Also known as: Lalawigan ng Sulu
Sulu is a province in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula). Population 1.15M (PSA 2024 census), 0 cities + 19 municipalities, 410 barangays total, land area 4,547.16 km². Provincial capital: Jolo.
Sulu is a province in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula). Its capital is Jolo.
Sulu had 1,146,097 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.
Sulu covers 4,547.16 km², per the PSA Philippine Statistical Yearbook figure used on this page.
Sulu has 0 component cities and 19 municipalities (19 LGUs under the province), per PSA's Philippine Standard Geographic Code (2Q 2026), and 410 barangays.
Sulu has no component cities. Its 19 municipalities are Hadji Panglima Tahil, Indanan, Jolo, Kalingalan Caluang, Lugus, Luuk, Maimbung, Old Panamao, Omar, Pandami, Panglima Estino, Pangutaran, Parang, Pata, Patikul, Siasi, Talipao, Tapul and Tongkil.
Sulu is an archipelago of more than 400 islands and islets with no chartered city — its Provincial Planning and Development Office works directly with all 19 municipalities, capital Jolo included.
The province's regional affiliation changed twice in recent years: Sulu voted against ratifying the Bangsamoro Organic Law in the January 2019 plebiscite (163,526 to 137,630) but was initially included in the newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) because the old ARMM had been treated as a single voting bloc. Sulu's own petition challenging that inclusion reached the Supreme Court, which ruled En Banc on September 9, 2024 (G.R. No. 242255) that including a province which voted against ratification violated the Constitution's plebiscite requirement; the ruling became final in November 2024. Executive Order No. 91 (s. 2025), signed July 30, 2025, formally placed Sulu under Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula), and PSA has since updated Sulu's PSGC region code accordingly.
Key industries: Seaweed farming (3rd-largest producing province nationally), Coconut farming, Fishing
BARMM's planning ministry continued CLUP-formulation support for Sulu's municipalities into the transition, including an August 2025 training workshop. The province's economy centers on seaweed farming — roughly 16% of the Philippines' national harvest — alongside coconut production in 17 of its 19 municipalities.
Key industries: Seaweed farming (3rd-largest producing province nationally), Coconut farming, 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.
Sulu's transfer from BARMM to Region IX in 2025 — with 19 municipalities and no chartered city, an existing base of BARMM-led CLUP formulation work, and no confirmed provincial PDPFP or SGLG record found in Nova Gov's research — is close to a greenfield coordination case for a planning dashboard, and one where getting the current region right matters more than usual given how recently it changed.
Sulu's 19 municipalities are still in the CLUP-formulation stage, and the province's 2025 move to Region IX means provincial planning coordination is being rebuilt. A Nova Gov pilot gives the PPDO a single tracking baseline from day one instead of retrofitting one later.
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