613121,820.20 km²0.51% a year

How each region was created

The law or order that made each region, and what changed it after, from the law itself.

  • Davao Region

    Created by

    Presidential Decree No. 742 of 7 July 1975 set out Region XI as one of the regional groupings first established under Presidential Decree No. 1, which the decree amended, naming its provinces and cities with Davao City as regional center.[7]

  • Northern Mindanao

    Created by

    Presidential Decree No. 742 of 7 July 1975 set out Region X as one of the regional groupings first established under Presidential Decree No. 1, which the decree amended, naming its provinces and cities with Cagayan de Oro as regional center.[7]

  • Zamboanga Peninsula

    Created by

    Presidential Decree No. 742 of 7 July 1975 set out Region IX as one of the regional groupings first established under Presidential Decree No. 1, which the decree amended, naming its provinces and cities with Jolo as regional center.[7]

  • Bangsamoro (BARMM)

    Created by

    Republic Act No. 11054, approved 27 July 2018, set up the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to take effect upon ratification by plebiscite; it repealed the Organic Act of the older Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.[8]

  • SOCCSKSARGEN

    Created by

    Presidential Decree No. 742 of 7 July 1975 set out Region XII as one of the regional groupings first established under Presidential Decree No. 1, which the decree amended, naming its provinces and cities with Cotabato City as regional center.[7]

  • Caraga

    Created by

    Republic Act No. 7901, approved 23 February 1995, constituted the Agusan and Surigao provinces into Region XIII, to be known as the Caraga Region.[9]

How it fits

A region groups provinces and cities so that national agencies can run their offices and keep their statistics region by region. Most regions have no government of their own; Bangsamoro is the one that governs itself, under its own law.

  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. 1.1986 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
  2. 2.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 11054: the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (the Bangsamoro Organic Law). Published July 27, 2018. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  3. 3.Congress of the Philippines. Republic Act No. 12000: An Act Establishing the Negros Island Region. Published June 11, 2024. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). 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
  6. 6.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
  7. 7.Office of the President (LawPhil). Presidential Decree No. 742, Restructuring the Regional Organization of Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Published July 7, 1975. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  8. 8.Congress of the Philippines (LawPhil). Republic Act No. 11054, Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Published July 27, 2018. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  9. 9.Congress of the Philippines (LawPhil). Republic Act No. 7901, An Act Creating Region XIII to be known as the Caraga Administrative Region. Published February 23, 1995. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). 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.