Complete List of Philippine Administrative Divisions (18 Regions, 82 Provinces, the 17 LGUs of NCR, HUCs/ICCs)

As of 2026-09-15 · Updated 2026-09-15 · Section: Regions & the Bangsamoro · 日本語版

0. Quick summary

注 The most important caveat for this document: as of August 2026 the official PSA sites (psa.gov.ph / psada.psa.gov.ph) block automated access via automated-access screening, and the original PSGC files (XLSX) could not be reached mechanically. The figures here were taken from secondary outlets whose primary source is PSA (citypopulation.de, PhilAtlas) and from the texts of the laws themselves (LawPhil), and were adopted only after cross-checking through multiple routes. The PSGC code columns in particular may reflect a different edition, so verification against the PSA originals is recommended before any operational use. (Source-hygiene pass, 2026-08-26) This body of material is built on a primary-source-first rule and does not cite Wikipedia. In the sections below, entries that previously rested on Wikipedia were either ① replaced with a primary source (statutory text, government announcement, major news reporting), or ② where none could be reached, kept with the figure intact but rewritten as "注 primary source not reached (as of 2026-08-26)." Because psa.gov.ph / psada.psa.gov.ph / rsso*.psa.gov.ph and foi.gov.ph all returned 403, most PSA-derived statistics, land areas and LGU counts fall under ②.

1. Terms and the hierarchy — the points you get wrong if you don't know them

The legal basis for HUC/ICC is the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160). The requirements for an HUC are "a population of at least 200,000 as certified by the PSA (formerly NSO)" and "the latest annual income of at least ₱50 million (in 1991 constant prices)" = Section 452(a) of RA 7160 (amendment status checked 2026-08-26. The source was switched from the English Wikipedia article "Cities of the Philippines" to the text of RA 7160 as carried on LawPhil. 注What RA 9009 (2001) raised was Section 450 — the ₱100 million annual income needed for promotion to a "component city" — not Section 452 governing HUCs. Do not conflate the two). Furthermore, RA 11683 (approved 10 April 2022) again amended that same "Section 450 of RA 7160," adding a route by which a municipality with locally sourced income of at least ₱400 million a year (in 2012 constant prices) for two consecutive years is exempted from the 150,000-population and 100 km² requirements (the ₱400 million threshold rises by 5% every three years starting three years after effectivity). 注The official title of RA 11683 is "An Act Amending Section 450 of Republic Act No. 7160 … as Amended by Republic Act No. 9009," so what it amends is "Section 450 of RA 7160." Describing it as "a law that amended RA 9009" is inaccurate (amendment status checked 2026-08-26. Source: the original title in LawPhil ra_11683_2022.html). No amendment to Section 452 (HUC) could be confirmed as of August 2026.

2. The 18 regions (overview table)

Sources: population is from the 2024 census (POPCEN 2024 / PSA. The national figure of 112,729,484 is the definitive figure officially proclaimed by Proclamation No. 973 (2025-07-11)). 注Regional population and land area could not be traced to a primary source (as of 2026-08-26) — the PSA originals return 403. Area in km².

注 "Region XIII = Caraga," but its PSGC number is 16. "MIMAROPA" was formerly Region IV-B, but its number is 17. The Roman numerals and the PSGC numbers do not match. 注 Region IX's population of 5,089,934 includes Sulu (1,146,097); BARMM's 4,545,486 excludes Sulu (the division in force since EO 91 of 2025). Older material has these the other way around. 注 Important (added in the 2026-08-26 verification): these two figures are not PSA's own published regional totals but values this document redistributed to match the post-EO 91 division. POPCEN 2024 has a reference date of 1 July 2024, which is before the transfer of Sulu to Region IX (EO 91 = 30 July 2025), so citypopulation.de, which derives from PSA, shows Region IX = 3,943,837 and BARMM = 5,691,583 (Sulu counted on the BARMM side) (retrieved 2026-08-26, https://www.citypopulation.de/en/philippines/admin/ ). Cross-check: 3,943,837 + 1,146,097 = 5,089,934 / 5,691,583 − 1,146,097 = 4,545,486 — both match this table. Therefore, whenever you write "Region IX's 2024 population is 5.09 million," you must note that it is a value redistributed to match the EO 91 division. If you cite the PSA published figure as-is, it is 3.94 million. Mixing the two series causes double counting and omissions in regional totals. 注 A region's area does not always equal the sum of its provinces' areas (e.g. NIR is 13,525.56 while its three provinces total 13,688.23). This is due to differences in the edition of the source and in the treatment of water bodies.

3. Complete list of provinces (82)

Legend: population = 2024 census (POPCEN 2024, reference date 1 July 2024 / PSA, via citypopulation.de). Area = 注primary source not reached (as of 2026-08-26) (km²; as a rule inclusive of the areas of HUCs/ICCs. The official figures originate with NAMRIA / PSA, which could not be reached). PSGC code = 10-digit format (psgc.cloud API / the PSA-derived dataset in the GitHub repository KuramitZui/ph-addresses-locations). The principal languages are an outline of each province's main mother tongues rather than a PSA statistic, and 注could not be traced to a primary source (as of 2026-08-26).

3-1. Region I — Ilocos Region (PSGC 01)

3-2. Region II — Cagayan Valley (PSGC 02)

3-3. Region III — Central Luzon (PSGC 03)

注 Olongapo (inside Zambales) and Angeles (inside Pampanga) are both HUCs and independent of their provinces (their area and population are nonetheless folded into the table above).

3-4. Region IV-A — CALABARZON (PSGC 04)

注 Correction to the population ranking (revised in the 2026-08-26 verification): the earlier text described Cavite as "the most populous province in the country" and Cebu as "second among provinces," but within the same table 4,573,884 < 5,228,149, which was self-contradictory. (Source replaced and the wording corrected again in the 2026-08-26 source-hygiene pass): PSA's own provincial totals exclude HUCs. PSA's "Highlights of the Region VII (Central Visayas) Population 2024" (published 2025-07-17) states that "Cebu has the bigger population in 2024 with 3.40 million" and lists Cebu City (965 thousand), Lapu-Lapu City (498 thousand) and Mandaue City (364 thousand) separately as HUCs. Accordingly, on the PSA basis the "most populous province" is Cavite, and 5,228,149 is the total of "Cebu province + its three HUCs." Sources: SunStar Cebu, "Central Visayas 4th most populous in Philippines" (reporting the PSA release) / citypopulation.de. 注The PSA original returned 403 and was not reached. The correct way to distinguish the two is as follows.

Whenever you write "the most populous province in the country," you must state whether HUCs are included. Superlatives without a stated denominator are not used in this body of material.

注 By law the capital of Cavite is Imus (RA 10161 of 2012), but the provincial capitol building stands in Trece Martires, and sources differ in what they print. 注 Lucena, the capital of Quezon, is an HUC and independent of the province, yet it remains the provincial capital. Likewise Iloilo City (HUC) is the capital of Iloilo, and Bacolod is the capital of Negros Occidental.

3-5. MIMAROPA Region (PSGC 17)

注 Two series circulate for Palawan's area: "17,030.75 km² (including the 2,381.02 km² of the HUC of Puerto Princesa)" and "14,649.73 km² (excluding Puerto Princesa)." Always check which definition is in use (PhilAtlas gives the exclusive figure; the inclusive figure is 注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26).

3-6. Region V — Bicol Region (PSGC 05)

注 Naga, inside Camarines Sur, is an ICC and independent of the province (its population is nevertheless included in the table above).

3-7. Region VI — Western Visayas (PSGC 06) reduced to five provinces when Negros Occidental left in 2024

3-8. Negros Island Region (NIR, PSGC 18) — created in 2024

NIR is covered in detail in §7. 注 For the new PSGC codes of the three NIR provinces, see §8 (most machine-readable datasets have not been updated).

3-9. Region VII — Central Visayas (PSGC 07) reduced to two provinces in 2024

注 Central Visayas lost Negros Oriental and Siquijor when NIR was created in 2024, and now has only two provinces. Any statement that "Region VII has four provinces" predates 2024 and is out of date.

3-10. Region VIII — Eastern Visayas (PSGC 08)

注 "Samar" as a province name means Western Samar, but as an island name it means Samar Island (which spans three provinces). Tacloban (HUC) and Ormoc (ICC), both inside Leyte, are independent of the province.

3-11. Region IX — Zamboanga Peninsula (PSGC 09) four provinces since Sulu was transferred in 2025

In addition, the City of Isabela (geographically within Basilan but under the jurisdiction of Region IX; 2024 population 151,297) exists as a unit attached directly to the region. Cross-check: 1,067,067 + 2,063,975 + 661,498 + 1,146,097 + 151,297 = 5,089,934 (matches the Region IX total).

3-12. Region X — Northern Mindanao (PSGC 10)

注 Iligan (inside Lanao del Norte) and Cagayan de Oro (inside Misamis Oriental) are both HUCs. Both are independent of their provinces, and Cagayan de Oro is at once the provincial capital and the regional center.

3-13. Region XI — Davao Region (PSGC 11)

注 Davao de Oro was renamed from Compostela Valley in 2019 (RA 11297). Older maps and databases still carry the former name. 注 Davao City (HUC, area 2,443.61 km²) lies geographically within Davao del Sur, and is folded into that province's population and area above.

3-14. Region XII — SOCCSKSARGEN (PSGC 12)

注 The province of Cotabato (capital Kidapawan, Region XII) and Cotabato City (an ICC belonging to BARMM) are entirely different entities. They are confused extremely often. 注 General Santos, inside South Cotabato, is an HUC (independent of the province).

3-15. Region XIII — Caraga (PSGC 16)

注 Butuan (HUC), inside Agusan del Norte, is not the provincial capital (that is Cabadbaran) but is the regional center.

3-16. Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR, PSGC 14)

注 Baguio, the regional center of CAR, is an HUC and independent of Benguet (whose capital is La Trinidad).

3-17. BARMM (PSGC 15 or 19) five provinces since Sulu left in 2025

Cross-check: 541,947 + 1,368,137 + 1,124,811 + 813,243 + 482,645 + 214,703 = 4,545,486 (matches the BARMM total excluding Sulu).

注 Maguindanao was divided into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur by the plebiscite of 17 September 2022 held under RA 11550 ("An Act Dividing the Province of Maguindanao into Two (2) Provinces, Namely: Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur," approved 27 May 2021). A single province called "Maguindanao" no longer exists (the statute's title and approval date were added in the 2026-08-26 verification. Source: the LawPhil text at lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2021/ra_11550_2021.html). 注 BARMM has by far the largest gap between the regional area and the sum of its provinces' areas (added in the 2026-08-26 verification): simply adding the five provinces plus the SGA above gives 16,837.78 km² (16,013.47 excluding the SGA), whereas the regional area in §2 is 11,935.7 km² (注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26; the Wikipedia source previously used has been excluded) — a gap of about 4,900 km². This most likely stems from differing treatment of inland waters, the SGA and Isabela City among sources, but this study could not resolve it = unresolved. When you write "the area of BARMM," do not substitute the sum of its provinces; fix on a single authority. 注 The Special Geographic Area (SGA) is not legally a province. It is the cluster of 63 barangay exclaves inside Cotabato province that voted to join BARMM in the 2019 BOL plebiscite, and in 2024 eight municipalities were newly created there (Kadayangan, Kapalawan, Ligawasan, Malidegao, Nabalawag, Old Kaabakan, Pahamuddin, Tugunan). Because it is sometimes tabulated as province-equivalent in statistics, people frequently miswrite "BARMM has six provinces" (the correct number is five). 注 The area of Lanao del Sur differs greatly by source. Re-checked against the original PhilAtlas page on 2026-08-26, which does indeed state "The province has a land area of 15,055.51 square kilometers" (https://www.philatlas.com/mindanao/barmm/lanao-del-sur.html ). A separate series giving 3,872.89 km² also circulates (注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26; the Wikipedia province table previously used has been excluded). The two differ by roughly fourfold, so one of them is very likely wrong = unresolved. 注 However, the claim that "Lanao del Sur is the largest province in the country" was this document's own summary and not something PhilAtlas itself says — corrected in the 2026-08-26 verification. The PhilAtlas page contains no ranking statement. There is also a series that makes Palawan the largest province at 17,030.75 km², but 注that too is primary-source-unreached (as of 2026-08-26) (the Wikipedia source previously used has been excluded), and this body of material does not assert which province is "the largest." Even taking 15,055.51 at face value, it is still smaller than Palawan under the definition that includes Puerto Princesa City. 15,055.51 exceeds Palawan only if Palawan is measured at 14,649.73 km², excluding Puerto Princesa City. Conclusion: when writing about "the largest province by area," always state all three of ① the source, ② whether HUCs are included, and ③ the treatment of inland waters. Unconditional superlatives are not used in this body of material.

3-18. National Capital Region (NCR, PSGC 13)

NCR contains no provinces. It consists of 16 cities plus one municipality (§4).

4. The 17 cities and municipality of Metro Manila / NCR

Sources: population is from the 2024 census (POPCEN 2024 / PSA. 注The PSA original for the city-by-city breakdown was not reached = as of 2026-08-26; the Wikipedia articles on the individual cities previously used have been excluded, and the figures were cross-checked against citypopulation.de, which derives from PSA); the district groupings and district totals are from citypopulation.de (PSA-derived). The 17 LGUs sum to 14,001,751, which matches PSA's published NCR total exactly (cross-checked).

District totals (citypopulation.de, 2024): 1st District 1,902,590 / 2nd District 5,008,857 / 3rd District 3,080,925 / 4th District 4,009,379. The LGU figures in the table above sum exactly to each district total.

注 The Makati–Taguig boundary dispute: (dates corrected again in the 2026-08-26 source-hygiene pass) the correct sequence is a decision of the Supreme Court Third Division on 1 December 2021 (G.R. No. 235316, Municipality of Makati v. Municipality of Taguig), a resolution of 28 September 2022 denying the motion for reconsideration "with finality" — final and executory that same day — and a resolution of 26 June 2023 also denying leave to admit a second motion for reconsideration. The previously stated "decision April 2022 / final April 2023" could not be confirmed in any primary source and was wrong. Sources: the Supreme Court's official site, sc.judiciary.gov.ph, "SC Writes Finis to Makati City–Taguig City Land Dispute" and "SC Denies Makati's Motion for Leave to Admit Second Motion for Reconsideration…," and the Supreme Court E-Library, G.R. No. 235316. As a result, ten EMBO barangays were transferred from Makati to Taguig. Consequently Makati's barangay count fell from 33 to 23, its area from about 21.57 to 18.17 km², and its population halved from 629,616 in 2020 to 309,770 in 2024. Using Makati's pre-2020 population or area unchanged produces large errors. 注 Two series exist for Manila's area: "24.98 km²" (PhilAtlas = land area) and "42.34 km²" (a series including Manila Bay reclamation and water; 注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26). Always align the definitions when computing density. 注 Two figures also coexist for NCR's area: "619.54 km²" (PhilAtlas, the sum of the 17 LGUs) and "636.00 km²" (the regional figure; 注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26). 注 Both 188 and 193 circulate for Caloocan's barangay count (this table uses 193, the 2024 figure).

5. Complete list of the 33 highly urbanized cities (HUC)

Source: PhilAtlas, "Cities" (classification, area, 2020 census population). 2024 populations are given only where they could be confirmed (the 16 NCR cities are in §4; for the others, 注primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26).

Total = 17 cities outside NCR + 16 cities inside NCR = 33 cities. 注 Some secondary outlets say "34 highly urbanized cities," but the list based on the PSGC (as of 30 June 2024) gives 33. When stating the number, it is safest to write "33 on the PSGC basis." The substance behind the figure of 34 is that it counts, ahead of time, Naga City (Camarines Sur), which was proclaimed an HUC by Proclamation No. 1267 on 2026-05-26 — that city's ratifying plebiscite is still scheduled, for 2026-11-02 (see the note in §6 below). The reconciliation established in the 2026-08-26 verification (this connects the two accounts): the circulating framing that "there are 38 independent cities in all, every one of them either an HUC or an ICC" breaks them down as HUC 34 / ICC 4 (Cotabato, Dagupan, Ormoc, Santiago). This document's breakdown is HUC 33 / ICC 5 (those four plus Naga), and both add up to the same 38 — the sole difference is the treatment of Naga City. As a matter of legal classification, HUC 33 / ICC 5 is correct as of August 2026, before the ratifying plebiscite. 注That said, the PSGC-derived total of "38 independent cities" is itself primary-source-unreached (as of 2026-08-26) — psa.gov.ph returns 403 (the Wikipedia article previously relied on has been removed as a source). In other words the difference between the two is not "the number of cities" but the single question of whether Naga City in Camarines Sur is counted as an HUC or an ICC. Naga City (Camarines Sur) is an independent component city under its charter, and this document counts it among the ICCs. "HUC 33 / ICC 5" and "HUC 34 / ICC 4" are not in conflict on the point that there are 38 independent cities. Whichever breakdown you use, always attach the authority and the date. A deeper cause (added in the 2026-08-26 verification): "promotion" to HUC is not completed by a presidential proclamation alone; it requires ratification in a plebiscite (RA 7160). As of August 2026 there are two cities with a proclamation but without ratification.

(Sources: PIA, "PBBM proclaims Naga City as highly-urbanized city" / the official Naga City site www2.naga.gov.ph, "Naga declared highly urbanized, becomes Philippines' 34th HUC" / PNA, "Comelec OKs request to synchronize Naga plebiscite, BSKE" / Philstar, "Plebiscite needed for Naga's HUC conversion" (2026-05-31) / Inquirer, "What's next after Marcos declares Naga a highly urbanized city." Substituted for Wikipedia in the 2026-08-26 source-hygiene pass. Precedents: San Jose del Monte was proclaimed in 2020 and rejected in its 2023 plebiscite; Cabanatuan (1997) and Tarlac (2005) were likewise rejected) The count of "34 cities" very likely counts this unratified proclamation ahead of time. A proclamation is not a promotion. Before writing that a city "has been promoted to HUC," always check whether a plebiscite was held and ratified. 注 San Juan (NCR) has fewer than 200,000 people yet is an HUC. It is treated as an exception that does not meet the requirements of the 1991 Local Government Code. 注 Bacolod's region changed from Region VI to NIR when NIR was created in 2024.

6. Complete list of the 5 independent component cities (ICC)

注 Cotabato City joined BARMM in the 2019 BOL plebiscite and is now BARMM's political center (its regional center), but its legal classification as an ICC is retained. 注 There are two cities named Naga (Naga in Camarines Sur = ICC; Naga in Cebu = component city). Always give the province alongside the name. 注 Naga City (Camarines Sur) was proclaimed an HUC by Proclamation No. 1267 on 26 May 2026, but ratification by plebiscite is still pending, so its legal classification as of August 2026 remains ICC (sources: PIA, "PBBM proclaims Naga City as highly-urbanized city" / the official Naga City site www2.naga.gov.ph / PNA. The ratifying plebiscite will be held on 2026-11-02, together with the BSKE). The classification in the table above is as of August 2026 and will change to HUC 34 / ICC 4 depending on the plebiscite result. (Added in the 2026-08-26 verification) 注 Two figures coexist for Naga City's area: the 77.40 km² in the table above and 84.48 km² (注the latter is primary-source-unreached = as of 2026-08-26; the Wikipedia source previously used has been excluded). This study could not determine which is correct = both are presented (added in the 2026-08-26 verification). 注 Isabela City (Basilan) is not an ICC but a component city, and it occupies the highly unusual position of being placed under Region IX rather than under its province (Basilan, BARMM).

7. Boundary changes of 2024–2026 (the core of this document)

7-1. Creation of the Negros Island Region (NIR) — 2024

Historical background (注 beware the outdated claim that "NIR was created in 2015"):

7-2. Sulu's departure from BARMM and transfer to Region IX — 2024–2025

注 As a result, Region IX went from three provinces to four, and BARMM from six to five. 注 Sulu's 2024 population is 1,146,097. Many secondary outlets print the 2020 figure of 1,000,108 as though it were "2024." Always distinguish the two. Corroborated in the 2026-08-26 verification: the 2024 column (reference date 2024-07-01) of citypopulation.de (PSA-derived) gives Sulu as 1,146,097, matching this document (source: https://www.citypopulation.de/en/philippines/admin/ ). Several secondary outlets, by contrast, show the province as "1,000,108 in the 2024 census," and this was re-confirmed to be a mistranscription of the 2020 figure. The legal basis for Sulu's transfer to Region IX is Section 3 of Executive Order No. 91, s. 2025 (30 July 2025) (source: the original text at LawPhil eo_91_2025. Substituted for Wikipedia in the 2026-08-26 source-hygiene pass).

8. The coexistence of old and new PSGC codes 注

8-1. Difference in digit length (9-digit vs 10-digit)

注 BARMM's region code is "15" in the 9-digit system and "19" in the 10-digit system. Two numbers circulate for the same region. In fact the public API at psgc.gitlab.io carries both code: 150000000 and psgc10DigitCode: 1900000000 on the same record (confirmed as of August 2026). 注 Province codes also shift position with the digit length, so naive string comparison or concatenation across 9-digit and 10-digit codes breaks the matching.

8-2. Many datasets do not reflect the creation of NIR or the transfer of Sulu

The situation actually observed as of August 2026:

注 In short, "PSGC codes that reflect NIR" and "PSGC codes that do not" coexist in practice. - Negros Occidental: old 0604500000 (06 = Region VI) / new, in the region-18 series - Negros Oriental: old 0704600000 (07 = Region VII) / new, in the region-18 series - Siquijor: old 0706100000 (07 = Region VII). Even citypopulation.de, while classifying it under NIR, still displays a code beginning 07, and the definitive new code could not be confirmed in this study. - Sulu: still 1906600000 (19 = BARMM). Whether it has been renumbered to Region IX (09) is unconfirmed.

注 Practical handling: in system-to-system integration, always record not just "the PSGC code" but "which published PSGC edition it is based on" (e.g. Q1 2026). PSA updates the PSGC quarterly. (Updated 2026-08-26) The latest is the "Second Quarter 2026 PSGC Updates" (published 2026-07-13, as of 2026-06-30), in which the municipality of San Isidro in Davao del Norte was renamed Sawata following ratification of RA 11814 in the plebiscite of 2026-04-11. The edition before that was the "First Quarter 2026 PSGC Updates" (published 2026-04-13; 42,010 barangays). 注In both cases the original XLSX could not be reached because psa.gov.ph returns 403 (primary source not reached = as of 2026-08-26).

9. The points you get wrong if you don't know them (summary) 注

A note on numerical consistency: simply adding the 2024 populations of the 18 regions in this document gives 112,727,776, which differs from PSA's published national figure of 112,729,484 by 1,708. This comes from edition differences between sources; when preparing material, do not assert that "the sum equals the national figure."

9-1. Results of the recalculation and cross-checking in the 2026-08-26 verification

注 What is marked "agrees" above is internal consistency within this document, not agreement with the PSA originals. The PSGC-code and area columns still depend on secondary outlets, and the warning in §0 — that verification against the PSA originals is needed before any operational use — remains fully in force.

10. Sources

All 2024 populations in this document are based on POPCEN 2024 (reference date 1 July 2024, made official by presidential proclamation in July 2025; national total 112,729,484). Do not mix them with the 2020 census (109,035,343).

Verification record (2026-08-26)

The full verification record for the "four index files" that include this one (Index of Major Laws / Complete List of Administrative Divisions / Index of Persons and Organizations / Glossary, Japanese–English Comparison) is consolidated in the "Verification record (2026-08-26)" section at the end of the representative file 04_情報集積/主要法令インデックス.

Only the main results concerning this file are repeated here.

Second-round verification (2026-08-26, additional)

Discipline: no access whatsoever was made to the DENR / EMB / NSWMC / DOTr domains (including via proxies).

日本語の詳細版: 分野「地理・地方」「フィリピン 行政区画の完全リスト（18地方・82州・NCR17市町・HUC/ICC）」（本サイト日本語版）。関連＝「地方自治制度と地方選挙の仕組み」「主要都市プロファイル（NCR／セブ／ダバオ）」「BARMM自治政府の統治構造」「PSGCコードを使った住所データ整備の実務」。