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</script> </div><article><header id='mainHeadWrap'><h1>Regions of the Philippines</h1></header> <nav id='toc'><h2 id='toc-label'>Contents</h2><ol id='toc-list'><li><a aria-label='Jump to List of regions section' href='regions.html#listRegions' title='Jump to List of regions section'><span class='sectionAnchorSign'>§ </span>List of regions</a></li><li><a aria-label='Jump to Brief history section' href='regions.html#sectionHistory' title='Jump to Brief history section'><span class='sectionAnchorSign'>§ </span>Brief history</a></li><li><a aria-label='Jump to Statistics section' href='regions.html#sectionStats' title='Jump to Statistics section'><span class='sectionAnchorSign'>§ </span>Statistics</a></li><li><a aria-label='Jump to Sources section' href='regions.html#sources' title='Jump to Sources section'><span class='sectionAnchorSign'>§ </span>Sources</a></li></ol></nav> <figure class='image-thumb-link-wrap floatRight'><a href='images/regions-light.png' class='imgThumbLink'><img src='images/regions-light.png' alt='Map of the Philippines highlighting the regions' title='Location of the regions within the Philippines' class='imgThumb' /></a></figure> <p class='articleContent'>The <a href='philippines.html'>Philippines</a> is subdivided into seventeen (17) <strong>regions</strong> – eight (8) in <a href='luzon.html'>Luzon</a>, three (3) in the <a href='visayas.html'>Visayas</a>, and six (6) in <a href='mindanao.html'>Mindanao</a>. These regions are not local government units but their existence is primarily for administrative purposes. Thus in each region, a <a href='cities.html'>city</a> is designated as the center where each of the national government agencies have a regional office.</p> <section id='listRegions'><h2>List of regions</h2><ul class='simList'><li><a href='luzon/r01.html'>Region I – Ilocos Region</a></li><li><a href='luzon/r02.html'>Region II – Cagayan Valley</a></li><li><a href='luzon/r03.html'>Region III – Central Luzon</a></li><li><a href='luzon/r04a.html'>Region IV‑A – CALABARZON</a></li><li><a href='luzon/mimaropa.html'>MIMAROPA Region</a></li><li><a href='luzon/r05.html'>Region V – Bicol Region</a></li><li><a href='visayas/r06.html'>Region VI – Western Visayas</a></li><li><a href='visayas/r07.html'>Region VII – Central Visayas</a></li><li><a href='visayas/r08.html'>Region VIII – Eastern Visayas</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/r09.html'>Region IX – Zamboanga Peninsula</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/r10.html'>Region X – Northern Mindanao</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/r11.html'>Region XI – Davao Region</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/r12.html'>Region XII – SOCCSKSARGEN</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/caraga.html'>Region XIII – Caraga</a></li><li><a href='luzon/ncr.html'>NCR – National Capital Region</a></li><li><a href='luzon/car.html'>CAR – Cordillera Administrative Region</a></li><li><a href='mindanao/barmm.html'>BARMM – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao</a></li></ul> <div class="adMidWrap"><span class="adWrapMidLabel"></span>  <ins class="adsbygoogle middle-ad-responsive" style="display:inline-block;" data-ad-client="ca-pub-2659927017888695" data-ad-slot="9569507603"></ins>  <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </section> <section id='sectionHistory'> <h2>Brief history and timeline</h2> <p class='articleContent'>Regions came into existence on September 24, 1972, when President Ferdinand E. Marcos signed into law <i>Presidential Decree (P. D.) No. 1</i> which divided the entire country into 11 regions, each with a designated regional center.</p> <details> <summary>The eleven regions established under P. D. No. 1</summary> <ul class='simList'> <li>Region 1 (Ilocos Region)</li> <li>Region 2 (Cagayan Valley Region)</li> <li>Region 3 (Central Luzon Region)</li> <li>Region 4 (Southern Tagalog Region)</li> <li>Region 5 (Bicol Region)</li> <li>Region 6 (Western Visayas Region)</li> <li>Region 7 (Central Visayas Region)</li> <li>Region 8 (Eastern Visayas Region)</li> <li>Region 9 (Western Mindanao Region)</li> <li>Region 10 (Northern Mindanao Region)</li> <li>Region 11 (Southern Mindanao Region)</li> </ul> </details> <p class='articleContent'>On July 7, 1975, President Marcos signed <i>Presidential Decree No. 742</i>, creating Region 12 (Central Mindanao).</p> <p class='articleContent'>On January 23, 1976, President Marcos signed <i>Presidential Decree No. 879</i>, which separated <a href='luzon/ncr.html'>Metropolitan Manila</a> from Region 4 as a distinct region.</p> <p class='articleContent'>On June 2, 1978, President Marcos signed <i>Presidential Decree No. 1396</i>, declaring and establishing the Metropolitan Manila Region as the National Capital Region of the Republic of the Philippines.</p> <p class='articleContent'>On July 15, 1987, President Corazon C. Aquino signed <i>Executive Order No. 220</i>, creating the <a href='luzon/car.html'>Cordillera Administrative Region</a> (CAR).</p> <p class='articleContent'>On August 1, 1989, President Corazon C. Aquino signed into law <i>Republic Act No. 6734</i>, creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which was subsequently ratified in a plebiscite on November 26, 1989.</p> <p class='articleContent'>On February 23, 1995, President Fidel V. Ramos signed into law <i>Republic Act No. 7901</i>, creating <a href='mindanao/caraga.html'>Region 13</a> (Caraga Region).</p> <p class='articleContent'>On September 19, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed <i>Executive Order No. 36</i>, reorganizing the administrative regions in Mindanao, which included the following changes:<p>  <ul class='simList1col'> <li>Western Mindanao (Region 9) was reorganized to be known as <a href='mindanao/r09.html'>Zamboanga Peninsula</a>.</li> <li>Southern Mindanao (Region 11) was reorganized to be known as <a href='mindanao/r11.html'>Davao Region</a>.</li> <li>Central Mindanao (Region 12) was reorganized to be known as <a href='mindanao/r12.html'>SOCCSKSARGEN</a>.</li> </ul>  <p class='articleContent'>On May 17, 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed <i>Executive Order No. 103</i>, dividing Region IV into <a href='luzon/r04a.html'>Region IV-A</a> (CALABARZON) and Region IV-B (<a href='luzon/mimaropa.html'>MIMAROPA</a>).</p> <p class='articleContent'>On May 29, 2015, President Benigno S. Aquino III signed <i>Executive Order No. 183</i>, creating the Negros Island Region (NIR) comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.</p> <p class='articleContent'>On August 7, 2017, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed <i>Executive Order No. 38</i>, revoking <i>Executive Order No. 183</i> and effectively abolishing the Negros Island Region.</p> <p class='articleContent'>On July 27, 2018, President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed into law <i>Republic Act No. 11054</i>, establishing the <a href='mindanao/barmm.html'>Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao</a>, effectively replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The law was ratified in a plebiscite on January 25, 2019.</p> <div id="quiz-area" style="margin-top:1.125rem; text-align:center;"> <div id="vuukle-quiz" style="display:inline-block; margin-right:2.5rem;"></div> <script type="text/javascript"> var VUUKLE_CONFIG = { apiKey: '2015ae5a-c6d3-425d-bbe7-40741e8fc454', articleId: 'regions', }; // DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE (function() { var d = document, s = d.createElement('script'); s.src = 'https://cdn.vuukle.com/platform.js'; (d.head || d.body).appendChild(s); })(); </script> <div class="quiz-ad-wrap" style="display:inline-block;"> <span class="adWrapMidLabel"></span>   <ins class="adsbygoogle no-resize-ad" style="display:inline-block;width:300px;height:250px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-2659927017888695" data-ad-slot="8359618708"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </div> </section> <section id='sectionStats'><h2>Statistics</h2> <p class='articleContent'>Based on the 2020 census, the regions with the highest population are, in descending order, <em><strong><a href='luzon/r04a.html' title='Region IV-A (CALABARZON)'>CALABARZON</a></strong></em> (16,195,042), the <em><strong><a href='luzon/ncr.html' title='National Capital Region (NCR)'>National Capital Region</a></strong></em> (13,484,462), and <em><strong><a href='luzon/r03.html' title='Central Luzon (Region III)'>Central Luzon</a></strong></em> (12,422,172). <abbr title='38.61%'>Almost 40 percent</abbr> of the national population are found in these three (3) regions alone. The least populated regions are, <em><strong><a href='luzon/car.html' title='Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)'>Cordillera Administrative Region</a></strong></em> (1,797,660), <em><strong><a href='mindanao/caraga.html'>Caraga</a></strong></em> (2,804,788), and <em><strong><a href='luzon/mimaropa.html'>MIMAROPA Region</a></strong></em> (3,228,558) whose combined populations account for <abbr title='7.18%'>less than 10 percent</abbr> of the national count.</p> <div class="tableWrap"> <table class="sortable datatable" id="lguTable"> <thead> <tr id='sortRow'> <th scope="col">Region</th> <th scope="col">Population (2020)</th> <th scope="col">Province count</th> <th scope="col">City count</th> <th scope="col"><abbr class="abbrNoLine" title="Municipality">Mun.</abbr> count</th> <th scope="col"><abbr class="abbrNoLine" title="Barangay">Bgy.</abbr> count</th> <th scope="col">Border type</th> <th scope="col">Island group</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/r01.html'>Ilocos Region</a> (Region I)</th><td>5,301,139</td><td>4</td><td>9</td><td>116</td><td>3,267</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/r02.html'>Cagayan Valley</a> (Region II)</th><td>3,685,744</td><td>5</td><td>4</td><td>89</td><td>2,311</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/r03.html'>Central Luzon</a> (Region III)</th><td>12,422,172</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>116</td><td>3,102</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/r04a.html'>CALABARZON</a> (Region IV-A)</th><td>16,195,042</td><td>5</td><td>20</td><td>122</td><td>4,019</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/r05.html'>Bicol Region</a> (Region V)</th><td>6,082,165</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>107</td><td>3,471</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='visayas/r06.html'>Western Visayas</a> (Region VI)</th><td>7,954,723</td><td>6</td><td>16</td><td>117</td><td>4,051</td><td>coastal</td><td>Visayas</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='visayas/r07.html'>Central Visayas</a> (Region VII)</th><td>8,081,988</td><td>4</td><td>16</td><td>116</td><td>3,003</td><td>coastal</td><td>Visayas</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='visayas/r08.html'>Eastern Visayas</a> (Region VIII)</th><td>4,547,150</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>136</td><td>4,390</td><td>coastal</td><td>Visayas</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/r09.html'>Zamboanga Peninsula</a> (Region IX)</th><td>3,875,576</td><td>3</td><td>5</td><td>67</td><td>1,904</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/r10.html'>Northern Mindanao</a> (Region X)</th><td>5,022,768</td><td>5</td><td>9</td><td>84</td><td>2,022</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/r11.html'>Davao Region</a> (Region XI)</th><td>5,243,536</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>43</td><td>1,162</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/r12.html'>SOCCSKSARGEN</a> (Region XII)</th><td>4,901,486</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>45</td><td>1,195</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/ncr.html'>National Capital Region</a> (NCR)</th><td>13,484,462</td><td>0</td><td>16</td><td>1</td><td>1,710</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/car.html'>Cordillera Administrative Region</a> (CAR)</th><td>1,797,660</td><td>6</td><td>2</td><td>75</td><td>1,178</td><td>landlocked</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/barmm.html'>Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao</a> (BARMM)</th><td>4,404,288</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>116</td><td>2,490</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='mindanao/caraga.html'>Caraga</a> (Region XIII)</th><td>2,804,788</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>67</td><td>1,311</td><td>coastal</td><td>Mindanao</td></tr> <tr><th scope='row'><a href='luzon/mimaropa.html'>MIMAROPA Region</a></th><td>3,228,558</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>71</td><td>1,460</td><td>coastal</td><td>Luzon</td></tr> </tbody> </table> </div> </section> <section id='sources'><h2>Sources</h2><ol id='sources-list'><li>Data on population derived from the Philippine Statistics Authority.</li><li>Maps utilize <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/" rel='external'>OpenStreetMap</a> data available under the <a href="https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright" rel='external nofollow'>Open Data Commons Open Database License</a>.</li></ol></section> <a aria-label='Back to top of page' id='topAnchor' href='regions.html#mainNav'>(Back to top)</a><span id='topBtnWrap'></span></article><div id='adBottomWrap'> <div class='side-by-side-ad-wrap'> <ins class="adsbygoogle middle-ad-responsive" style="display:inline-block;" data-ad-client="ca-pub-2659927017888695" data-ad-slot="3523954330"></ins>  <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); 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