Officially referred to as the Province of Pampanga, Pampanga is a Philippine province located in the Central Luzon area of the country. Pampanga is a province in the Philippines that is located on the northern side of Manila Bay. It is bounded to the north by Tarlac, to the northeast by Nueva Ecija, to the east by Bulacan, to the central-south by Manila Bay, to the southwest by Bataan, and to the west by Zambales. The City of San Fernando serves as the territory's official capital. Although it is located within Pampanga, Angeles City is considered a first-class, highly urbanised city and has been governed independently of the province ever since it received its charter in 1964. Despite its location within Pampanga, Angeles City is the most populous local government unit in the Philippines.
When the Spaniards came to the area, they found local people living along the banks (pampáng) of the Pampanga River. They gave this region the name La Pampanga. It was the first Spanish province to be established on the island of Luzon when it was formed in 1571. When the British army stormed Manila as part of the Seven Years' War, the village of Villa de Bacolor in the province was temporarily selected to serve as the seat of the Spanish colonial government. Pampanga was one of eight provinces that were put under martial rule for insurrection against the Spanish Empire on the eve of the Philippine Revolution of 1896; as a result, it is one of the eight rays of the sun that are portrayed on the Philippine national flag.
Clark International Airport, also known as Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, is located in Clark Freeport Zone, about 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) to the north of the capital of the province of Pampanga. This airport serves the province of Pampanga. Both the Basa Air Base in Floridablanca and the old United States Clark Air Base in Angeles are located within this province. These airbases are both operated by the Philippine Air Force. The Clark Global City is now fully constructed and can be found in the Clark Freeport Zone. This was made possible by the city's expanding population and new projects. In 2015, the province had a total population of 2,198,110, and there were 1,079,532 people registered to vote in the province.