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Island groupIsland groupLuzon, the Visayas and Mindanao: how the country's regions are grouped to find them. An island group is not a level of government.More in the glossary

Visayas

Visayas is one of the three island groups of the Philippines. Its 4 regions had 21,033,659 people in the 2024 census, about 19 of every 100 Filipinos.

  • Population: 2024 Census
  • Places: PSGC 2Q 2026
  • Checked by Scene: October 8, 2026
  • Page updated: October 2, 2026
Colour byColours the map of Visayas by the figure chosen; the key beside it says what each colour means.
MIMAROPABicol RegionNorthern MindanaoCaragaWestern Visayas: 4,861,911 people, 385 per km², 0.66% a yearNegros Island Region: 4,904,944 people, 362 per km², 0.72% a yearCentral Visayas: 6,640,875 people, 740 per km², 0.35% a yearEastern Visayas: 4,625,929 people, 220 per km², 0.41% a year

People · 2024 Census

  • Under 3.8 million
  • 3.8 million to 4.9 million
  • 4.9 million to 5.2 million
  • 5.2 million to 6.6 million
  • 6.6 million and over

The same steps colour every map of regions in the Atlas, so a colour means the same range everywhere.

Density · people per km², 2024

  • Under 130
  • 130 to 280
  • 280 to 340
  • 340 to 570
  • 570 and over

The same steps colour every map of regions in the Atlas, so a colour means the same range everywhere.

Growth a year · 2020–2024

  • Fell by more than 1% a year
  • Fell, by up to 1% a year
  • Grew, by under 1% a year
  • Grew by 1 to 2% a year
  • Grew by 2% a year or more

Each place's yearly change between the 2020 and 2024 censuses, on the same steps as every map in the Atlas.

Borders from UN OCHA (PSA and NAMRIA), a guide and not the legal boundary[3, 4]
People, 2024 CensusSources
21,033,659
RegionsSources
4
ProvincesSources
16
Cities and municipalitiesSources
408
BarangaysSources
11,419
Land area, 2019 masterlistSources
56,187.49 km²
About 19 of every 100 Filipinos lived in Visayas in 2024 (18.7%)[1, 2]

Average density, 2024: about 374 people per km²Population 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.Explained by Scene: About 4 people per hectare if everyone were spread evenly across the land. In fact people live closer together in towns and farther apart in the countryside.More in the glossary[1, 2, 6]

Up from 18,003,940 people in 2010; growing 0.52% a year since 2020.

People

Visayas had 21,033,659 people in the 2024 census, up 16.8% from 2010.Added up by Scene from the PSA's counts for its 4 regions; the PSA publishes no figure for an island group.
Of every 100 people in Visayas in 2024[1]
People at each census since 1960

Counts from 2000 on are on today’s borders; earlier counts are as the place was then, so the line may step where a border moved.

Every count, census by census

Population at each census, with its source
CensusPopulationGrowth since the census beforeHouseholdsPeople per household
2024as of July 1, 202421,033,659[1, 2]0.52% a year5,509,9103.8
2020as of May 1, 202020,583,861[1]1.28% a year——
2015as of August 1, 201519,373,431[1]1.40% a year——
2010as of May 1, 201018,003,940[1]———
2007as of August 1, 2007; as it was then17,159,481[10]−1.55% a year——
2000as of May 1, 2000; as it was then19,224,157[10, 11]6.77% a year——
1995as of September 1, 1995; as it was then14,158,443[10]1.55% a year——
1990as of May 1, 1990; as it was then13,041,947[10]1.61% a year——
1980as of May 1, 1980; as it was then11,112,523[10]1.86% a year——
1975as of May 1, 1975; as it was then10,133,392[10]2.33% a year——
1970as of May 6, 1970; as it was then9,032,454[10]1.65% a year——
1960as of February 15, 1960; as it was then7,642,073[10]———

Regions

Visayas is made up of 4 regions.
Regions of Visayas. Each column heading sorts the table.
[1, 6]Share (2024)
Western Visayas4,861,91123.11%0.66% a year12,641.59 km²
Negros Island Region4,904,94423.32%0.72% a year13,553.48 km²
Central Visayas6,640,87531.57%0.35% a year8,975.04 km²
Eastern Visayas4,625,92921.99%0.41% a year21,017.38 km²

Land & Environment

Visayas covers about 56,187.49 km² of land, about 374 people for every km² in 2024. Its land rises to 2,463 m above the sea and it has 8,963.9 km of coast.
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]The official land areas of its 4 regions, added up by Scene.
Average density, 2024Population 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
374 people per km²[1, 2, 6]
Height above the sea[7]
Lowest
Sea level
Average
207 m
Highest
2,463 m

Heights from the Copernicus DEM, a 30 m model of the surface: it reads the tops of trees and roofs, not the bare ground, over the land inside the border, the sea left out. Produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved.

Water, coast and peaks

8,963.9 km of coastline[8]

Rivers[8]

  1. Panay River167.4 km
  2. Jalaur River137.6 of 137.8 km
  3. Pambujan River128.3 km
  4. Inabanga River96.7 of 97.2 km
  5. Ilog River95.1 of 95.6 km
  6. Las Navas River93.3 of 93.6 km
  7. Binalbagan River87.5 of 89.1 km
  8. Sibalom River84.6 km

The longest inside it: 778 in all.

Lakes[8]

  1. Lake Danao5.7 km²
  2. Lake Bayonganreservoir2.5 km²
  3. Unong Lake1.6 km²
  4. Malubog Lakereservoir1.5 km²
  5. Cansibit Lake1.5 km²
  6. Lake Danao1.5 km²

The largest: 26 in all.

Peaks[8]

  1. Kanlaon2,465 m
  2. Makawiwili Peak2,390 m
  3. Mount Kanlaonvolcano2,280 m
  4. Mount Madja-as2,102 m
  5. Mount Nangtud2,073 m
  6. Mount Baloy1,935 m

The highest: 525 in all.

Named rivers, lakes and peaks as OpenStreetMap mapped them on 30 September 2026, and the coast within 150 m of the border. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, under the Open Database License.

Climate

Climate typeClimate typePAGASA sorts the country's climate into four types by when the rain falls. Type I has a dry season from November to April and a wet one for the rest of the year; Type II has no dry season, with the most rain from December to February; Type III has a short dry season; Type IV has rain spread through the year.More in the glossary

Type III[9]

No clear rainiest time of year, and a short dry season of one to three months, in December to February or in March to May.

Covers about 47 of every 100 parts of its land. Read by Scene off PAGASA's climate map, so approximate: the type that covers most of the place's land.

History & Identity

Nearby

The other island groups are Luzon and Mindanao.

The other island groups

Sources

Page updated October 2, 2026. Sources checked by Scene October 8, 2026.
  1. 1.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
  2. 2.Philippine Statistics Authority. Total Population, Household Population, Number of Households and Average Household Size by Region, Province, and Highly Urbanized City: Philippines, 2024 (OpenSTAT table 0191A6DTHP8). Published August 7, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
  3. 3.UN OCHA, from the PSA and NAMRIA. Philippines: Subnational Administrative Boundaries (COD-AB), barangay layer. Published February 13, 2025. Read by Scene September 25, 2026. CC BY-IGO 3.0. Open the source
  4. 4.OpenStreetMap contributors. Barangay boundaries from OpenStreetMap, where UN OCHA's layer has none. Published September 25, 2026. Read by Scene September 25, 2026. ODbL 1.0. Open the source
  5. 5.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
  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.European Union and the European Space Agency (Copernicus), from DLR and Airbus Defence and Space (WorldDEM). Copernicus DEM GLO-30: global digital surface model at 30 m, one-degree tiles (2021 release). Published 2021. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. Copernicus DEM GLO-30 licence: free, any use including commercial, with the Copernicus notice. Open the source
  8. 8.OpenStreetMap contributors, extract by Geofabrik. Named rivers, lakes, reservoirs, peaks and the coastline of the Philippines in OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik extract, cut by osmium). Published September 30, 2026. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. ODbL 1.0. Open the source
  9. 9.Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), Climatology and Agrometeorology Division. Climate Map of the Philippines (1951-2010), Modified Coronas Climate Classification. Published August 2014. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. A work of the Government of the Philippines: no copyright (RA 8293 s.176.1); PAGASA's approval is needed to use it for profit. Open the source
  10. 10.Philippine Statistics Authority. 2015 Census of Population, Statistical Tables, Table 1: Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by City/Municipality, 1960-2015 (one workbook for each province, highly urbanized city and region). Published 2017. Read by Scene October 2, 2026. CC BY (PSA Terms of Use). Open the source
  11. 11.Philippine Statistics Authority. 2020 Census of Population and Housing: Table A (Population and Annual Growth Rate for the Philippines and its Regions, Provinces and Highly Urbanized Cities) and Table B (Population and Annual Growth Rates by Province, City and Municipality, by Region). Published July 2021. 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.

Cite this page

Scene.ph. “Visayas.” Scene Atlas. Updated October 2, 2026. https://scene.ph/atlas/visayas