[3] The town was formally established and created by carving out the villages of Quiot, Santa Cruz, Libertad, Matlang, Tolingon, Bantigue, Apale and Honan from the town of Merida, by the passage of Republic Act No.

Nearest landfall south is Ponson Island (Camotes) at about 7.2 kilometres (4.5 mi; 3.9 nmi).

Nearest landfall west is coastal Tabogon, Cebu at about 50 kilometres (31 mi; 27 nmi).

In the 2020 census, the population of Isabel, Leyte, was 46,781 people,[3] with a density of 730 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1,900 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty Incidence of Isabel Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] Leyte Industrial Development Estate (LIDE) is a 425 ha special economic zone in the industrial town of Isabel.