The Philippines, also known as the Republic of the Philippines is one of the most beautiful countries in Southeast Asia. Everyone wants to travel there once in a lifetime as it has some of the adventurous and largest islands with beauty.
It has a lot of islands like almost 7,641 islands in the Philippines. Among those islands, only about 2,000 are occupied where people are living and more than 5,000 islands are still to be known and given official names.
Among them today we are here with the list of the top 10 largest islands in the Philippines along with some of the facts and details about them.
Table of Contents
Here is the list of top 10 largest Islands in the Philippines:
10. Bohol
- Area: 3,821 km.sq (1,475 sq mi)
- Population: 1,313,560
Facts about Bohol Island:
- Bohol Island is the 10th largest island in the Philippines.
- It was the home province of the eighth president of the Republic of the Philippines(1957-1961), Carlos P. Garcia who was born in Talibon, Bohol.
Bohol is another amazing island of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. It has a land area of 4,821 km sq with capital Tagbilaran and is surrounded by 75 minor islands.
The province of the island is a first-class province divided into 3 congressional districts. It has popular tourist attraction places and destinations with a lot of beaches and resorts. Due to a lot of awesome and amazing holiday spending places, it attracts a lot of tourists and helps in the tourism uplift of the Philippines.
9. Cebu
- Area: 4,468 km.sq (1,725 sq mi)
- Population: 3,917,423
Facts about Cebu Island:
- Cebu Island is the 9th largest island in the Philippines.
- Its population is nearly equal to the population of Georgia.
Cebu is also known as the Province of Cebu which is located in the Central Visayas region. It is surrounded by more than 150 islands and islets around it.
The capital of this island is Cebu City which is also known as “the Queen City of the South”. It is the first capital of the Philippines and one of the oldest city too. It has also the second-largest metropolitan area in the Philippines known as Metro Cebu.
The island is one of the most densely populated island that has the second busiest airport in the Philippines named Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
8. Leyte
- Area: 7,368 km.sq (2,845 sq mi)
- Population: 2,388,518
Facts about Leyte Island:
- Leyte Island is the 8th largest island in the Philippines.
- It is also the sixth most populous island in the country.
Leyte is another amazing island present in the Philippines that lies in the Eastern Visayas region. It was first explored in the 16th century by Spanish explorers as Tandaya.
It is well known in the world for its role in the pacification of the Philippines in World War II. The island is about 180 KM (110 mi) on the north-south side and about 65 KM (40 mi) wide. In the northside, it is connected with the island Samar with the separation by San Juanico Strait.
Leyte inhabitants consist of farmers more than others hence it is mostly engaged in agriculture with a supplementary activity in fishing. In food crops, you will find rice and corn as a main source while in the category of cash crops, you will find coconuts, bananas, abaca, sugarcane and tobacco as a main source.
7. Mindoro
- Area: 10,572 km.sq (4,082 sq mi)
- Population: 1,331,473
Facts about Mindoro Island:
- Mindoro Island is the 7th largest island in the Philippines.
- It is also the eighth-most populous island of the country.
Mindoro is one of the beautiful islands in the Philippines which is located off the southwestern coast of Luzon and northeast of Palawan.
It is divided into two provinces one is Oriental Mindoro and another is Occidental Mindoro.
It also comes with the largest settlement on the island that is San Jose. San Jose has a total population of 143,430 inhabitants as of 2015.
6. Panay
- Area: 12,011 km.sq (4,637 sq mi)
- Population: 4,477,247
Facts about Panay Island:
- Panay is the fourth most populous island in the Philippines.
- It consists of 4.4 percent of the entire population of the country.
- Panay is the 6th largest island in the Philippines.
Panay is also known as the City of Iloilo which has the largest settlement with a total population of 457,626 inhabitants as of the 2020 census.
It is located in the western part of the Visayas and looks triangular in shape. It is 160 km (99 mi) across in size.
The island is divided into four provinces like Antique, Aklan, Iloilo, and Capiz. These all provinces are in Western Visayas Region.
5. Palawan
- Area: 12,189 km.sq (4,706 sq mi)
- Population: 886,308
Facts about Palawan Island:
- Palawan is the largest island entirely within one province.
- It is the 5th largest island in the country.
Palawan island lies in the Palawan province and is also known as the largest island of the province.
It is covered with the South China Sea on the north west coast of the island and with Sulu Sea on the south east coast. It can be considered a traditional island as most of the island remains traditional and underdeveloped.
It has also attracted tourists with its beauty. It has abundant wildlife, jungle mountains, and some white sandy beaches where many people love to come and enjoy.
Different international companies are also looking forward to this island for its development to get industry opportunities.
4. Negros
- Area: 13,310 km.sq (5,139 sq mi)
- Population: 4,414,131
Facts about Negros Island:
- Negros is the 4th largest island in the Philippines.
- It is also the third most populous island in the country.
- Its population is nearly equal to the sovereign state Mauritania.
Negros is the fourth largest island in the Philippines which is located in South East Asia.
It is among the many islands that contain the Visayas in the central part of the country. It is mainly inhabited by Negrenses which are locally known as Negrosanons.
The island consists of a lot of tourist attractions. The main attractive reason is festivals in this island as almost the most notable is the Masskara festival. The Masskara festival is celebrated during the third week of October.
3. Samar
- Area: 13,429 km.sq (5,185 sq mi)
- Population: 1,880,020
Facts about Samar Island:
- It is considered as one of the largest islands entirely within one region.
- Its population can be compared with the population of Guinea-Bissau.
Samar is the third largest island in the Philippines which is located in the eastern Visayas that are found in the central Philippines.
The island is divided into three provinces such as Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. It is protected as a natural park that contains about a third of the Samar island. The park is known as the Samar Island Natural Park.
Samar island has Mount Huraw as its highest point with an altitude of 2,920 ft(890 m).
2. Mindanao
- Area: 97,530 km.sq (37,657 sq mi)
- Population: 25,537,691
Facts about Mindanao Island:
- It is the 19th largest island in the world.
- It is considered as the 7th most populated island in the world.
- Its population is similar to the population of North Korea.
Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines which is located in the southern region of the archipelago.
It is divided into six administrative regions such as the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Caraga region, the Davao region, Northern Mindanao, Soccsksargen, and the autonomous region of Bangsamoro.
Here Davao City is known as the most populated city on this island with more than 1.6 million residents. Mindanao contains about 70% of residents as Christain and 24% as Muslim.
The island is also considered as the major breadbasket of the Philippines because it provides eight of the top 10 agri-commodities that are exported from the Philippines to anywhere in the world.
1. Luzon
- Area: 109,965 km.sq (42,458 sq mi)
- Population: 64,260,312
Facts about Luzon Island:
- One of the 15th largest islands in the world.
- It is considered as the 4th most populated island in the world.
- Its population is nearly equal to the population of France.
Luzon is one of the largest islands in the Philippines which is located in the northern portion of the archipelago.
It is also considered as the economic and political center of the nation. It is home to the country’s capital city Manila and as well as the most populous city Quezon City.
Since it is the most crowded island of the Philippines, the population contains more than 50% of the total population of the country.
The island is rectangular in shape containing the long Bicol Peninsula protruding to the southeast. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea on the east, by the South China Sea on the west, and by the Luzon Strait containing the Babuyan Channel and Balintang Channel on the north.
Final Words:
So, this is all for the top 10 largest islands in the Philippines. Hope you get enough information about the island. If you get a chance someday in your life to travel the Philippines, which island will you choose to go to? Share your favorite island in the comment section below. Enjoy the day 🙂
