REGIONAL PROFILE:
CENTRAL LUZON is one of the leading growth regions in the Philippines, strategically located at the heart of Asia. Region 3 lies between Ma nila and
Northern Luzon. It is comprised of seven provinces, twelve cities and 118 municipalities. Its 7 provinces are Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga,
Tarlac and Zambales. Its 12 cities are Balanga from Bataan, Malolos and San Jose Del Monte from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Gapan, Munoz, Palayan and San Jose
from Nueva Ecija; Angeles and San Fernando from Pampanga, Tarlac from Tarlac; and Olongapo from Zambales. It includes all land area north of Manila Bay from
the tip of Bataan Peninsula on the west and all the lands north of the Caraballo mountains on the east.
Central Luzon has a total land area of about 2.13 million hectares; some 1.11 million hectares (51.9 percent) are Alienable and Disposable lands while the
remaining 1.02 million hectares (49.1 percent) are forest and unclassified lands of the public dom ain. An estimated 434.3 thousands of hectares has been set aside
for agri-industrialization and food security purposes based on the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zones (SAFDZs) of the Bureau of Soils and
Water Management (BSWM) of the Department of Agriculture.
Only 66 kilometers away from Metro manila, Central Luzon contains the largest plain in the country. In fact, it produces one third of the country’s total rice
production, thus, it is known as the Rice Bowl of the Philippines or the Rice Granary of the Philippines.
According to the final results of the 2015 Census of Population (PopCen), the population of Central Luzon was recorded at 11, 218,177 persons as of August
1, 2015, higher by 1,080,440 persons from the 2010 census count of 10,137,737 persons. Among the seven (7) provinces comprising the region, Bulacan had the
biggest population recorded in 2015 with 3.29 million; followed by Pampanga with
2.20 million excluding Angeles City, Nueva Ecija with 2.15 million; Tarlac with 1.37 million; Bataan with 761 thousand and Zambales with 591,000 excluding
Olongapo City. Aurora had the smallest population with 214 thousand. Angeles City posted a population of 412 thousand while Olongapo City had a population of
233 thousand.
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