', officially the ', is a of the Philippines| in the province of,. According to the, it has a population of people. The smallest town in terms of land area in the whole of Tarlac, Anao covers a total land area of. Formerly a part of Pangasinan province, Anao was founded and organized into a municipality on March 16, 1870. Every year on the March 16, the foundation of the town is celebrated along with the Ylang-Ylang Festival.
Geography
Anao is east of the provincial capitol and nestling on the Tarlac-Nueva Ecija border. Located in the north-eastern part of Tarlac, it is bound on the north by San Manuel, in the east by Nampicuan, on the south byRamos and on the west by Paniqui and Moncada.
The area where Anao is located was inhabited before 1800 by people from the Ilocos Region. In 1835, a group of immigrants from Paoay, Ilocos Norte reached the region and first settled near a creek on the bank where there were balete trees. These immigrants called their settlement Balete. The immigrants found the region where they settled to have many agricultural prospects and this attracted more immigrants who came from the north, especially from the town of Paoay. The settlement expanded and later changed its name to "Barrio Anao". By that time, balete trees were extinguished and the barrio was adjacent in all directions by creeks. Paniqui had a road extended towards the east to Anao. Paniqui claimed Anao as its barrio and the people of the barrio accepted the claim. Years went by and Anao expanded. In 1870, a petition was made and approved that Anao be made a municipality.
Past mayors
Demographics
In the, the population of Anao, Tarlac, was people, with a density of. Anao is predominantly an Ilocano-speaking town although most are fluent in Tagalog. Other languages like Kapampangan and Pangasinan are spoken by about 10% of the population. Aglipayan and Roman Catholicism are two of the predominant religions in the municipality. Other groups having a large number of members in the municipality are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Iglesia ni Cristo, and Protestantism.
Points of interest
The Saint John Nepomucene Parish Church of Anao can be found on the center of the town near the municipal hall. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarlac. The Ylang Ylang Festival is celebrated by the municipality every 16 March to take pride of their main local products, which are perfumes and essentials oils made from the ylang-ylang flower. The town has over 10,000 ylang-ylang trees, many of them lined on the localmain road, which are harvested and highly-valued for its perfume.
