Also known as: Western Samar, Lalawigan ng Samar
Samar is a province in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). Population 806K (PSA 2024 census), 2 cities + 24 municipalities, 951 barangays total, land area 6,048.03 km². Provincial capital: Catbalogan City.
Samar is a province in Region VIII (Eastern Visayas). Its capital is Catbalogan City.
Samar had 806,179 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.
Samar covers 6,048.03 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Samar has 2 component cities and 24 municipalities (26 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 951 barangays.
Samar's 2 component cities are Calbayog City and Catbalogan City. Its 24 municipalities are Almagro, Basey, Calbiga, Daram, Gandara, Hinabangan, Jiabong, Marabut, Matuguinao, Motiong, Pagsanghan, Paranas, Pinabacdao, San Jorge, San Jose De Buan, San Sebastian, Santa Margarita, Santa Rita, Santo Niño, Tagapul-an, Talalora, Tarangnan, Villareal and Zumarraga.
Samar — also called Western Samar to distinguish it from neighboring Northern Samar and Eastern Samar — was part of a single undivided Samar province until 1965, when Republic Act No. 4221 split it into the three provinces that exist today. That split matters for accuracy: the Balangiga encounter of 1901, a well-known Philippine-American War event, took place in Eastern Samar, not this province, despite the shared 'Samar' name causing frequent confusion.
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, coconut, abaca), Fishing, Bamboo (Samar Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap, 2026-2036), Port trade (Port of Calbayog)
Samar's own land-use planning faces a real, DHSUD-documented gap: in February 2024, DHSUD publicly identified 10 of the province's municipalities as still lacking any CLUP, while Calbayog City has a current, DRRM-integrated CLUP covering 2023-2032. Typhoon exposure is a defining planning pressure: Samar took a direct, severe hit from Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan in 2013, and Calbayog City has since declared states of calamity after Typhoon Kristine (2024) and Tropical Storm Opong (2025). The province's 'Spark Samar' development campaign, launched in 2015, is credited with cutting poverty incidence from 43.9% to 22.1% between 2015 and 2018.
Key industries: Agriculture (rice, coconut, abaca), Fishing, Bamboo (Samar Bamboo Industry Development Roadmap, 2026-2036), Port trade (Port of Calbayog)
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 a documented, DHSUD-named CLUP gap across a third of its municipalities, recurring typhoon-driven states of calamity, and a real economic-development campaign already underway is a strong, concrete case for a live cross-LGU dashboard that can show exactly which of Samar's 26 LGUs still need CLUP support.
DHSUD has already named the 10 municipalities still without a CLUP. A Nova Gov pilot gives Samar's PPDO one place to track that gap closing, alongside typhoon-recovery status across all 26 LGUs.
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