Negros Occidental

Negros Occidental Nakatungdang Negros
Province
(from top: left to right) Mount Kanlaon; Magikland in Silay; Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol in Bacolod; Ruins of Lacson Mansion in Talisay; Sipalay Tinagong Dagat in Sipalay.
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  Sugarbowl of the Philippines The Land of Sweet Surprises
Motto:  "Abanse Negrense"[1]
Anthem: Matuod nga Negrosanon (literally: True Negrense)
Location in the Philippines
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 10°25′N 123°00′E / 10.42°N 123°E / 10.42; 123
Country	Philippines
Region	Negros Island Region
Founded	January 1, 1890
Capital and largest city	Bacolod
Government
• Type	Sangguniang Panlalawigan
• Governor	Eugenio Jose V. Lacson (NPC)
• Vice Governor	Jeffrey P. Ferrer (NUP)
• Legislature	Negros Occidental Provincial Board
Area [2]
• Total	7,802.54 km2 (3,012.58 sq mi)
• Rank	8th out of 81
	(excluding Bacolod)
Highest elevation (Mount Kanlaon)	2,465 m (8,087 ft)
Population  (2020 census)[3]
• Total	2,623,172
• Rank	8th out of 81
• Density	340/km2 (870/sq mi)
• Rank	22nd out of 81
	(excluding Bacolod)
Divisions
• Independent cities	1 Bacolod (Highly urbanized city)
• Component cities	12 Bago Cadiz Escalante Himamaylan Kabankalan La Carlota Sagay San Carlos Silay Sipalay Talisay Victorias
• Municipalities	19 Binalbagan Calatrava Candoni Cauayan Don Salvador Benedicto Enrique B. Magalona Hinigaran Hinoba-an Ilog Isabela La Castellana Manapla Moises Padilla Murcia Pontevedra Pulupandan San Enrique Toboso Valladolid
• Barangays	601 including independent cities: 662
• Districts	Legislative districts of Negros Occidental Legislative district of Bacolod
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	6100–6132
IDD : area code	+63 (0)34
ISO 3166 code	PH-NEC
Spoken languages	Hiligaynon Cebuano Tagalog English
Numbered highways
Income classification	1st class
Website	www.negros-occ.gov.ph

Negros Occidental (Hiligaynon: Nakatungdang Negros; Tagalog: Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (Hiligaynon: Kapuoran sang Nakatungdang Negros; Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Kanlurang Negros), is a province in the Philippines located in the Negros Island Region. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically situated and grouped under by the Philippine Statistics Authority, but remains politically independent from the provincial government and also one of the two regional centers in Negros Island Region (the other one is Dumaguete). It occupies the northwestern half of the large island of Negros, and borders Negros Oriental, which comprises the southeastern half. Known as the "Sugarbowl of the Philippines", Negros Occidental produces more than half the nation's sugar output.

Negros Occidental faces the island-province of Guimaras and the province of Iloilo on Panay Island to the northwest across Panay Gulf and the Guimaras Strait. The primary spoken language is Hiligaynon and the predominant religious denomination is Roman Catholicism. Bacolod is the capital, seat of government and the largest city of the province (by population), but is governed independently as a highly urbanized city. With a population of 2,623,172 inhabitants,^[3] it is the most populated province in Negros Island Region, the second most-populous province in the Visayas after Cebu and the 8th most-populous province of the Philippines. The province also has the most chartered cities among all the provinces in the Philippines with a total of 13.