Barangay Maria Clara

Barangay Maria Clara forms part of Diffun, a municipality in Quirino, and is classified as a small barangay.

According to the 2020 Philippine census, Barangay Maria Clara had a population of 1,808. This made it the 14th largest of 33 barangays in Diffun by population, placing it in the middle tier of the municipality. Residents of Barangay Maria Clara accounted for approximately 3.22% of the total population of Diffun, which stood at 56,102 in the same census year.

Between the 2015 and 2020 censuses, the population of Barangay Maria Clara changed from 1,505 to 1,808, a shift of +20.1% over the five-year period. This places the barangay among those with growing populations in Diffun. Barangay Maria Clara is officially classified as rural, a designation applied to barangays with lower population density and predominantly non-built-up land use.

Diffun is a municipality comprising 33 barangays, and serves as the governing unit directly responsible for local services in Barangay Maria Clara, including public health, sanitation, peace and order, and civil registration. Within the wider province of Quirino, which contains 132 barangays across its component cities and municipalities, Barangay Maria Clara ranks 41st by 2020 population. Quirino is classified as a 3rd by the Bureau of Local Government Finance, a category that reflects the province's annual regular income.

The barangay's legislative and executive affairs are handled by a Punong Barangay and the Sangguniang Barangay, elected nationwide during the Barangay and SK Elections. The next BSKE is scheduled for Monday, November 2, 2026, following the synchronized election schedule set by COMELEC Resolution No. 11191.