Mindanao

Mindanao is the second largest and southernmost major island in the Philippines. It is also the name of one of the three island groups in the country (the other two being Luzon and the Visayas), consisting of the island of Mindanao and smaller outlying islands. Davao City is the largest city in Mindanao. As of the 2010 census, the island's population itself is 20,281,545 people, while the Mindanao island group has 21,968,174 inhabitants. Davao City is the most populous in Mindanao as 1,632,991 population, and the 2nd is Zamboanga City as 861,799 population, the 3rd is Cagayan de Oro City as 675,950 population, and followed by General Santos City as 594,446 population as of 2015 census.

Parts of south-western Mindanao island group, particularly the provinces of Maguidanao, Basilan Lanao del Sur Sulu, and Tawi - Tawi (part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)), are home to a sizeable Muslim population, making the island group, along withPalawan, the only area of the Philippines with a significant Muslim presence. The island has seen a communist insurgency as well as armed Moro separatist movements.

Mindanao is considered the food basket of the Philippines. Eight of the top 10 agri-commodities exported from the Philippines come from here.

Culture

Mindanao is the most culturally diverse island in the Philippines where people of different languages, tribes and races meet. As the Moro and Lumad alliance provided an effective resistance to Spanish rule, Mindanao became a melting pot of different cultures, it creates a more distinct culture which is not present in other island groups in the country. Mindanao has been the seat of three great Sultanates namely the 

Sultanate of Sulu, the Sultanate of Lanao and the Sultanate of Maguindanao, a Rajahnate (The Rajahnate Butuan) along with the most hispanized city in Asia, the strategic Zamboanga City (A city that speaks Chavacano, a Spanish creole). A considerable number of Buddhist and Taoist temples and the indigenous tribes known as Lumad People which makes it more diverse.