Island groups of the Philippines

File:Federal states of the Philippines.png

The Philippines is divided into three island groups, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The divisions of the Philippines are the 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.

Governance

Islands are organized into three distinct island groups according to regions: Regions I to V, CAR and NCR are for Luzon, Regions VI to VIII and XVIII are for the 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 to MIMAROPA. 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.

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, a former capital, has more inhabitants than Manila. Cebu is the largest city of the Visayas. Mindanao's main city is Davao.

Division	Main city	Area (km²)	Population (2010)	Population (2000)	Population change (2000-2010)	Density (per km²) (2010)
Luzon	Manila	125,863	52,362,999	42,822,878	7001222780939665010♠+22.28%	416
Visayas	Cebu	71,503	18,003,940	15,528,346	7001159424191088990♠+15.94%	251.8
Mindanao	Davao	101,763	21,968,174	18,133,864	7001211444731249780♠+21.14%	215.9

Major islands and island groups

For a more comprehensive list, see List of islands of the Philippines.

• Luzon:
  1. Luzon
  2. Palawan Island
  3. Mindoro
  4. Masbate Island
  5. Catanduanes
  6. Marinduque
  7. Romblon Island
  8. Polillo Islands
  9. Burias Island
  10. Ticao Island
  11. Tablas Island
  12. Sibuyan Island
  13. Busuanga Island
  14. Culion Island
  15. Coron Island
  16. Balabac Island
  17. Babuyan Group of Islands
  18. Batanes
  19. Calamian Group of Islands
  20. Cuyo Islands
  21. Lubang Islands
  22. Kalayaan Group of Islands

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

• Mindanao:
  1. Mindanao
  2. Camiguin
  3. Dinagat Island
  4. Bucas Grande
  5. Jolo
  6. Samal
  7. Sarangani Islands
  8. Siargao
  9. Sulu Archipelago (including Basilan, Jolo and Tawitawi)
  10. Turtle Islands

Luzviminda

Luzviminda is a portmanteau of the names of the island groups (Luzviminda stands for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao) and is also a popular name for Filipino women.