Provinces of the Philippines

Provinces of the Philippines
Provinces of the Philippines
Category	Province
Location	Philippines
Found in	Administrative and autonomous regions
Number	82 (as of 2022)
Populations	17,246 (Batanes)–4,632,359 (Cavite Province)
Areas	219.01–17,030.75 km2 (84.56–6,575.61 sq mi)
Government	Provincial government;
Subdivisions	Municipalities and component cities;

In the Philippines, provinces (Filipino: lalawigan or probinsiya) are one of its primary political and administrative divisions. There are 82 provinces at present, which are further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The local government units in the National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are independent of any provincial government. Each province is governed by an elected legislature called the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and an elected governor.

The provinces are grouped into eighteen regions based on geographical, cultural, and ethnological characteristics. Thirteen of these regions are numerically designated from north to south, while the National Capital Region, the Cordillera Administrative Region, the Southwestern Tagalog Region (Mimaropa), the Negros Island Region, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are only designated by acronyms.

Each province is a member of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, an organization that aims to address issues affecting provincial and metropolitan government administrations.^[1]

^ "About the League of Provinces". League of Provinces of the Philippines. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2008.

[1] "About the League of Provinces". League of Provinces of the Philippines. Archived from the original on March 5, 2009. Retrieved January 12, 2008.

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