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Location and Boundaries

• Located at the midsection of the country or at the southern tip of Luzon.
• Lies within coordinates 122 to 124.5 degrees longitude and 12 to 14.5 degrees latitude.
• Bounded northwest by Quezon Province, east by the Pacific Ocean, southeast by Samar Sea, and southwest by Sibuyan Sea.
• Composed of 4 mainland provinces (Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, and Sorsogon) and 2 island provinces (Catanduanes and Masbate). 
• Composed of 7 cities, 107 municipalities, and 3,471 barangays. 
• Divided into 14 congressional districts.
• Fifty (50) percent agricultural land; 30 percent grassland; 13 percent forestland; 5 percent wetland; and 2 percent miscellaneous uses.
  
  
  •  Ranges from slightly undulating to rolling and from hilly to mountainous 
  •  Highest elevation: Mayon Volcano at 2,462 meters above sea level 
  • Climate: Type II (Catanduanes and Camarines Norte) characterized by the absence of dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain period in December and January; Type III (Masbate and Albay) characterized by no pronounced maximum rain period with a short dry season; Type IV (Camarines Sur and Sorsogon) characterized by evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year.
  • Regional population is six (6) percent of the country’s total population 
  • Annual population growth rate of the region is considered as very rapid growth; population is expected to double in 41 years 
  • Bicol has a high age dependency ratio of 75 percent, which implies a great burden to satisfy food and other basic needs 
  • Seventy-two (72) percent of the population in Bicol resides in rural areas.
  • In terms of education, only Masbate is classified under “low” level with an index of 0.490; the rest of the provinces are all classified under “medium” level with indices ranging from 0.572 to 0.623.
  • All the provinces are classified under “low” level in terms of income, with indices ranging from 0.173 to 0.327.
  • In terms of the overall HDI, only Masbate is classified as “low”, ranking 73^rd among all the provinces in the country; the rest of the provinces are classified as “medium”, with HDIs ranging from 0.525 to 0.558 and corresponding ranks ranging from 34^th to 50^th.
  • Camarines Norte and Masbate have per capita income rank above their overall HDI rank, indicating that people in these two provinces have not been able to productively use their income to improve their health, education, and overall human development.

Political Subdivisions 

                 Province:

                        1. Albay 

                        2. Camarines Norte

                        3. Camarines Sur

                        4. Catanduanes 

                        5. Masbate 

                        6. Sorsogon 

                      Cities:

                        1. Legazpi City 

                        2. Ligao City 

                        3. Tabaco City 

                        4. Iriga City

                        5. Naga City 

                        6. Masbate City 

                        7. Sorsogon City

Number of Congressional Districts, Cities, 
Municipalities, and Barangays, by Province, Bicol Region

Source: National Statistical Coordination Board 

Land Use

Topography and Climate

Demography

For more information visit the Bicol Region website.