Mindanao: Region IX: Zamboanga Peninsula Region: - Philippine Tourism and Statistics

Region IX: Zamboanga Peninsula Region:

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An Overview

Introduction

The Zamboanga Peninsula, officially designated as Region IX, is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Located in the north-western part of Mindanao Island in the Philippines. This region is composed of three provinces: Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay, as well as the chartered city of Zamboanga, the region serves as a key area both geographically and economically in southern Philippines. It is known for its diverse cultures, rich natural resources, and strategic location.

Geography

Zamboanga Peninsula is a long, narrow landmass that stretches westward into the Sulu Sea. It is bordered by the Sulu Sea to the west, the Moro Gulf to the south, and the rest of Mindanao to the east. The peninsula includes three provinces and two independent cities:

Zamboanga del Norte
Zamboanga del Sur
Zamboanga Sibugay
Zamboanga City (highly urbanized city)
Isabela City (located on Basilan Island but administratively part of Region IX)

The regional center is Pagadian City, located in Zamboanga del Sur.

Demographics and Culture

The region is home to a multicultural population consisting of:

Cebuano and Ilonggo settlers,
Indigenous groups such as the Subanen, and
Muslim communities including the Tausug, Yakan, and Sama-Bajau.

The dominant languages are Cebuano, Chavacano (a Spanish-based creole spoken primarily in Zamboanga City), and various indigenous and Moro languages. The region is religiously diverse, with significant Christian and Muslim populations coexisting in many areas.

Economy

Zamboanga Peninsula has a mixed economy, with agriculture, fishing, forestry, and trade as major economic drivers. Key economic features include:

Agriculture: Coconut, rice, corn, rubber, and fruits are major crops.
Fisheries: Rich fishing grounds, especially in Zamboanga City and nearby coastal areas.
Industry: Food processing, woodcraft, and rubber-based products.
Trade and Logistics: Zamboanga City is a major trading hub, especially for goods bound for and coming from nearby ASEAN countries.

Tourism

The region boasts many natural and cultural attractions, including:

Great Santa Cruz Island – known for its rare pink sand beaches in Zamboanga City.
Merloquet Falls – a scenic multi-tiered waterfall.
Lakewood – a serene mountain lake destination in Zamboanga del Sur.
Yakan Weaving Village – a cultural site preserving traditional textiles and crafts.
Historical landmarks – such as Fort Pilar and numerous mosques and churches.

Tourism is growing in the region, supported by improved infrastructure and increasing interest in eco-tourism and cultural heritage.

Challenges and Opportunities

Like many regions in Mindanao, the Zamboanga Peninsula faces challenges related to poverty, infrastructure gaps, and occasional security issues. However, efforts in peacebuilding, economic development, and cultural promotion continue to create opportunities for growth and tourism.

Zamboanga Peninsula Region is composed of 3 provinces on the northwestern portion of Mindanao. It’s bordered by the Sulu Sea to the west, the Gulf of Moro to the south, Region X: Northern Mindanao to the east, and the Sulu Archipelago to the south-west.

Conclusion

The Zamboanga Peninsula is a vibrant region with a unique blend of cultures, natural beauty, and economic potential. Its strategic location and cultural diversity make it a significant contributor to the development and identity of the southern Philippines.

PSGC # Base	PSGC #	Region #	Region Name:	Province or HUC:	Capitol:	Income Class:	Pop. (2020):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):	Ind. Cities:	Comp. Cities:	Municipalities:	Barangays:	# Island Brys:
9	97200000	9	Zamboanga Peninsula	Zamboanga del Norte	Dipolog City	1st	1,047,455	7,301.00	2,818.90	0	2	25	691	3
9	97300000	9	Zamboanga Peninsula	Zamboanga del Sur	Pagadian City	1st	1,050,668	4,499.50	1,737.27	0	1	26	681	11
9	98300000	9	Zamboanga Peninsula	Zamboanga Sibugay	Ipil	2nd	669,840	3,607.80	1,392.98	0	0	16	389	52
9	97332000	9	Zamboanga Peninsula	Zamboanga City	N/A	1st	977,234	1,414.70	546.22	0	N/A	N/A	98	N/A
9	99701000	9	Zamboanga Peninsula	Isabela City	N/A	4th	130,379	233.73	90.24	0	N/A	N/A	45	N/A
							Pop. (2020):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):	Ind. Cities:	Comp. Cities:	Municipalities:	Barangays:	# Island Brys:
						Totals:	3,875,576	17,056.73	6,585.61	0	3	67	1,904	66

Overview of regional information about Region IX: Zamboanga Peninsula Region.

Map of Region IX: Zamboanga Peninsula Region:

By Scorpion prinz at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5795686

Provinces of Region IX: Zamboanga Peninsula Region:

Zamboanga del Norte:

Philippine Standard Geographical Code # 97200000

Zamboanga del Norte is a coastal province composed of:

Component City (2):	Municipalities:	Barangay (of which are Island Barangays):
Dapitan City	24	691 (3)
Dipolog City (Capitol)	N/A	N/A

PSGC #	Town #	Creation Date:	Municipality:	Type:	Location:	Coastal/Inland:	Pop. (2020):	Pop. (2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):	IDD: Area Code:	Zip Code:	Barangays:	Island Bry:	Income Class:	District:
97226000	26	3/25/1982	Bacundan (Leon B. Postigo)	Municipality	Central	Coastal	27,639	26,221	255.50	98.65	63 (0) 65	7112	18	0	4th Class	III
97224000	24		Baliguian	Municipality	West	Coastal	23,771	22,588	439.26	169.60	63 (0) 65	7123	17	0	3rd Class	III
97201000	1	1629	Dapitan City	Component City	East + Islands	Coastal	85,202	82,418	390.53	150.78	63 (0) 65	7101	50	2	3rd Class	I
97202000	2	7/1/1913	Dipolog City (Capitol)	Component City	East	Coastal	138,141	130,759	241.13	93.10	63 (0) 65	7100	21	0	3rd Class
97225000	25	2/8/1982	Godod	Municipality	Central	Inland	17,510	17,424	190.00	73.36	63 (0) 65	7100	17	0	4th Class	III
97223000	23		Gutalac	Municipality	West	Coastal	36,090	34,654	492.86	190.29	63 (0) 65	7108	33	0	3rd Class	III
97222000	22		Jose Dalman (Ponot)	Municipality	East	Coastal	28,881	27,388	135.00	52.12	63 (0) 65	7111	18	0	4th Class	II
97227000	27	2/10/1990	Kalawit	Municipality	West	Inland	23,812	23,633	217.89	84.13	63 (0) 65	7124	14	0	4th Class	III
97203000	3	2/2/1914	Katipunan (Lubungan)	Municipality	East	Coastal	44,661	45,577	244.12	94.26	63 (0) 65	7109	30	0	3rd Class	II
97204000	4		La Libertad	Municipality	East Most	Inland	8,119	8,406	69.51	26.84	63 (0) 65	7117	13	0	5th Class	I
97205000	5	8/12/1947	Labason	Municipality	West	Coastal	43,934	41,357	169.58	65.48	63 (0) 65	7119	20	0	2nd Class	III
97206000	6	8/22/1951	Lilay	Municipality	Central	Coastal	42,213	39,812	128.43	49.59	63 (0) 65	7115	37	0	3rd Class	III
97207000	7	6/16/1951	Manukan	Municipality	East	Coastal	36,887	36,526	246.35	95.12	63 (0) 65	7110	22	0	3rd Class	II
97208000	8		Mutia	Municipality	East Most	Inland	11,726	12,675	73.58	28.41	63 (0) 65	7107	16	0	6th Class	I
97209000	9	8/22/1951	Piñan (New Piñan)	Municipality	East	Inland	20,221	20,161	93.75	36.20	63 (0) 65	7105	22	0	4th Class	I
97210000	10	8/22/1951	Polanco	Municipality	East	Inland	42,265	39,347	206.88	79.88	63 (0) 65	7106	30	0	3rd Class	I
97211000	11	6/17/1967	Pres. Manuel A. Roxas	Municipality	East	Coastal	39,198	39,323	206.25	79.63	63 (0) 65	7104	31	0	2nd Class	II
97212000	12	12/21/1950	Rizal	Municipality	East Most	Coastal	15,052	14,021	80.03	30.90	63 (0) 65	7102	22	0	4th Class	I
97213000	13	6/21/1979	Salug	Municipality	Central	Coastal	32,134	32,204	206.60	79.77	63 (0) 65	7114	23	0	3rd Class	III
97214000	14		Sergio Osmeña Sr	Municipality	East	Inland	31,942	30,220	556.44	214.84	63 (0) 65	7108	39	0	2nd Class	I
97215000	15		Siayan	Municipality	Central	Inland	36,236	34,966	494.75	191.02	63 (0) 65	7113	22	0	2nd Class	II
97216000	16		Sibuco	Municipality	South-West Most	Coastal	36,049	34,620	782.54	302.14	63 (0) 65	7122	28	0	2nd Class	III
97217000	17		Sibutad	Municipality	East + Island	Coastal	17,453	17,645	65.57	25.32	63 (0) 65	7103	16	1	4th Class	I
97218000	18	12/22/1936	Sindangan	Municipality	Central	Coastal	103,952	99,435	451.00	174.13	63 (0) 65	7112	52	0	1st Class	II
97219000	19	12/23/1936	Siocan	Municipality	South-West	Coastal	48,524	46,907	503.20	194.29	63 (0) 65	7120	26	0	1st Class	III
97220000	20		Siriwai	Municipality	South-West	Coastal	31,163	28,799	222.50	85.91	63 (0) 65	7121	34	0	3rd Class	III
97221000	21	1978	Tampilisan	Municipality	West	Inland	24,680	24,307	137.75	53.19	63 (0) 65	7116	20	0	4th Class	III
							Pop. (2020):	Pop. (2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):			Barangays:	Island Bry:
						Totals:	1,047,455	1,011,393	7,301	2,818.95			691	3

Overview of provincial information about the province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Zamboanga del Sur:

Philippine Standard Geographical Code # 97300000

Zamboanga del Sur is a coastal province composed of:

Independent City (1):	Component City (1):	Municipalities:	Barangay (of which are Island Barangays):
Zamboanga City	Pagadian City (Capitol)	25	779 (11)

PSGC #	Town #	Creation Date:	Municipality:	Type:	Location:	Coastal/Inland:	Pop. (2020):	Pop. (2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):	IDD: Area Code:	Zip Code:	Barangays:	Island Bry:	Income Class:	District:
97302000	1	8/22/1942	Aurora	Municipality	North	Inland	52,995	50,755	180.95	69.87	63 (0) 62	7020	44	0	2nd Class	I
97303000	2	5/8/1967	Bayog	Municipality	Center	Inland	34,519	33,591	356.40	137.61	63 (0) 62	7011	28	0	3rd Class	II
97305000	3	6/17/1950	Dimataling	Municipality	South	Coastal	31,340	30,081	141.80	54.75	63 (0) 62	7032	24	0	4th Class	II
97306000	4	6/17/1950	Dinas	Municipality	South	Coastal	36,291	35,504	121.10	46.76	63 (0) 62	7015	30	0	4th Class	II
97307000	5	6/16/1956	Dumalinao	Municipality	South	Coastal	32,928	32,013	117.64	45.42	63 (0) 62	7015	30	0	4th Class	II
97308000	6	12/27/1957	Dumingag	Municipality	North Most	Inland	48,881	47,485	297.75	114.96	63 (0) 62	7028	44	0	2nd Class	I
97343000	27	10/17/1991	Guipos	Municipality	South	Inland	21,738	20,729	90.53	34.95	63 (0) 62	7042	17	0	4th Class	I
97337000	23	11/11/1977	Josefina	Municipality	North Most	Inland	12,205	11,799	56.35	21.76	63 (0) 62	7027	14	0	5th Class	II
97311000	7	8/28/1959	Kumalarang	Municipality	Center	Coastal	29,479	28,469	151.49	58.49	63 (0) 62	7013	18	0	4th Class	I
97312000	8	7/20/1949	Labangan	Municipality	Center	Coastal	44,262	41,790	157.90	60.97	63 (0) 62	7017	25	0	3rd Class	I
97333000	22	11/11/1977	Lakewood	Municipality	Center	Inland	21,559	20,374	201.30	77.72	63 (0) 62	7014	14	0	4th Class	II
97313000	9	10/16/1957	Lapuyan	Municipality	South	Coastal	27,737	27,264	329.00	127.03	63 (0) 62	7037	26	0	3rd Class	II
97315000	10	3/9/1960	Mahayag	Municipality	North Most	Inland	48,258	46,516	194.90	75.25	63 (0) 62	7026	29	0	3rd Class	I
97317000	11	12/23/1936	Margosatubig	Municipality	South + Island	Coastal	38,660	37,873	111.69	43.12	63 (0) 62	7035	17	1	3rd Class	II
97318000	12	9/9/1964	Midsalip	Municipality	North Most	Inland	33,711	32,075	161.56	62.38	63 (0) 62	7021	33	0	4th Class	I
97319000	13	6/16/1948	Molave	Municipality	South	Inland	53,140	52,006	251.50	97.10	63 (0) 62	7023	25	0	1st Class	I
97322000	14	3/23/1937	Pagadian City (Capitol)	Component City	Center	Coastal	210,452	199,060	378.80	146.26	63 (0) 62	7016	54	0	2nd Class	I
97338000	24	7/16/1978	Pitogo	Municipality	South	Coastal	27,516	27,057	95.94	37.04	63 (0) 62	7033	15	0	5th Class	II
97323000	15	2/13/1957	Ramon Magsaysay (Liargao)	Municipality	North Most	Inland	27,280	26,606	113.70	43.90	63 (0) 62	7024	27	0	4th Class	I
97324000	16	7/14/1960	Sam Miguel	Municipality	South	Inland	19,838	19,205	181.59	70.11	63 (0) 62	7029	18	0	4th Class	II
97325000	17	9/17/1957	San Pablo	Municipality	South + Island	Coastal	26,648	26,106	149.90	57.88	63 (0) 62	7031	28	1	4th Class	II
97340000	25	3/27/1980	Sominot (Don Mariano Marcos)	Municipality	North Most	Inland	19,061	18,537	111.52	43.06	63 (0) 62	7022	18	0	5th Class	I
97327000	18	8/16/1961	Tabina	Municipality	South	Coastal	25,734	25,061	86.90	33.55	63 (0) 62	7034	15	0	3rd Class	II
97328000	19	12/27/1957	Tambulig	Municipality	North Most	Inland	37,480	36,160	130.65	50.44	63 (0) 62	7025	31	0	4th Class	I
97344000	28	11/8/1991	Tigboa	Municipality	South	Inland	21,675	20,979	120.69	46.60	63 (0) 62	7043	18	0	5th Class	II
97330000	20	11/29/1958	Tukuran	Municipality	Center	Coastal	42,429	9,820	144.91	55.95	63 (0) 62	7019	25	0	4th Class	I
97341000	26	1982	Vincenzo A. Sagun	Municipality	South	Coastal	24,852	23,759	63.00	24.32	63 (0) 62	7036	14	0	5th Class	II
97332000	21	6/23/1635	Zamboanga City	Independent City	South-West + Islands	Coastal	977,234	861,799	1,414.70	546.22	63 (0) 62	7000	98	9	1st Class	2 LD
							Pop.(2020):	Pop.(2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):			Barangays:	Island Bry:
						Totals:	2,027,902	1,842,473	5,914	2,283			779	11

Overview of provincial information about the province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Zamboanga Sibugay:

Philippine Standard Geographical Code # 98300000

Zamboanga Sibugay is a coastal province composed of:

Municipalities:	Barangay (of which are Island Barangays):
16	389 (52)

PSGC #	Town #	Creation Date:	Municipality:	Type:	Location:	Coastal/Inland:	Pop. (2020):	Pop. (2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):	IDD: Area Code:	Zip Code:	Barangays:	Island Bry:	Income Class:	District:
98301000	1		Alicia	Municipality	South + Island	Coastal	39,456	36,013	183.08	70.69	63 (0) 62	7040	27	1	3rd Class	I
98302000	2	1960	Buug	Municipality	East Most	Inland	38,425	36,634	134.06	51.76	63 (0) 62	7009	27	0	3rd Class	I
98303000	3		Diplahan	Municipality	Center	Inland	32,585	32,428	255.51	98.65	63 (0) 62	7039	22	0	4th Class	I
98304000	4		Imelda	Municipality	East	Inland	26,020	28,018	85.12	32.87	63 (0) 62	7007	18	0	4th Class	I
98305000	5	7/26/1949	Ipil (Capitol)	Municipality	Center	Coastal	89,401	74,656	241.60	93.28	63 (0) 62	7001	28	0	1st Class	II
98306000	6	1917	Kabasalan	Municipality	Center	Coastal	46,884	44,336	289.20	111.66	63 (0) 62	7005	29	0	2nd Class	II
98307000	7		Mabuhay	Municipality	Olutanga Island-East	Coastal	37,390	36,870	82.85	31.99	63 (0) 62	7010	18	18	5th Class	I
98308000	8	7/23/1951	Malangas	Municipality	East	Coastal	32,022	33,380	235.53	90.94	63 (0) 62	7038	25	0	3rd Class	I
98309000	9		Naga	Municipality	Center	Coastal	41,743	38,547	246.30	95.10	63 (0) 62	7004	23	0	3rd Class	II
98310000	10		Olutanga	Municipality	Olutanga Island-West	Coastal	38,438	33,671	113.30	43.75	63 (0) 62	7041	19	19	4th Class	I
98311000	11		Payao	Municipality	South	Coastal	34,952	31,686	245.66	94.85	63 (0) 62	7008	29	0	4th Class	I
98312000	12		Roseller T. Lim	Municipality	South-West	Coastal	43,575	43,646	300.00	115.83	63 (0) 62	7002	26	0	3rd Class	II
98313000	13	12/28/1956	Siay	Municipality	Center	Coastal	40,585	41,572	313.66	121.10	63 (0) 62	7006	29	0	4th Class	II
98314000	14	11/11/1977	Talusan	Municipality	Olutanga Island-Middle	Coastal	27,873	29,969	58.16	22.46	63 (0) 62	7012	14	14	5th Class	I
98315000	15	5/24/1959	Titay	Municipality	Center	Inland	53,994	49,673	350.44	135.31	63 (0) 62	7003	30	0	5th Class	II
98316000	16	5/24/1960	Tungawan	Municipality	South-West Most	Coastal	46,497	42,030	473.28	182.73	63 (0) 62	7018	25	0	2nd Class	II
							Pop.(2020):	Pop.(2015):	Area (sq. km.):	Area (sq. mi.):			Barangays:	Island Bry:
						Totals:	669,840	633,129	3,607.75	1,392.97			389	52

Overview of provincial information about the province of Zamboanga Sibugay