Also known as: Lalawigan ng Basilan
Basilan is a province in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Population 542K (PSA 2024 census), 1 city + 11 municipalities, 210 barangays total, land area 3,453.42 km². Provincial capital: Lamitan City.
Basilan is a province in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Its capital is Lamitan City.
Basilan had 541,947 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.
Basilan covers 3,453.42 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Basilan has 1 component city and 11 municipalities (12 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 210 barangays. PSA lists Isabela City separately, under Region IX. By law (RA 9023) it is also a component city of Basilan, which would make two.
Basilan's 1 component city is Lamitan City. Its 11 municipalities are Akbar, Al-Barka, Hadji Mohammad Ajul, Hadji Muhtamad, Lantawan, Maluso, Sumisip, Tabuan-Lasa, Tipo-Tipo, Tuburan and Ungkaya Pukan.
Basilan's provincial-city split traces back further than the modern autonomous-region era: Presidential Decree No. 356, issued December 27, 1973, carved Basilan out of Zamboanga del Sur as a whole-island province, but specifically excluded the poblacion of the then-Municipality of Isabela, designating it a separate city. Isabela City today is legally a component city of Basilan, yet is administratively grouped under Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula) for regional and statistical purposes, since its electorate voted against joining both the expanded ARMM in 2001 and BARMM in a 2019 ratification plebiscite.
Key industries: Rubber (3rd-highest producing province nationally, 2023), Coconut, Fishing and seaweed aquaculture
The Yakan people are the province's most closely associated Indigenous group, renowned for Tennun, a backstrap-loom weaving tradition; Lamitan-born weaver Ambalang Ausalin was named a National Living Treasure in 2016 for her mastery of the craft's most difficult designs. On the economic development side, the province approved two new ten-year industry roadmaps in June 2026 alone: one for rubber, its third-highest-producing province nationally, and a companion roadmap specifically supporting Yakan weavers.
Key industries: Rubber (3rd-highest producing province nationally, 2023), Coconut, Fishing and seaweed aquaculture
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.
A province with an unusual, legally distinctive relationship to a neighboring city, and two brand-new industry development roadmaps launched in the same month, is a strong example of the kind of governance and development complexity a live cross-LGU dashboard is built to help a PPDO track clearly.
With two new ten-year industry roadmaps just approved and CLUP formulation still at an early stage, Basilan's PPDO has real momentum worth tracking properly. A Nova Gov pilot brings it all into one view across all 12 LGUs.
Start a Basilan pilot →We build custom software around CLUP, CDP and zoning work, for LGU planning offices and for the planning firms LGUs hire. Free 30-minute workflow call, then a fixed written quote.
See what we build for urban planners →