Samar (province)

Samar province shown in red within the map of Philippines.

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Samar or the Province of Samar, is a province of Philippines. It is part of the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan. It's next to Northern Samar, Eastern Samar, Leyte, and Leyte Gulf, including islands in the Samar Sea. A bridge known as the San Juanico Bridge connects Samar and Leyte. Samar was created from the historical province of Samar in 1768.

The word Samar is thought to come from the Visayan word "Samad," meaning "wound" or "cut," describing the rough and deeply carved landscape.

Location

Samar province is on Samar Island in the Eastern Visayas region, covering an area of 6,048.03 square kilometers. It is surrounded by Northern Samar to the north, Eastern Samar to the east, Leyte and Leyte Gulf to the south, and the Samar Sea to the west.

Demographics

Catbalogan, the provincial capital of Samar.

In 2020, Samar province had a population of 793,183 people, with 130 inhabitants per square kilometer or 340 inhabitants per square mile.

Most people in Samar are Roman Catholic (95%). There are also smaller number of other Christians and Muslims. There are a few mosques in Samar too.

The main language spoken in Samar is Waray, spoken by 90.2% of the population. Other languages include Cebuano (9.8%), Boholano (8.1%), Tagalog (0.07%), and various other languages (0.5%). Waray has two types: Waray Lineyte-Samarnon spoken in the southern part and Waray Calbayog spoken in some northern areas.