PANGASINAN PROFILE

HISTORY

Pangasinan was among the earliest political and administrative units in the Philippines. It was
officially conquered and colonized by D. Martin de Goite in 1571. On April 5, 1572, Pangasinan
was made an encomienda by the Spanish royal crown to receive instructions on the Catholic
faith, which means that Pangasinan was organized under one leadership and has identity
before the Spanish royal court. Eight years later, in 1580, Pangasinan was organized into a
political unit under an alkalde mayor who at that time has authority as head of province or
provincial government with judicial function indicating that Pangasinan has become a province.
To commemorate the day when Pangasinan became an encomienda and the year it became a
province, Pangasinan celebrates April 5, 1580 as the official founding day of the province of
Pangasinan. At that time, its territorial jurisdiction included the province of Zambales and parts
of La Union and Tarlac. By the middle of the 19th century however, the northern towns of Agoo
to Bacnotan were separated from the province and became parts of La Union. The provincial
territory was further diminished in 1875 with the annexation of Paniqui and other towns south of
it to Tarlac. The province has derived its name from the word “panag-asinan”, which figuratively
means “where salt is made”, owing to the rich and fine salt beds which were the prior source of
livelihood of the province’s coastal towns.
GEOGRAPHIC PROFILE
It is located on the northwest portion of the Central Plains of Luzon and is bounded in the north
by Lingayen Gulf, La Union and Benguet, in the northeast by Nueva Viscaya, in the east by
Nueva Ecija, Tarlac in the south and Zambales and China Sea in the west.
It is approximately 170 kms. from Manila and it takes about four hours to reach Pangasinan by
bus, passing through the Manila North Road or through Tarlac via the Romulo Highway or the
Olongapo-Alaminos-Bugallon road via Zambales and ppassing through Tarclac-Pangasinan-La
Union Expressway (TPLEX) via Subic Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). Aircon and ordinary
buses ply the route 24 hours daily. It has extensive road network strategically located at the
crossroads of a national road network interlinked with other regions and has the highest share in
the total regional road length. Due to its accessibility, it is known as “gateway of opportunities” to
the north as the province situates big commercial and financial centers for commerce and trade
industries.

The province has a total land area of 545,101 hectares, which constitute almost one-half
(41.8%) of the total land area of the region (1,301,260 has.) and 1.6% of the total Philippine
area ( 34,344,832 has.). It is comprised of 44 municipalities, 4 cities, and 1,364 barangays. It
has 6 Congressional Districts with Lingayen as the Provincial Capital.
It is rich with innumerable natural and man-made attractions and offers tremendous
opportunities appropriate for tourist and prospective investors. It is a place of most exciting
wonders of nature in Hundred Islands, and many other natural attractions such as waterfalls, hot
springs and hidden bays that nature lovers surely enjoy. It is also known as land of miracle
because of the presence of many spiritual land marks like the Minor Basilica of our Lady
Manaoag, Señor Divino Tesoro in Calasiao and the historic churches in Bolinao and San
Fabian, among others.
The province’s land area comprises the alienable and disposable land and the forest lands. The
existing land use of the province is dominated by agriculture, which is mostly located in the
Central and Eastern part and the coastal areas of Western Pangasinan.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE

Based from the 2015 Census of Population, Pangasinan has a population of 2,956,726
accounting for more than one-half of the total regional population. It is the fourth (4th)
most populous province in the country, growing at an average rate of 1.18% person
annually from 2010 – 2015. With a projected population (2016) of 2,991,849, the
computed population density is 549 persons per square kilometer of land, higher than
the regional and national density of 391 and 299 persons per square kilometer,
respectively.

Among the 48 cities and municipalities, San Carlos City has the largest population with
188,571 persons, followed by Dagupan City (171,271), Urdaneta City (132,940) and the
Municipalities of Malasiqui (130,275) and Bayambang (118,205). On the other hand, the
Municipality of Sto.Tomas is the least populated area, based on the 2015 Census of
Population.
CENSUS OF POPULATION BY CITY/MUNICIPALITY/DISTRICT
PROVINCE OF PANGASINAN
CY 2000, 2007, 2010, 2015