South Ubian

South Ubian, officially the Municipality of South Ubian (Tagalog: Bayan ng Timog Ubian), is a municipality in the province of Tawi-Tawi, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 29,583 people.^[5]

South Ubian اوبيان سلتن
Municipality
Municipality of South Ubian
Flag Seal
Map of Tawi-Tawi with South Ubian highlighted
OpenStreetMap
South Ubian Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 5°11′N 120°29′E
Country	Philippines
Region	Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
Province	Tawi-Tawi
District	Lone district
Barangays	31 (see Barangays)
Government  [1]
• Type	Sangguniang Bayan
• Mayor	Hadzri H. Matba
• Vice Mayor	Abdel-Aziz A. Halun
• Representative	Dimszar M. Sali
• Municipal Council	Members Rudy Mar T. Shun Mohammadjan N. Sarajan III Kasuwagi G. Tani Nurmudzrin U. Hashim Meriba K. Sandag Adzter B. Tani Alyasier A. Escandar Munar Khan S. Maming
• Electorate	15,199 voters (2025)
Area [2]
• Total	272.04 km2 (105.04 sq mi)
Elevation	2.0 m (6.6 ft)
Highest elevation	490 m (1,610 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2024 census)[3]
• Total	31,942
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
• Households	5,382
Economy
• Income class	3rd municipal income class
• Poverty incidence	43.48 % (2021)[4]
• Revenue	₱ 204.7 million (2022)
• Assets	₱ 88.96 million (2022)
• Expenditure	₱ 216.6 million (2022)
• Liabilities	₱ 28.04 million (2022)
Service provider
• Electricity	Tawi Tawi Electric Cooperative (TAWELCO)
Time zone	UTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code	7504
PSGC	1907006000
IDD : area code	+63 (0)68
Native languages	Sama Tagalog
Website	www.southubian.gov.ph

The municipality is home to the sacred island-village of Tabawan, which is currently being enlisted by the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines in the country's tentative list for future UNESCO World Heritage Site inscription.^[6]

A number of tangible and intangible properties in the municipality, mostly in Tabawan, was declared by Ordinance No. 14-2020, effectively protecting these cultural heritage or "pusaka’ kambo’an" in the Sama language. Properties protected include numerous ancestral heritage houses in Tabawan as well as numerous cultural practices of intangible heritage.^[7][8][9]

Geography

Barangays

South Ubian is politically subdivided into 31 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

• Babagan
• Bengkol
• Bintawlan
• Boheh
• Bubuan
• Bunay Bunay Tong
• Bunay Bunay Lookan
• Bunay Bunay Center
• Lahad Dampong
• East Talisay
• Laitan
• Lambi-lambian
• Laud
• Likud Dampong
• Likud Egang
• Nunuk
• Nusa-nusa
• Nusa
• Pampang
• Putat
• Sollogan
• Tampakan Dampong
• Tangngah
• Tinda-tindahan
• Tong Tampakan
• Tubig Dayang Center
• Tubig Dayang Riverside
• Tubig Dayang
• Tukkai
• West Talisay
• Unas-unas

Climate

Climate data for South Ubian, Tawi-Tawi
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	29 (84)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	30 (86)	30 (86)	30 (86)	29 (84)	29 (84)	30 (85)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	25 (77)	24 (75)	24 (75)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)	25 (77)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	157 (6.2)	115 (4.5)	123 (4.8)	96 (3.8)	136 (5.4)	120 (4.7)	104 (4.1)	89 (3.5)	86 (3.4)	131 (5.2)	151 (5.9)	159 (6.3)	1,467 (57.8)
Average rainy days	20.4	17.5	20.4	21.1	26.7	25.7	26.0	24.5	24.0	27.7	26.3	24.7	285
Source: Meteoblue[10]

Demographics

Population census of South Ubian

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1903	6,410	—
1918	8,944	+2.25%
1939	8,052	−0.50%
1948	10,286	+2.76%
1960	11,308	+0.79%
1970	12,749	+1.21%
1975	16,241	+4.97%
1980	17,356	+1.34%
1990	19,191	+1.01%
1995	20,180	+0.95%
2000	27,301	+6.69%
2007	32,986	+2.64%
2010	27,741	−6.11%
2015	25,935	−1.27%
2020	29,583	+2.81%
2024	31,942	+1.86%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[11][12][13][14][15]

Economy

Poverty Incidence of South Ubian

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 2000 69.36 2003 53.91 2006 43.70 2009 36.36 2012 27.94 2015 25.27 2018 16.43 2021 43.48 Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]