Largest Islands of Philippines

Geography

The Philippines is an archipelago of approximately 7,641 islands, covering a total area (including inland bodies of water) of about 300,000 square kilometers (115,831 sq mi). Stretching 1,850 kilometers (1,150 mi) north to south, from the South China Sea to the Celebes Sea, the Philippines is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Sulu Sea to the southwest. The Luzon Strait is the most economical (quickest) traffic node for shipping between the Americas and Asia.

It is also a critical junction of Asia-Pacific-Americas undersea communication cables. The country's 11 largest islands are Luzon, Mindanao, Samar, Negros, Palawan, Panay, Mindoro, Leyte, Cebu, Bohol and Masbate, about 95 percent of its total land area.

History

There is evidence of early hominins living in what is now the Philippines as early as 709,000 years ago. Bones from Callao Cave potentially represent an otherwise unknown species, Homo luzonensis, who lived 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. The oldest modern human remains on the islands are from the Tabon Caves of Palawan, U/Th-dated to 47,000 ± 11–10,000 years ago. Tabon Man is presumably a Negrito, among the archipelago's earliest inhabitants descended from the first human migrations out of Africa via the coastal route along southern Asia to the now-sunken landmasses of Sundaland and Sahul.

The first Austronesians reached the Philippines from Taiwan around 2200 BC, settling the Batanes Islands (where they built stone fortresses known as ijangs) and northern Luzon.

Demographics

In July 2024, the Philippines had a population of 112,729,484. More than 60 percent of the country's population live in the coastal zone. In 2020, 54 percent lived in urban areas. Manila, its capital, and Quezon City, the country's most populous city, are in Metro Manila. About 13.48 million people, 12 percent of the Philippines' population, live in Metro Manila, the country's most populous metropolitan area and the world's fifth most populous. Between 1948 and 2010, the population of the Philippines increased almost fivefold, from 19 million to 92 million.

The country's median age is 25.3, and 63.9 percent of its population is between 15 and 64 years old.

Economy

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its October 2025 update, the Philippines is the world's 33rd largest economy with a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $494.16 billion. As a newly industrialized country, the Philippine economy has been transitioning from an agricultural base to one with more emphasis on services and manufacturing. The country's labor force is about 52.09 million with an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent as of February 2026. Gross international reserves totalled US$106.64 billion as of March 2026.

Geography

Luzon island alone has an area of 109,964.9 square kilometres (42,457.7 sq mi), making it the world's 15th largest island. It is bordered on the west by the South China Sea (Luzon Sea in Philippine territorial waters), on the east by the Philippine Sea, and on the north by the Luzon Strait containing the Babuyan Channel and Balintang Channel. The mainland is roughly rectangular in shape and has the long Bicol Peninsula protruding to the southeast.

Luzon is roughly divided into four sections; Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, Southern Luzon, and Metro Manila.

Northern Luzon consists of 3 clusters in three regions, the Ilocos Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Cagayan Valley.

History

Homo luzonensis fossils, found in Callao Cave on Luzon, represent a newly identified extinct archaic human species from at least 50,000 to 67,000 years ago.

Before 1000 CE, the Tagalog, Kapampangan, and Pangasinan peoples of south and central Luzon had established several major coastal polities, notably Maynila, Tondo and Namayan. The oldest known Philippine document, written in 900, is the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which names places in and around Manila Bay and also mentions Medan, a place in Indonesia. These coastal Philippine kingdoms were thalassocracies, based on trade with neighboring Asian political entities and structured by leases between chiefs or lords (Datu) and paramount lords (Lakan) or Rajahs, by whom tributes were extracted and taxes were levied.

Demographics

As of the 2024 census, the population of Luzon Island itself is 59,865,193 people, making it the 4th most populated island in the world.

Metro Manila is the most populous of the 3 defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the 11th most populous in the world. as of 2007, census data showed it had a population of 11,553,427, comprising 13 percent of the national population. Including suburbs in the adjacent provinces (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) of Greater Manila, the population is around 21 million.

Seven major Philippine ethnolinguistic groups predominate Luzon. Ilocanos and Pangasinenses dominate northern Luzon, particularly in the Ilocos Region to parts of the Cagayan Valley, while Kapampangans, Tagalogs, Ilocanos, Pangasinans and Sambals populate Central Luzon.

Economy

The economy of the island is centered in Metro Manila with Makati serving as the main economic and financial hub. Major companies such as Ayala, Jollibee Foods Corporation, SM Group, and Metrobank are based in the business hubs of Makati Central Business District, Ortigas Center, and Bonifacio Global City. Industry is concentrated in and around the urban areas of Metro Manila while agriculture predominates in the other regions of the island producing crops such as rice, bananas, mangoes, coconuts, pineapple, and coffee.

Geography

Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines at 97,530 square kilometres (37,660 sq mi), and is the seventh-most populous island in the world. The island is mountainous, and is home to Mount Apo, the highest mountain in the country. Mindanao is surrounded by four seas: the Sulu Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Celebes Sea to the south, and the Mindanao Sea to the north.

The island itself is part of an island group of the same name, which consists of the mainland, the Sulu Archipelago and the outlying islands of Camiguin, Dinagat, Siargao, and Samal.

The mountains of Mindanao can be grouped into ten ranges, including both complex structural mountains and volcanoes.

History

Archaeological findings on the island point to evidence of human activity dating back about ten thousand years. Around 1500 BC, Austronesian people spread throughout the Philippines.

The Subanon are believed to have settled in the Zamboanga Peninsula during the Neolithic era c. 4500–2000 BC. Evidence of stone tools in Zamboanga del Norte may indicate a late Neolithic presence. Ceramic burial jars, both unglazed and glazed, Chinese celadons, gold ornaments, beads, and bracelets have been found in caves. Many of the ceramic objects are from the Yuan and Ming periods. Evidently, there was a long history of trade between the Subanon and the Chinese.

Demographics

In 2017, Mindanao had a population of over 25 million. This represented 22 percent of the entire population of the country.

An American census conducted in the early 1900s noted that the island was inhabited by people "greatly divided in origin, temperament and religion". Evidence of the island's cultural diversity can be seen in the buildings and ruins of old Spanish settlements in the northwestern peninsula that span eastwards to the southern gulf coast, the site of the ancient Rajahnate of Butuan in the northeast region (Caraga), the sultanates in the southwest (Sultanate of Sulu, Sultanate of Lanao, Sultanate of Maguindanao), a number of Buddhist and Taoist temples, and the numerous indigenous tribes.

Economy

Mindanao's economy accounts for 14% of the country's gross domestic product. The region grew 4.9% in 2016 against Luzon's 5.5% and Visayas' 9.1%.

Agriculture, forestry and fishing make up more than 40% of Mindanao's market, being the country's largest supplier of major crops such as pineapples and bananas.

There is one defined growth corridor in the island, namely Metro Davao. Other growth centers are: Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, and Pagadian City.

Being the top-performing economy in Mindanao, Davao Region has the 5th-biggest economy in the country and the second-fastest-growing economy next to Cordillera Autonomous Region.

Geography

Negros is the second largest island in the Visayas (after Samar) and the fourth largest of the Philippines, with a total land area of 13,309.6 square kilometres (5,138.9 sq mi), similar to Flores or Jamaica. It is located between the islands of Panay and Guimaras to the west and Cebu to the east, with Siquijor located on the toe of the island and the islands of Bantayan to the north. Politically and linguistically, Negros is divided into two provinces: Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental.

This division of the island, which roughly follows the mountain range in the center of the island, corresponds to the two related linguistic groups.

History

Negros was originally called Buglas, an old Hiligaynon word thought to mean "cut off", as the island was thought to have been separated from a larger landmass. It was also known as Mamaylan and Panilougon among Cebuano-speaking Visayans. Among its earliest inhabitants were the aboriginal Ata, one of several Negrito Indigenous Peoples dispersed throughout Southeast Asia that possesses a unique culture. The westernmost portions of the island soon fell under the nominal rule of the Kedatuan of Madja-as based on the neighboring islands of Panay and Guimaras, while the eastern coasts were influenced by the Rajahnate of Cebu from the adjacent island of Cebu.

Economy

Negros is noted for being the nation's prime producer and exporter of sugar. Sugarcane plantations abound in the agricultural areas of the island. The island also produces cotton and hardwood. Sugar is the biggest industry in the island, followed by organic agricultural products and gamefowl breeding. Its principal sugar-growing region is located in the north and west of the island, stretching from northwest along the coasts of the Visayan Sea and Guimaras Strait, which is one of the nation's principal lowland areas in the Visayas. Negros is now aiming to be the prime producer of organic agricultural produce in Asia.

Sugar refining has many by-products such as acetylene, fertilizers and rum. Fishing is the major industry based in Cadiz.

Tourism

Negros has a lot of tourist attractions. In the city of Silay alone, there are 30 ancestral houses, amongst the most notable is the Balay Negrense. Festivals are also a major tourist attraction in Negros. Among the most notable is the Masskara Festival in the city of Bacolod, which is celebrated during the third week of October, as well as Buglasan Festival in the city of Dumaguete, also held in October. Museums showcase the culture, history and people of Negros, with one example being the Negros Museum, situated behind the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Complex.

Geography

Samar is the third-largest island in the Philippines by area, after the islands of Luzon and Mindanao. Mount Huraw is Samar's highest point, with an elevation of 2,920 ft (890 m). Samar is the easternmost island in the Visayas. It lies to the northeast of Leyte, separated from it by the San Juanico Strait. The island lies to the southeast of the Bicol Peninsula on Luzon, separated from it by the San Bernardino Strait. To the west is the Samar Sea, and to the north and east of Samar lies the Philippine Sea. The island is hilly yet has lower altitude than the mountainous terrain in the rest of the Visayas. Lowlands are mostly found near the coast and along rivers; the rivers themselves are small and flow in a radial pattern.

History

Samar was originally led by prominent datus. Among the documented datus are the following: Datu Iberein from Laoang, Northern Samar; Datu Tandaya from Sulat, Eastern Samar; Datu Hadi from Palapag, Northern Samar; and Datu Binatak from Binatac, Southern Samar.

Samar was the first island of the Philippines as a Spanish colony. An expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan revealed the island, originally transcribed Zamal in the journal of Antonio Pigafetta, to Europeans. He sighted it on March 16, 1521, traveling from the Mariana Islands. Having found an archipelago, Pigafetta named the islands San Lazaro (transl. Saint Lazarus) due to their sightings on Lazarus Saturday. Eventually, Filipinas was the perceived name for the archipelago.

Demographics

As of the 2024 census, the population of the island's three provinces was 1,924,651. The main language in all three provinces of Samar Island is Waray. The second most popular language in Samar province is Bisaya, while the second most popular in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar is Cebuano. Samar province and Northern Samar both have a scale of 0.13 in the Linguistic diversity index while Eastern Samar has a scale of 0.02. Many people in the island are part of the Waray people: in Eastern Samar, 97.78 percent of people were Waray while in Samar, 91.45 classified themselves as Waray. Other ethnic groups include Bisaya, Cebuano, and Tagalog. Males were more populated in both provinces than women.

Economy

The island has a major copra industry: of the six provinces in Eastern Visayas, all three of the Samar provinces were placed in the top four based on copra production, just behind Leyte. Western Samar's industry recorded a 6.1 percent increase from 2018 to 2023. The top three industries in the province are food service activities, transportation, and electricity, steam, water, and waste management. As of 2023, the gross domestic product of the province is PHP 61.35 billion. The island has rice and root crops, including sweet potatoes and cassava. Abacá and dairy from native carabaos are found in the island.

Geography

Panay island is the sixth largest island in the Philippines by area, with a total land area of 12,011 km2 (4,637 sq mi), similar to Jamaica or Samar. Mount Madja-as is the highest point in Panay with an elevation of 2,117 metres (6,946 ft) above sea level, located in town of Culasi in the northern province of Antique. Central Panay Mountain Range is the longest and largest mountain range in the island with a total length of 170 km (110 mi) north-south. Panay River is the longest river in the island with a total length of 169 km (105 mi) located in the province of Capiz.

Boracay Island, a popular tourist destination known for its long white sand shore, is located 0.86 km (0.53 mi; 0.46 nmi) off the northwest tip of Panay Island.

History

No pre-Hispanic written accounts of Iloilo and Panay island exist today. Oral traditions, in the form of recited epics like the Hinilawod, have survived to a small degree. A few recordings of these epic poems exist. The most notable are the works of noted Filipino anthropologist Felipe Jocano.

While no current archaeological evidence exists describing pre-Hispanic Panay, an original work by Pedro Alcantara Monteclaro published in 1907 called Maragtas details the alleged accounts of the founding of the various pre-Hispanic polities on Panay Island. The book is based on oral and written accounts available to the author at the time. The author made no claim for the historical accuracy of the accounts.

Demographics

Panay is the most ethnically and linguistically diverse major island in the Visayas, being native to four vibrant non-indigenous ethnolinguistic groups (Hiligaynon/Ilonggo, Karay-a, Capiznon, Aklanon), and two indigenous groups (Suludnon, Ati) or minorities. However, the ethnic and linguistic boundaries within the island do not correspond to its administrative divisions. Only the province of Antique is monolingual, which only speaks Kinaray-a as its primary language. The lingua franca of the island is Hiligaynon, native to Iloilo City and the northeastern coastal strip lining the province of Iloilo. For local administrative, educational, and commercial purposes, English and Tagalog are also widely used.

Geography

The entire length of the island forms a mountain range, with a peak altitude of 2,086 meters (6,844 ft) at Mount Mantalingajan. Other significant peaks include Mount Gantung (1,788 meters (5,866 ft)) in Batazara and Victoria Peak (1,726 meters (5,663 ft)) in Narra. The outlying islands include Cagayancillo to the far east, Dumaran Island and the more distant Cuyo Archipelago are to the northeast, and Linapacan and Busuanga Island nearby in the north-northeast. The archipelago of Kalayaan Municipality is to the far west, while Balabac Municipality is south of the island's western edge.

The geology of Palawan is, in many ways, unlike other parts of the Philippines.

History

The 1818 Spanish census showed, that when Palawan was then called the "Isla de Paragua" and was under the jurisdiction of the Calamianes islands to the north, the census recorded Palawan island to have had 4,486 native families and 29 Spanish-Filipino families.

In April 2013, a fishing vessel loaded with illegally poached animals ran aground on a coral atoll off the coast of Palawan Island.

In May 2014, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief-of-Staff General Emmanuel T. Bautista commented that Oyster Bay may be developed into a naval base with United States Navy support.

Geography

Mindoro is the seventh (7th) largest island in the Philippines. It is divided into the provinces of Occidental Mindoro and Oriental Mindoro. The Mindoro Mountain Range is the largest and longest mountain range in the island, with a total length of 200 km (120 mi) north-south and 58 km (36 mi) width east–west. Mount Halcon, at 8,484 feet (2,586 meters), is the island’s highest point and is located in Oriental Mindoro.

Mindoro is a center of biodiversity in the Philippines, a megadiverse country, and has a large number of species found nowhere else in the archipelago. Mindoro additionally hosts its own ecoregion, the Mindoro rain forests, separate from neighboring Luzon.

History

In precolonial times, the island had been called Ma-i or Mait by Han Chinese traders. Indigenous groups are called Mangyans. The Spaniards called the place Mina de Oro ("gold mine"), from where the island derives the current form of its current name. According to the late historian William Henry Scott, an entry in the official history of the Song Dynasty for the year 972 mentions Ma-i as a state which traded with China. Other Chinese records referring to Ma-i or Mindoro appear in the following years.

The products that Mindoro traders exchanged with the Chinese included “beeswax, cotton, true pearls, tortoiseshell, medicinal betelnuts and yu-ta [jute?] cloth” for Chinese porcelain, trade gold, iron pots, lead, copper, colored glass beads and iron needles.

Economy

The economy of Mindoro is largely based on agriculture. Products consist of a wide variety of fruits, such as citrus, bananas, lanzones, rambutan and coconuts, grains (rice and corn), sugarcane, peanuts, fish (catfish, milkfish and tilapia), livestock and poultry. Logging and the mining of marble and copper also thrived. Only 5% of the original forest remains as a result of extensive logging, prevalent agricultural practices, and population growth.

Tourism is a lucrative business as well, with locations such as Apo Reef National Park, Lubang Island, Puerto Galera, Sabang Beach and Mount Halcon. Puerto Galera's beaches are the island's most-known tourist attraction and are widely visited.

History

The Sulu Archipelago was once part of Majapahit and is mentioned in the Old Javanese eulogy of Nagarakretagama as Solot. Afterwards, it became part of the Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888), but gained its independence in 1578. Many Tausugs and other native Muslims of Sulu Archipelago already interacted with Kapampangan and Tagalog Muslims called Luzones based in Brunei, and there were intermarriages between them.

The region then became part of the independent Sultanate of Sulu, founded in 1405. The arrival of Western powers later became a source of conflict when the Spanish began to impose rule over the Spanish East Indies. Spanish military expeditions against the sultanate were launched over the centuries of the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines.

Geography

The island measures about 180 kilometres (110 mi) north-south and about 65 kilometres (40 mi) at its widest point, giving it an area of 7,368 km2 (2,845 sq mi), putting Leyte among the world's 100 largest islands, with a size similar to Zealand or Prince Edward Island. In the north it nearly joins the island of Samar, separated by the San Juanico Strait, which becomes as narrow as 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) in some places. The island province of Biliran is also to the north of Leyte and is joined to Leyte island by a bridge across the narrow Biliran Strait. To the south, Leyte is separated from Mindanao by the Surigao Strait.

History

The island was known to 16th-century Spanish explorers as Tandaya. Its population grew rapidly after 1900, especially in the Leyte and Ormoc valleys. The island was once the location of Mairete, a historic community which was ruled by Datu Ete. Before being colonized by Spain, the island was once home to indigenous animist Warays to the east and other indigenous animist Visayan groups to the west. In the early 17th Century Father Ignacio Alcina, recorded a local epic that a certain Datung Sumanga of Leyte courted the princess, Bugbung Humasanum of Bohol by raiding Imperial China, and upon their marriage, they were the precursors of a kingdom there.

Geography

The Calamian Islands span around 680 square miles (1,800 km2) of sea and include major islands such as Coron, Culion, Busuanga, and Linapacan, along with numerous smaller islands. Coron Island, the third-largest, features steep limestone cliffs, karst formations, mangrove forests, and eleven inland lakes. Notable lakes include Kayangan Lake—considered as the cleanest lake in the country—Barracuda Lake, and Lake Cabugao.

Part of the North Palawan Block, a microcontinental fragment characterized by accretionary complexes composed of Upper Paleozoic to Mesozoic sedimentary rocks, including cherts, clastics, and limestones. Busuanga and Culion islands consist mainly of the Liminangcong Formation, a Permian to Late Jurassic chert.

History

Historically, before the Spanish came, the Calamianes was part of the nation of Sandao a vassal state of Ma-i at nearby Mindoro. Then, the Calamianes fell to the Brunei and Sulu Sultanates. Eventually, the Calamianes was site of the Spanish politico-militar Provincia de Calamianes. It became the site of a Presidio or a Spanish military garrison, and the small group of islands received, almost 100 Mexican soldier-colonists in the 1670s. The Spanish Empire later purchased mainland Paragua from the Sultan of Borneo. By the end of the 1700s, the Calamianes had 2,289 native families too. In 1818, there were 2 settler Spanish families in Calamanianes. 1 Spanish family were Spaniards from Spain and the other Spanish family were Spaniards born in the Philippines.

Geography

these is Calayan with an area of 196 km2 (76 sq mi), while the highest peak in the island group is Mount Pangasun (1,108 metres, 3,635 ft) on Babuyan Claro.

The eastern islands of the archipelago are part of the Luzon Volcanic Arc. Three volcanoes from two of the islands have erupted in historical times - Camiguin de Babuyanes on Camiguin Island, Babuyan Claro Volcano and Smith Volcano (also known as Mount Babuyan) on Babuyan Island.

Another small volcanic island located just 22 km (14 mi) NE of Camiguin Island, Didicas Volcano on Didicas Island, became a permanent island only after emerging and rising to over 200 metres (656 ft) above sea level in 1952.

Geography

To the west of Bohol is Cebu, to the northeast is the island of Leyte and to the south, across the Bohol Sea, is Mindanao. The Cebu Strait separates Bohol from Cebu, and both island provinces share a common language, but Boholano retains a conscious distinction from Cebuano. Bohol's climate is generally dry, with maximum rainfall between the months of June and October. The interior is cooler than the coast.

With a land area of 4,821 km2 (1,861 sq mi) and a coastline 261 km (162 mi) long, Bohol is the tenth largest island of the Philippines. The main island is surrounded by about 70 smaller islands, the largest of which are Panglao Island, facing Tagbilaran, in the southwest and Lapinig Island in the northeast.

History

The region of Southeastern Bohol, particularly Cogtong Bay in Candijay and the Anda Peninsula are known as the "cradle of civilization of Bohol" from archaeological findings of pre-colonial petroglyphs, and ancient bodies from burial sites which were housed in boat-shaped wooden-coffins. Boat coffin burial has been found prevalent in Mindanao, Palawan, Negros, Panay, Maranduque, and Masbate as well as throughout Southeast Asia in Borneo and Vietnam. Today, local healers and shaman still practice pagdiwata rituals, or offerings to the spirits for good fortune, located in Lamanok Point in Anda. The wooden boat coffins are estimated to date back 6,000 years ago from the Metal Age to the Protohistoric Period.

Demographics

According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 1,412,726 people.

Boholano people, a distinct ethnic subgroup of Cebuano, comprise the majority of Bohol with many residents in Southern Leyte and northern parts of Mindanao. Eskayans, a distinct ethnic group also native in Bohol, are residents of the forest hinterland interior of the southeastern municipalities of Duero, Guindulman, Pilar and Sierra Bullones. Residing sizeably in the province are the non-natives that include Cebuanos (from the northeast), Butuanons, Surigaonon (both from the Caraga in Mindanao) Hiligaynons, Ilocanos (from Panay, Negros Occidental and Ilocandia respectively, either directly or via Mindanao where they also both significantly reside), and Warays (from Eastern Visayas).

Economy

Tourism plays an increasing role in the island's economy. The Bohol-Panglao International Airport is active since 2018 for domestic flights and international flights since 2023. The airport houses the most-visited and accessible beaches in the province. Proponents of the scheme hope that the new airport will increase Bohol's reputation as an international tourist destination although the plan has been dogged by ongoing criticism.

Scuba Diving and Free Diving are among Bohol's tourism industry driving forces.