# Buenavista, Guimaras

Buenavista, officially the Municipality of Buenavista (Hiligaynon: Banwa sang Buenavista; Tagalog: Bayan ng Buenavista), is a municipality and the largest settlement in the province of Guimaras, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,899 people.

## History

Buenavista is the oldest municipality on Guimaras. It was established in 1775, during the Spanish colonial period. A Spanish governor general was reputedly impressed by the scenery of the location, and called the place Buenavista, Spanish for "beautiful view".
Santo Rosario was formerly known as Baybay, while Salvacion's old name was Ambulong, and furthermore Old Poblacion's name was Daan Banwa.

## Geography

Buenavista is located at the northern tip of Guimaras Island. The northern and north-west part of the town overlooks Panay and the north-east portion faces Negros. Iloilo Strait lies between the town and Panay, and Guimaras Strait lies between the town and Negros. Buenavista is 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Jordan. Buenavista is a part of the Metro Iloilo–Guimaras area, centered on Iloilo City.
MacArthur's Wharf serves as the municipal wharf for Buenavista and part of San Lorenzo is used by passengers from Panay to Negros and vice versa. This transportation route serves as a cheaper link, rather than taking a ship.
Buenavista's terrain ranges from plains (nearly level in the central and north-west coastal areas) to mountains (north-western part).

### Climate

Climate data for Buenavista, Guimaras :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30 (86) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 33 (91) | 32 (90) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 22 (72) | 21 (70) | 23 (73) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 19 (0.7) | 17 (0.7) | 26 (1.0) | 37 (1.5) | 119 (4.7) | 191 (7.5) | 258 (10.2) | 260 (10.2) | 248 (9.8) | 196 (7.7) | 97 (3.8) | 39 (1.5) | 1,507 (59.3) |
| Average rainy days | 7.2 | 5.2 | 8.3 | 11.9 | 22.3 | 26.5 | 28.3 | 28.2 | 27.3 | 26.4 | 18.7 | 11.8 | 222.1 |
| Source: Meteoblue ||||||||||||||
The climate is mild and cool, due to its being bounded by the sea on the three directions.

### Barangays

Buenavista is politically subdivided into 36 barangays.  Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.
* Agsanayan
* Avila
* Banban
* Bacjao (Calumingan)
* Cansilayan
* Dagsaan
* Daragan
* East Valencia (Mantangingi)
* Getulio (Ili)
* Mabini
* Magsaysay
* McLain
* Montpiller
* Navalas
* Nazaret
* New Poblacion (Calingao)
* Old Poblacion (Daan Banwa)
* Piña
* Rizal
* Salvacion (Ambulong)
* San Fernando
* San Isidro
* San Miguel
* San Nicolas (Tabao)
* San Pedro (Bating)
* San Roque
* Santo Rosario
* Sawang
* Supang
* Tacay
* Taminla (Sambag)
* Tanag
* Tastasan
* Tinadtaran
* Umilig
* Zaldivar

## Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Buenavista, Guimaras, was 52,899 people, with a density of 410 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,100 inhabitants per square mile.

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Buenavista
* 5
* 10
* 15
* 20
* 25
* 30
* 2006 22.50
* 2009 23.94
* 2012 16.25
* 2015 18.36
* 2018 6.99
* 2021 14.37
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

## Transportation

There are passenger ferries, utilizing pump boats to Iloilo City. The ferry terminal in Iloilo is on the Iloilo River.

## Education

Buenavista is the center of higher education. In fact, the main campus of Guimaras State University, only state university in Guimaras, is found in Barangay Mclain. Furthermore, the municipality has 19 public elementary schools, 5 public high schools, and 1 vocational technical school. It has a literacy rate of 98.4%, the highest in the whole of Guimaras.