Central Luzon

Central Luzon (Filipino: Gitnáng Luzon; Kapampangan: Kalibudtarang Luzon; Pangasinan: Pegley na Luzon; Ilocano: Tengnga ti Luzon; designated as Region III or Region 3), is central part of Luzon, The region has the largest plain in the country and produces most of the country's rice supply. Its provinces are Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.^[4]

Central Luzon Gitnang Luzon Tengnga ti Luzon Kalibudtarang Luzon Pegley na Luzon Region III
Region
From top, upper-left to lower-right: Baler Bay, Sierra Madre, Angeles City, and Pinatubo Crater Lake
Nickname:  Rice Granary of the Philippines[1]
Location in the Philippines
OpenStreetMap
Coordinates: 15°28′N 120°45′E
Country	Philippines
Island group	Luzon
Regional center	San Fernando (Pampanga)[2]
Largest city	San Jose del Monte
Area
• Total	22,014.63 km2 (8,499.90 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Mount Tapulao)	2,037 m (6,683 ft)
Population  (2020 census)
• Total	12,422,172
• Density	560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Human Development Index
• HDI (2019)	0.732[3] high · 4th
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ISO 3166 code	PH-03
Provinces	7 Aurora Bataan Bulacan Nueva Ecija Pampanga Tarlac Zambales
Cities	15 Angeles City Balanga Cabanatuan Gapan Mabalacat Malolos Meycauayan Muñoz Olongapo Palayan San Fernando San Jose San Jose del Monte Tarlac City
Municipalities	115
Barangays	3,102
Cong. districts	20
Languages	Kapampangan Pangasinan Bulacan Tagalog Tayabas Tagalog Sambal Ilocano English others

Overview

Central Luzon Region is north of Manila, the nation's capital. To the north are Ilocos, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley. To the south are the National Capital Region, CALABARZON and Manila Bay. To the west is the South China Sea. To the east is the Philippine Sea.^[5]

Angeles City is a highly class urbanized city in Central Luzon.

There are fourteen cities which include: Balanga in Bataan; Malolos, Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; Cabanatuan, Gapan, Muñoz, Palayan and San Jose in Nueva Ecija; Angeles City, Mabalacat and San Fernando in Pampanga; Tarlac City in Tarlac; and Olongapo in Zambales. Central Luzon produces the most rice in the whole country. Excess rice is delivered and imported to other provinces of the Philippines.^[6]

The City of San Fernando, in Pampanga, is the regional center.

Aurora was transferred from Region IV by Executive Order No. 103.^[7]

Religion

In 2000, 86.9% of the population of Central Luzon was Roman Catholic.^[8] Other religions include Iglesia Ni Cristo, Aglipayan, Evangelicals, United Methodist, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventist and United Church of Christ in the Philippines.^[8] In addition there are smaller numbers of other religions.^[8]

Political divisions

Further information: List of provinces of Luzon

Political map of Central Luzon

Central Luzon has 7 provinces, 14 cities, 116 municipalities, and 3,102 barangays.^[9]

Central Luzon has fourteen cities. San Jose del Monte is the city with the most population. Meycauayan is the most densely populated city in the region. Tarlac City is the largest based on land area.

Lungsod	Populasyon (2015)[10]	Lawak[11]		Kapal ng populasyon		Uri ng lungsod	Kaurian sa kita	Lalawigan
		km2	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
Angeles	411,634	60.27	23.27	6,800	18,000	Mataas na Urbanisado	Una	Pampanga
Balanga	96,061	111.63	43.10	860	2,200	Nakapaloob	Ika-apat	Bataan
Cabanatuan	302,231	192.29	74.24	1,600	4,100	Nakapaloob	Una	Nueva Ecija
Gapan	110,303	164.44	63.49	670	1,700	Nakapaloob	Ika-apat	Nueva Ecija
Mabalacat	250,799	83.18	32.12	3,000	7,800	Nakapaloob	Una	Pampanga
Malolos	252,074	67.25	25.97	3,700	9,600	Nakapaloob	Una	Bulacan
Meycauayan	209,083	32.10	12.39	6,500	17,000	Nakapaloob	Una	Bulacan
Muñoz	81,483	163.05	62.95	500	1,300	Nakapaloob	Ika-apat	Nueva Ecija
Olongapo	233,040	185.00	71.43	1,300	3,400	Mataas na Urbanisado	Una	Zambales
Palayan	41,041	101.40	39.15	400	1,000	Nakapaloob	Ikalima	Nueva Ecija
† San Fernando	306,659	67.74	26.15	4,500	12,000	Nakapaloob	Una	Pampanga
San Jose	139,738	185.99	71.81	750	1,900	Nakapaloob	Ikalawa	Nueva Ecija
San Jose del Monte	574,089	105.53	40.75	5,400	14,000	Nakapaloob	Una	Bulacan
Lungsod ng Tarlac	342,493	274.66	106.05	1,200	3,100	Nakapaloob	Una	Tarlac

Provinces

Province/Cities		Capital	Population (2020)[12]	Area		Density		Languages
				km²	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
Aurora		Baler	235,750	3,133.40	1,209.81	75	190	Tayabas Tagalog (Traditional Tagalog), Ilocano
Bataan		Balanga	853,373	1,372.98	530.11	620	1,600	Bataan Tagalog (Classical Tagalog), Kapampangan, Ilocano
Bulacan		Malolos	3,708,890	2,783.69	1,074.79	1,300	3,400	Bulacan Tagalog (Classical Tagalog), Kapampangan
Nueva Ecija		Palayan	2,310,134	5,689.69	2,196.80	410	1,100	Bulacan Tagalog (Classical Tagalog), Ilocano, Kapampangan, Pangasinan
Pampanga		San Fernando	2,437,709	2,001.22	772.68	1,200	3,100	Kapampangan, Tagalog
Tarlac		Tarlac City	1,503,456	3,053.60	1,179.00	490	1,300	Kapampangan, Ilocano, Pangasinan, Tagalog
Zambales		Iba	649,615	3,645.83	1,407.66	180	470	Tagalog, Ilocano, Sambal, Kapampangan, Pangasinan
Angeles City		—	462,928	60.27	23.27	7,700	20,000	Kapampangan, Tagalog
Olongapo		—	260,317	185.00	71.43	1,400	3,600	Bataan Tagalog (Classical Tagalog), Ilocano, Sambal, Kapampangan, Pangasinan

Largest cities

Largest cities or towns in {{{country}}} Source: 2020 PH Census Bureau Estimate
	Rank		Province	Pop.
San Jose del Monte Angeles	1	San Jose del Monte	Bulacan	651,813	Tarlac City San Fernando
	2	Angeles	Pampanga	462,928
	3	Tarlac City	Tarlac	385,398
	4	San Fernando	Pampanga	354,666
	5	Cabanatuan	Nueva Ecija	327,325
	6	Mabalacat	Pampanga	293,244
	7	Malolos	Bulacan	261,189
	8	Olongapo	Zambales	260,317
	9	Meycauayan	Bulacan	225,673
	10	San Jose	Nueva Ecija	150,917

Related pages

• North Luzon
• South Luzon