Also known as: Lalawigan ng Davao Occidental
Davao Occidental is a province in Region XI (Davao Region). Population 318K (PSA 2024 census), 0 cities + 5 municipalities, 105 barangays total, land area 2,163.45 km². Provincial capital: Malita.
Davao Occidental is a province in Region XI (Davao Region). Its capital is Malita.
Davao Occidental had 317,598 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.
Davao Occidental covers 2,163.45 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Davao Occidental has 0 component cities and 5 municipalities (5 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 105 barangays.
Davao Occidental has no component cities. Its 5 municipalities are Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Malita, Santa Maria and Sarangani.
Davao Occidental is the newest province in the Davao Region, created January 14, 2013 by Republic Act No. 10360, carving five municipalities out of Davao del Sur's second congressional district; the enabling bill's sponsor cited the district's distance from Digos, the parent province's capital, as impairing basic service delivery. A plebiscite that October ratified the split with 76.57% in favor.
Key industries: Fishing and marine aquaculture, Agriculture (rice, corn, coconut, abaca), Tourism (Sarangani Islands)
The province's Municipality of Sarangani is a frequent source of confusion: it is not the separate, larger Sarangani province in SOCCSKSARGEN, but a distinct municipality created in 1978 that holds the actual Sarangani Islands, with its seat of government on Balut Island itself. The province's population has been nearly flat since 2020, growing by only 439 people through the 2024 census. On July 15, 2026, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Balut Island, damaging homes in Jose Abad Santos and triggering landslides that forced evacuations.
Key industries: Fishing and marine aquaculture, Agriculture (rice, corn, coconut, abaca), Tourism (Sarangani Islands)
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 young province -- created in 2013 specifically to solve a distance-from-capital service-delivery problem -- that experienced a real earthquake just months before this page was written is a direct example of the kind of current disaster-response coordination a live cross-LGU dashboard is built to support.
Months after a real magnitude-6.3 earthquake near Balut Island, Davao Occidental's PPDO has current disaster-response needs alongside its everyday CLUP and SGLG tracking. A Nova Gov pilot brings both into one view across all 5 municipalities.
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