Basilan

Basilan is an island province of the Philippines mostly located within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), except its capital, Isabela City, which is administered as part of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region. Basilan is located just off the southern coast of Zamboanga Peninsula. Basilan is the biggest and northernmost among the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago. Basilan, although classified as a 4th-Class Province in terms of gross provincial income, is the only Province within the ARMM included in the Philippines' bottom 20 "Least-Poor" Provinces, having consistently shown one of the lowest incidences of poverty at only 26.19% of the general population, ranked 61 among the Philippines' 81 Provinces (in comparison, Sulu which is ranked first has a poverty incidence of 63.24%). More important, the gap between Basilan's rich and poor residents is among the narrowest in the country (ranked 3rd nationwide), pointing to one of the most equitable distributions of wealth anywhere in the country. Nationally, Basilan is 8th from the top (98.03%-2001; 98.7%-1999 at no. 7; 93.4%-1998 at no. 29) on the percentage of families with members of 18 years old and over gainfully employed. Basilan is likewise ranked no. 27 (88.17%; 2001) for percentage of families with head gainfully employed (down from no. 7 spot in 1999 at 98.7%; and no. 20 in 1998 at 93.40%).