Carmen is one of forty-seven (47) municipalities (along with one city) comprising the province of Bohol in the Central Visayas. The town is politically subdivided into twenty-nine (29) barangays, and is a part of the 3rd Congressional District of Bohol.

The town is best known as being home to a greater portion of the famed Chocolate Hills, an unusual geological formation in Bohol island composed of around 1,268 perfectly cone-shaped hills of about the same size, spread over an area of more than 50 square kilometres. The hills, which have been declared as a National Geological Monument, are covered in green foliage that turns brown during summer, hence the name.

Carmen’s distance from Tagbilaran City, the provincial capital, is fifty-nine (59) kilometers and travel time from the capital is about one hour and twenty minutes.