Also known as: Lalawigan ti Apayao
Apayao is a province in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Population 127K (PSA 2024 census), 0 cities + 7 municipalities, 133 barangays total, land area 4,413.35 km². Provincial capital: Kabugao.
Apayao is a province in Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR). Its capital is Kabugao.
Apayao had 126,587 residents in the 2024 census (PSA 2024 Census of Population (POPCEN 2024), reference date July 1, 2024). That is the most recent official count. There is no 2026 census result, so any 2026 population figure is an estimate.
Apayao covers 4,413.35 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Apayao has 0 component cities and 7 municipalities (7 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 133 barangays.
Apayao has no component cities. Its 7 municipalities are Calanasan, Conner, Flora, Kabugao, Luna, Pudtol and Santa Marcela.
Apayao and neighboring Kalinga were created as regular provinces together by Republic Act No. 7878, signed February 14, 1995 and taking effect after a May 8, 1995 plebiscite (96.15% in favor). Kabugao has been the province's legal capital since 1915, but the working seat of provincial government today is actually the Apayao Government Center in Luna — a de jure/de facto split the province's own website acknowledges.
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, corn, coffee, root crops, tropical fruits), Forestry and small-scale mining, Handicrafts (rattan, bamboo, marble)
On July 5, 2024, UNESCO designated the Apayao Biosphere Reserve — the fourth in the Philippines, spanning roughly 3,960 square kilometers — a recognition driven substantially by the 2015 discovery of the first confirmed active Philippine Eagle nest in Luzon. Typhoon Egay (Doksuri) placed the province under a state of calamity in July 2023, with roughly 1.2 billion pesos in total damage.
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, corn, coffee, root crops, tropical fruits), Forestry and small-scale mining, Handicrafts (rattan, bamboo, marble)
More on the regulatory framework: CLUP explainer · RA 7160 explainer · SGLG explainer · full glossary. Working a CLUP review cycle? Run the CLUP readiness self-check or see CLUP compliance monitoring.
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