Administrative divisions of the Philippines

The Philippines is divided into four levels of administrative divisions, with the lower three being defined in the Local Government Code of 1991 as local government units (LGUs). They are, from highest to lowest:

Regions (Filipino: rehiyon), which are primarily used to organize national services. Of the 18 regions, only one—the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao—has an elected government to which the national government has devolved powers.

Provinces (Filipino: lalawigan or probinsya), 82 in total, independent cities (Filipino: malayang lungsod or siyudad), 38 in total and one independent municipality (Pateros)

Component cities (Filipino: nakapaloob na lungsod or siyudad), 149 in total and municipalities (Filipino: bayan or munisipalidad), 1,493 in total

Barangays (formerly known as, and sometimes still referred to as, barrios) within a city or municipality, 42,010 in total

Other divisions also exist for specific purposes, such as:

Geographic island groups;

Local administrative districts used by some local governments;

Judicial regions for regional trial courts;

Legislative districts for the election of representatives at the national, regional, and local levels;

A special geographic area for the administration of Bangsamoro territory in Cotabato; and

Special-purpose districts established for various government agencies.

Administrative divisions

Regions

Administrative regions

Administrative regions are groupings of geographically adjacent LGUs that are established, disestablished, and modified by the president of the Philippines based on the need to more coherently make economic development policies and coordinate the provision of national government services within a larger area beyond the province level. No plebiscites have been conducted so far to democratically confirm the creation, abolition, or alteration of the boundaries of regular administrative regions, as the Constitution does not mandate it.

An administrative region is not a local government unit (LGU), but rather a group of LGUs to which the president has provided an unelected policy-making and coordinating structure, called the Regional Development Council (RDC). Metro Manila, formally the National Capital Region, is recognized by law as a "special development and administrative region", and was thus given a metropolitan authority; the Metro Manila Council within the MMDA serves as the region's RDC.

Administrative regions are composed of provinces and/or independent cities, or, in the case of Pateros, an independent municipality, or, in the case of Isabela City, a component city. The Philippine Statistics Authority further divides the LGUs of Metro Manila into four numbered geographic districts for statistical purposes.

Autonomous regions

The 1987 Constitution allows for the creation of autonomous regions in the Cordillera Central of Luzon and in the Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao.