Also known as: Lalawigan ng Sorsogon
Sorsogon is a province in Region V (Bicol Region). Population 845K (PSA 2024 census), 1 city + 14 municipalities, 541 barangays total, land area 2,119.01 km². Provincial capital: Sorsogon City.
Sorsogon is a province in Region V (Bicol Region). Its capital is Sorsogon City.
Sorsogon had 845,066 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.
Sorsogon covers 2,119.01 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Sorsogon has 1 component city and 14 municipalities (15 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 541 barangays.
Sorsogon's 1 component city is Sorsogon City. Its 14 municipalities are Barcelona, Bulan, Bulusan, Casiguran, Castilla, Donsol, Gubat, Irosin, Juban, Magallanes, Matnog, Pilar, Prieto Diaz and Santa Magdalena.
Sorsogon's most distinctive land-use asset is Donsol, one of the Philippines' best-documented ecotourism sites: WWF Philippines has photo-identified 771 individual whale sharks (butanding) visiting Donsol's waters since 2007, with 55 sightings and 24 newly-identified animals in the 2025 season alone, under a strict interaction protocol. Donsol's own tourism officer credits the industry with lifting the municipality from third-class to first-class status.
Key industries: Whale shark ecotourism (Donsol), Coconut, Fishing, Abaca (historical, with an active revival effort)
The province achieved a genuinely unusual planning milestone in June 2024, when DILG and DHSUD jointly certified every one of its 15 LGUs for updated CLUPs and Zoning Ordinances in a single ceremony. Bulusan Volcano Natural Park, a 3,673-hectare protected area spanning five municipalities, adds a second major conservation-planning layer. Sorsogon also sits in one of the most cyclone-exposed parts of the Bicol Region — Typhoon Kammuri made its first Philippine landfall at Gubat, Sorsogon in December 2019.
Key industries: Whale shark ecotourism (Donsol), Coconut, Fishing, Abaca (historical, with an active revival effort)
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 that just achieved full CLUP/ZO currency across all 15 of its LGUs in one certification round — while also running one of the country's most tightly-monitored ecotourism programs and sitting in a high cyclone-exposure zone — is a strong proof case for a platform built to keep that kind of multi-LGU status current going forward, not just document a one-time milestone.
All 15 Sorsogon LGUs just achieved CLUP/ZO currency together in June 2024 -- the hard part now is keeping that status current as each plan comes up for its next review. A Nova Gov pilot handles that upkeep automatically.
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