Also known as: Lalawigan ng La Union
La Union is a province in Region I (Ilocos Region). Population 825K (PSA 2024 census), 1 city + 19 municipalities, 576 barangays total, land area 1,493.09 km². Provincial capital: San Fernando City.
La Union is a province in Region I (Ilocos Region). Its capital is San Fernando City.
La Union had 825,072 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.
La Union covers 1,493.09 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
La Union has 1 component city and 19 municipalities (20 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 576 barangays.
La Union's 1 component city is San Fernando City. Its 19 municipalities are Agoo, Aringay, Bacnotan, Bagulin, Balaoan, Bangar, Bauang, Burgos, Caba, Luna, Naguilian, Pugo, Rosario, San Gabriel, San Juan, Santo Tomas, Santol, Sudipen and Tubao.
La Union was founded in 1850 by Spanish decree, uniting towns from southern Ilocos Sur and northern Pangasinan into a single province — explaining its name, 'the union.' San Fernando City holds an unusual dual role: it's both La Union's provincial capital and the designated regional center of the entire Ilocos Region.
Key industries: Surfing tourism (San Juan, the 'Surfing Capital of the North'), Rice, Virginia and Burley tobacco, Fishing
The province's most distinctive current land-use story is San Juan's rise as a surf-tourism destination, a real economic shift documented alongside genuine shoreline erosion along its coastline. La Union also holds a pioneering, if now diminished, role in Philippine viticulture: grape farming in Bauang began in 1972, eventually spawning around 50 family vineyards — though more recent reporting points to the industry's decline rather than continued growth.
Key industries: Surfing tourism (San Juan, the 'Surfing Capital of the North'), Rice, Virginia and Burley tobacco, Fishing
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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