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The Atlas

Regions in Visayas

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 Visayas, at a glance

Regions
4[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
21,033,659[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
56,187.49 km²[6]
Each region's official area, added up.
Most people
Central Visayas[5]
6,640,875 people
Fewest people
Eastern Visayas[5]
4,625,929 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
Eastern Visayas[6]
21,017.38 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
Central Visayas[6]
740 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
Negros Island Region[5]
0.72% 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 4[5]
Every one had more people in 2024 than in 2020.
Island group: Visayas
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.

4 regions, most people first.

Regions in Visayas, most people
RankNamePeople, 2024People per km²Land areaGrowth, 2020–2024
1Central VisayasVisayas6,640,8757408,975.04 km²0.35% a year
2Negros Island RegionVisayas4,904,94436213,553.48 km²0.72% a year
3Western VisayasVisayas4,861,91138512,641.59 km²0.66% a year
4Eastern VisayasVisayas4,625,92922021,017.38 km²0.41% a year

How each region was created

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

  • Central Visayas

    Created by

    Central Visayas (Region VII) was one of the administrative regions set up when Presidential Decree No. 1 of 24 September 1972 adopted the Integrated Reorganization Plan, which divided the country into regions.[7]

  • Negros Island Region

    Created by

    Republic Act No. 12000 (the Negros Island Region Act), approved 11 June 2024, established the Negros Island Region of Negros Occidental including Bacolod City, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.[8]

  • Western Visayas

    Created by

    Western Visayas (Region VI) was one of the administrative regions set up when Presidential Decree No. 1 of 24 September 1972 adopted the Integrated Reorganization Plan, which divided the country into regions.[7]

  • Eastern Visayas

    Created by

    Eastern Visayas (Region VIII) was one of the administrative regions set up when Presidential Decree No. 1 of 24 September 1972 adopted the Integrated Reorganization Plan, which divided the country into regions.[7]

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.Malacañang / LawPhil Project. Presidential Decree No. 1, Reorganizing the Executive Branch of the National Government. Published September 24, 1972. Read by Scene October 3, 2026. Philippine government work, no copyright (Republic Act No. 8293, Section 176.1). Open the source
  8. 8.Arellano Law Foundation (LawPhil). Republic Act No. 12000 (Negros Island Region Act). Published June 11, 2024. 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.