Just off Iloilo's southeast coast is the island province of Guimaras, once part of Iloilo but now an independent province. Across the Panay Gulf and Guimaras Strait is Negros Occidental, occupying the northwestern half of the larger island of Negros. Iloilo City, its capital, is geographically located in the province and is grouped under the province by the Philippine Statistics Authority but remains politically independent from the provincial government. According to the , the population of the province (excluding Iloilo City) is . If Iloilo City is included, the population is 2,361,042 in total.