Nagbukel

The name of the municipality is thought to have come from the round shape of one of the hills in the area. People in the area would utter, "Anian nga nagbukel" (Ilocano meaning "How round it is.").

Another origin of the municipality's name comes from three small hills in the southern part of the municipality.

Still another origin of the town's name comes from the irregular distribution of the barangays of Nagbukel and nearby Narvacan. Negotiations were made in such a way that the place east of the Kayapa River become part of Nagbukel and places west of the river become part of Narvacan. The distance from north to south was equal to the distance from east to west. The resulting area is round, hence the name "Nagbukel."

The barrios that compose the municipality today were formerly a part of Narvacan. However, in 1896, Nagbukel became a town under the Spanish colonial government. It was only in 1899 that the town became a regular municipality.^{[citation needed]}

Nagbukel is situated 38.29 kilometres (23.79 mi) from the provincial capital Vigan, and 379.53 kilometres (235.83 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, Nagbukel had a population of 5,370 people.^[13] The population density was 120 inhabitants per square kilometre (310/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Nagbukel

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

All educational institutions within the municipality of Nagbukel are managed by the Department of Education. These are governed and managed by schools district offices located in Narvacan, a nearby town, namely Navacan North Schools District Office, and Narvacan South Schools District Office.^[23]