Pangasinan is a province of the Republic of the Philippines. The provincial capital is Lingayen. Pangasinan is

located on the west central and peripheral area of the island of Luzon along the Lingayen Gulf, with the total land area being 5,368.82 square kilometers (3336.030 sq mi). According to the latest census, it has a population of 2,645,395 people in 477,819 households. The total population is projected to rise to 3,039,500 in 2010.^[1] According to

the 2007 Philippine general elections, Pangasinan has a voting population of 1,360,807, which is the second

highest in the Philippines.

Pangasinan is the name for the province, the people, and the primary language spoken in the province. Indigenous Pangasinan speakers are estimated to number at least 1.5 million. Pangasinan is spoken as a second-language by many of the ethnic minorities in Pangasinan. The most significant minority ethnic groups in Pangasinan

are the Ilocano, Bolinao, and Tagalog.

The name Pangasinan means "land of salt" or "place of salt-making"; it is derived from the words Pang, meaning for and asin, meaning "salt���, or For Salt in the Pangasinan language and other related languages. The province

is a major producer of salt in the Philippines. Dagupan City is known for it's Bangus festival named after the fish

 they widely produce and made the city famous.

An ancient kingdom called Luyag na Kaboloan existed in Pangasinan before the Spanish conquest that began in the 15th century. The maritime trade network that once flourished in ancient Southeast Asia connected Pangasinan with other peoples of Southeast Asia, India, China, and the Pacific.

Pangasinan occupies a strategic geo-political position in the central plain of Luzon, known as the rice granary of the Philippines. Pangasinan has been described as a gateway to northern Luzon and as the heartland of the

Philippines