Also known as: Lalawigan ng Hilagang Samar
Northern Samar is a province in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). Population 646K (PSA 2024 census), 0 cities + 24 municipalities, 569 barangays total, land area 3,694.96 km². Provincial capital: Catarman.
Northern Samar is a province in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). Its capital is Catarman.
Northern Samar had 645,789 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.
Northern Samar covers 3,694.96 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Northern Samar has 0 component cities and 24 municipalities (24 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 569 barangays.
Northern Samar has no component cities. Its 24 municipalities are Allen, Biri, Bobon, Capul, Catarman, Catubig, Gamay, Laoang, Lapinig, Las Navas, Lavezares, Lope De Vega, Mapanas, Mondragon, Palapag, Pambujan, Rosario, San Antonio, San Isidro, San Jose, San Roque, San Vicente, Silvino Lobos and Victoria.
Northern Samar, Samar, and Eastern Samar all descend from a single undivided 'Samar' province, split by Republic Act No. 4221 — approved June 19, 1965, ratified by a province-wide plebiscite on November 9, 1965 (89.42% yes), taking legal effect January 1, 1968. Northern Samar's original 1965 roster listed 17 municipalities; 7 more have been created since to reach today's 24. Balangiga, site of the well-known 1901 Philippine-American War encounter, is listed under Eastern Samar's roster, not this province's.
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, coconut/copra, abaca), Small-scale and traditional fishing, Tourism (Biri Rock Formations), Agri-fishery modernization (2024-2030 Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Plan)
Northern Samar was included in the 2013 state-of-calamity declaration during Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, but was not the storm's epicenter of destruction — that was Eastern Samar and Leyte. More recently, Super Typhoon Uwan/Fung-wong placed the province under a state of calamity in 2025, displacing roughly 49,327 families. On the tourism side, the Biri Rock Formations — seven wave-carved formations shaped over 15 to 20 million years — were declared a national geological monument on June 4, 2025, and the province has since launched a bid for UNESCO Global Geopark status, which would make it the Philippines' second after Bohol (2023).
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, coconut/copra, abaca), Small-scale and traditional fishing, Tourism (Biri Rock Formations), Agri-fishery modernization (2024-2030 Provincial Agriculture and Fishery Modernization Plan)
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 recovering from a 2025 typhoon-driven state of calamity while simultaneously pursuing a UNESCO Global Geopark bid for a newly-designated national monument is exactly the kind of dual disaster-recovery-and-development-opportunity tracking a live cross-LGU dashboard is built to support.
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