| Region VII Central Visayas |
|
|---|---|
| — Region — | |
| Map of the Philippines showing the location of Region VII | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Island group | Visayas |
| Regional center | Cebu City |
| Area | |
| • Total | 15,875 km2 (6,129.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
| • Total | 6,398,628 |
| • Density | 403.1/km2 (1,043.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+8) |
| Provinces | 4 |
| Cities | 16 |
| Municipalities | 116 |
| Barangays | 3,003 |
| Cong. districts | 15 |
| Languages | Cebuano, Boholano, Porohanon, Tagalog, English |
Central Visayas, designated as Region VII, is a region of the Philippines located in the central part of the Visayas island group. It consists of four provinces—Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor— and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, and Mandaue City. The region is dominated by the native speakers of Bisaya. Cebu City is its regional center.
The land area of the region is 15,875 km². As of the 2007 census, it has a population of 6,398,628, making it the 5th most populous of the country's 17 regions.[1]
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The Central Visayas region is composed of 4 provinces and 3 independent cities:
| Province/City | Capital | Population (2000) |
Area (km²) |
Pop. density (per km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohol | Tagbilaran City | 1,137,268 | 4,117.3 | 276.2 |
| Cebu | Cebu City | 2,160,569 | 4,800.11 | 450.1 |
| Negros Oriental | Dumaguete City | 1,126,061 | 5,402.3 | 208.4 |
| Siquijor | Siquijor | 81,598 | 343.5 | 237.5 |
| Cebu City¹ | — | 718,821 | 280.2 | 2,565.4 |
| Lapu-Lapu City¹ | — | 217,019 | 64.22 | 3,379.3 |
| Mandaue City¹ | — | 259,728 | 34.87 | 7,448 |
Although Cebu City, Mandaue City and Lapu-Lapu City are often grouped under the province of Cebu for statistical purposes by the National Statistics Office, as highly urbanized cities they are administratively independent from the province.
As of the 2007 census, Central Visayas had a population of 6,398,628, making it the 5th most populous of the country's 17 regions. The population density was 403.1 people per square kilometer (6,129.4/mi²). The census showed an average annual population growth rate of 1.59% from 2000 to 2007, significantly less than the national average of 2.04%.[2]
Cebuano is the dominant language of the region. In Bohol, Cebuano is referred to as Boholano. In the Camotes Islands, which is part of Cebu, Cebuano language is spoken in the towns of Tudela, Pilar and San Francisco. Except the town of Poro, in which, Porohanon is spoken (a variation or mixture of Cebuano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo) and Masbateño language).
The Port of Cebu is the region's main gateway. There are also ports in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental, Tagbilaran in Bohol and Larena in Siquijor. Inter-island shipping is served by numerous shipping lines, two of them fastcraft companies which serve all the provinces in the region.
The Mactan-Cebu International Airport, located in Lapu-Lapu City, is the country's second busiest airport (after Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila) and the only airport in the Visayas serving international flights (aside from Kalibo International Airport). It is an airline hub of Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, PAL Express, and Air Philippines, with flights to key cities throughout the country. It also serves international flights to other Asian destinations.[3]
Other airports in the region are Sibulan Airport, serving Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental with flights to Manila and Cebu, and Tagbilaran Airport, serving Tagbilaran City and Bohol with flights to Manila.
Home to endangered pig species.
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