Island groups of the Philippines

The Philippines is divided into three island groups.

The Philippines is divided into three island groups of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Luzon and Mindanao are named after their main islands of the same names, while the Visayas (the Visayan Islands) is an archipelago.

1 Divisions
2 Government
3 Other uses
4 Island groups
5 Major islands
6 References

Divisions

The different islands are grouped into separate island groups by virtue of their regions: Regions I to V, CAR and NCR are for Luzon, Regions VI to VIII are for Visayas, and Regions IX to XIII and ARMM are for Mindanao. If a province is reassigned into a new region, it can also be reassigned to a new island group, as is the case with Palawan, when it was reassigned from MIMAROPA (now renamed MIMARO, Region IV-B) to Western Visayas (Region VI).[1] The island groups themselves do not have governments of their own, but are instead divided into provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays, which do have their own local governments.

Government

Although the island groups do not have local governments, hence capitals, certain cities have become the political, economic and cultural centers of the island groups. Manila is the national capital and is the de facto capital of Luzon, though Quezon City, the former capital, has more inhabitants than Manila. Cebu is the largest city of the Visayas. Mindanao's main city is Davao.

Other uses

A portmanteau of the names of island groups, Luzviminda, is a popular name for females.[2]

Island groups

Island group Largest city Area (sq. km.) Population (2000 census) Luzon Quezon City125,863 32,122,900 Visayas Cebu71,503 16,275,564 Mindanao Davao101,763 18,262,611

Major islands

Luzon:

Visayas:
1. Cebu
2. Panay
3. Negros
4. Bohol
5. Samar
6. Leyte
7. Guimaras
8. Siquijor
9. Biliran
10. Bantayan Island
11. Camotes Islands
12. Boracay
13. Semirara Island
14. Panaon Island
15. Limasawa

Mindanao:

References

^ Palawan now part of Western Visayas Kathy Villalon-Cinco, SunStar Iloilo. Published June 07, 2005, accessed January 2, 2007.
^ The Philippine name game Sarah Toms, BBC News. Published Saturday, 14 January 2006, 13:29 GMT, accessed January 2, 2007.