Regions of the Philippines

In the Philippines, regions (Filipino: rehiyon) are administrative divisions that serve primarily to organize the provinces (Filipino: lalawigan, probinsiya) of the country for administrative convenience. Most government offices are established by region instead of individual provincial offices, usually (but not always) in the city that is the regional center.

Regions of the Philippines
Ph regions and provinces.svg
Administrative map of the Philippines
CategoryRegion
LocationPhilippines
Number18 (as of 2024)
Possible statusAdministrative region
Autonomous region
PopulationsSmallest: 1,791,121 (CAR)
Largest: 16,139,770 (Calabarzon)
AreasSmallest: 636.00 km2 (245.56 sq mi) (NCR)
Largest: 29,620.90 km2 (11,436.69 sq mi) (Mimaropa)
GovernmentRegional development council
Metropolitan development authority
Autonomous regional government
SubdivisionsProvinces
Independent cities

The regions themselves do not possess a separate local government, with the exception of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which has an elected regional assembly and governor.

List of regions

The Philippines has 17 administrative regions. Fourteen of these regions are designated with numbers corresponding to their geographic location in order from north to south. The National Capital Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao do not have numerical designations.[1]

These regions are geographically combined into the three island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Following is a list of the regions in their island groupings.

The regions CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, and SOCCSKSARGEN are written with upper case characters because they are acronyms that stand for their component provinces or cities. CALABARZON stands for CAvite, LAguna, BAtangas, Rizal and QueZON; MIMAROPA stands for Occidental and Oriental MIndoro, MArinduque, ROmblon and PAlawan; and SOCCSKSARGEN stands for SOuth Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, SARangani and GENeral Santos.

Island group: Luzon (Northern Philippines)
Map Region
(short name)
Regional center Provinces Languages Area (km2) Population
(2010)[1]
Density
(per km2)
Ph fil ncr.png National Capital Region
(NCR)
Manila
Taft Avenue - City Hall, UN with Binondo (aerial shot) (Ermita, Manila)(2018-02-20).jpg
- Filipino 636 11,855,975 18641.5
Ph fil car.png Cordillera
(CAR)
Baguio
Baguio skyline - residential villages (Baguio, Benguet)(2018-02-25).jpg
Ilocano dialects 18,294 1,616,867 88.4
Ph fil ilocos.png Ilocos
(Region I)
San Fernando, La Union
CSFLU city center - Manila North Road southbound (San Fernando, La Union)(2018-11-25).jpg
Ilocano
Pangasinense
12,840 4,748,372 369.8
Ph fil cagayan valley.png Cagayan Valley
(Region II)
Tuguegarao
Tuguegarao City Scenery.jpg
Ilocano dialects 26,838 3,229,163 120.3
Ph fil central luzon.png Central Luzon
(Region III)
San Fernando, Pampanga
Olongapo-Gapan Road - eastbound to NLEX (San Fernando, Pampanga; 2017-04-14).jpg
Bulacan Tagalog
Kapampangan
21,470 10,137,737 472.2
Ph fil calabarzon.png CALABARZON
(Region IV-A)
Calamba City
Calamba City Skyline 2018.jpg
Tagalog
16,229 12,609,803 777
Ph fil mimaropa.png MIMAROPA
(Region IV-B)
Calapan
JP-Rizal-Avenue-Calapan City.jpg
Batangas Tagalog
Visayan Hilitribal
27,456 2,744,671 100
Ph fil bicol.png Bicol
(Region V)
Legazpi
SM City Legazpi aerial.jpg
Bicolano
Masbateño
17,632 5,420,411 307.4
Island group: Visayas (Central Philippines)
Ph fil western visayas.png Western Visayas
(Region VI)
Iloilo City
R. Mapa Street, Iloilo City (01-2019).jpg
Aklanon
Capiznon
Karay-a
Hiligaynon
20,223 7,102,438 351.2
Ph fil central visayas.png Central Visayas
(Region VII)
Cebu City
Cebu Business Park skyscrapers view from Luz (Cebu City; 01-16-2024).jpg
Cebuano
Boholano
Negrense
14,951 6,800,180 454.8
Ph fil eastern visayas.png Eastern Visayas
(Region VIII)
Tacloban
Tacloban downtown central overlooking Calvary Hill (Tacloban, Leyte; 04-29-2023).jpg
Waray
Cebuano
21,432 4,101,322 191.4
Island group: Mindanao (Southern Philippines)
Ph fil zamboanga peninsula.png Zamboanga
(Region IX)
Pagadian
View over Pagadian City - panoramio.jpg
Mindanao Cebuano
Chavacano
14,811 3,407,353 230.1
Ph fil northern mindanao.png Northern Mindanao
(Region X)
Cagayan de Oro
CAG Skyline Aug 2017.jpg
Mindanao Cebuano
Mindanao Hiligaynon
17,125 4,297,323 250.9
Ph fil davao region.png Davao
(Region XI)
Davao City
Davao Poblacion District skyline Bajada (Davao City; 08-22-2023).jpg
Davaoeño Cebuano
Davaoeño
Mindanao Cebuano
20,244 4,468,563 220.7
Ph fil soccsksargen.png Cotabato
(Region XII)
Koronadal
Mindanao Hiligaynon
Mindanao Cebuano
18,433 4,109,571 222.9
Ph fil caraga.png Caraga
(Region XIII)
Butuan
Downtown Butuan City Skyline (Original Work).jpg
Mindanao Cebuano
Surigaonon
Kamayo
18,847 2,429,224 128.9
Ph fil armm.png Bangsamoro
(BARMM)
Cotabato City
ORG, Cotabato City bird eye view.jpg
Maguindanaonon
Tausug
12,695 3,256,140 256.5

Regions Of The Philippines Media

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "NSCB ActiveStats - List of Regions". National Statistical Coordination Board - NSCB. Archived from the original on 27 October 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 A highly urbanized city, one class of cities in the Philippines, independent from any province.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 An independent component city, one class of cities in the Philippines that do not depend of any provincial government.
  4. "Philippines Tourists Guide". Pinay Wise. 2023-11-12. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  5. A component city, part of the province of Basilan, but whose regional services are provided by the offices of Region IX.

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