Municipalities of the Philippines | |
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Category | Town (Local government unit) |
Location | Philippines |
Number | 1,493 (as of June 30, 2024) |
Possible status |
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Populations | Smallest: 193 (Kalayaan) Largest: 443,954 (Rodriguez) |
Areas | Smallest: 1.66 km2 (0.64 sq mi) (Pateros) Largest: 2,188.8 km2 (845.1 sq mi) (Sablayan) |
Subdivisions |
Cities and municipalities of the Philippines |
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Philippines portal |
A municipality (Tagalog: bayan / munisipalidad / munisipyo / puweblo ; Hiligaynon: banwa; Cebuano: lungsod; Pangasinan: baley; Kapampangan: balen / balayan; Central Bikol: banwaan; Waray: bungto; Ilocano: ili) is a local government unit (LGU) in the Philippines. It is distinct from city, which is a different category of local government unit. Provinces of the Philippines are divided into cities and municipalities, which in turn, are divided into barangays (formerly barrios) – villages. As of June 30, 2024[update], there are 1,493 municipalities across the country.[1]
A municipality is the official term for, and the official local equivalent of, a town,[2] the latter being its archaic term and in all of its literal local translations including Filipino.[3][4][5][6][7] Both terms are interchangeable.
A municipal district is a now-defunct local government unit; previously certain areas were created first as municipal districts before they were converted into municipalities.