ALBAY - Land of the World's Most Perfect Cone

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

Mention Albay and, Mayon Volcano comes to the mind of every tourist and traveller. For the longest time, the picturesque volcano, arguably the country's most active, has become the postcard image for Albay and the entire Bicol region.

The Province of Albay is located between Camarines Sur on the north and Sorsogon on the south. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the northeast by the Lagonoy gulf, and on the west and southwest by the Burias Pass. The islands in the north under the jurisdiction of the province are Rapu-rapu, Bata, Cagraray, and San Miguel .

Albay has a land area of 2,552.6 square kilometres, consisting of 14 towns. Legazpi City is the capital of Albay Province. Its important products are hemp, coconut, sugar cane, pineapple, vegetable, and rice.

GEOGRAPHY

Located at the southern tip of Luzon Island and about 550 km. from Manila, Albay is approximately 13 to 13.5 degrees north latitude and 123.25 to 124.25 degrees east longitude. It is bounded by Lagonoy Gulf and the province of Camarines Sur on the northeast, the Pacific Ocean on the east, the province of Sorsogon on the south, and the Burias Pass on the southeast. It has a total land area of 2,552.6 km.

CLIMATE

Albay has 3 types of climate. The eastern areas experiences no dry season with a very pronounced maximum rain period from December to January, the western areas have more or less heavily distributed rainfall throughout the year and the central areas have no pronounced maximum rain period with a short dry season from November to January. The province has a yearly average of 20 typhoons ranging from 60-180 kph. Average rainfall is 233 millimetres with a lowest at 130 millimetres in April and the highest at 389 millimetres during December. Average temperature is 33.15 Celsius high and 22.60 Celsius low.

LANGUAGE

Bicol is generally spoken in Legazpi, the capital city and the primary language in Albay, being a part of the Bicol Region. The people speak  Tagalog fluently and can communicate in English with ease. Other dialects spoken include Bicolano Viejo, Daragueño, Legazpeño or Albayanon, Oasnon and others. The dialects spoken in the coastal areas of the province are similar to that spoken in Camarines Sur while those further inland are similar to each other but differs significantly from the coastal dialect.

Bikol, the local dialect, constitutes a strange variety in words and in diction among the 17 municipalities. Most puzzling is the amazing variation among towns of many words having the same meaning for one object or concept.

POPULATION

Albay has a total population of 1,190,823 as of August 2007 census.

RELIGION

The most dominant religion is Roman Catholic at 98%, other Christian groups comprise only about 1% such as Protestants, and Born Again Christians and the remaining less than 1% belongs to other non-Christian faiths.

Bicol is the one of the most secular out of the entire Philippines, as only 55% of Bicol Region inhabitants attend church weekly, compared to 68% nationwide.