Metro Manila

Metropolitan Manila (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region and largest metropolitan area of the Philippines. It encompasses an area of 636.00 km (245.56 sq mi) and the region has a population of 14,001,751 as of 2024, making it the second most populous region in the country after Calabarzon. Metro Manila is the 7th most populous metropolitan area in Asia and the 8th most populous urban area in the world. With Manila Bay to its west and the Laguna de Bay to its east, Metro Manila lies between the Central Luzon and Calabarzon regions. Metro Manila is made up of sixteen highly urbanized cities: Manila—the capital city—Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, and Valenzuela, along with one independent municipality, Pateros.

Metro Manila is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics, the arts and fashion, politics and governance, and international diplomacy. The region accounts for 36% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the Philippines. Greater Manila, the contiguous urbanized region surrounding the metropolis, is the fourth largest ASEAN country subdivision by GDP, after Singapore, and the Jakarta, and Bangkok metropolitan regions.

In 1975, in response to the need to sustain and provide integrated services to the growing population, the built-up area centered on Manila was formally recognized as a metropolitan area through Presidential Decree No. 824. A year later, Presidential Decree No. 879 established Metro Manila as an administrative region, retaining its earlier status as a metropolis, and designated it as Region IV, with the remainder of the Southern Tagalog region being designated as Region IV-A. Finally, in 1978, Metro Manila became the National Capital Region (NCR) of the Philippines, discontinuing its numerical designation and reverting Southern Tagalog to its original designation.

Metro Manila, as the center for international diplomacy of the Philippines, is where all of the embassies of other countries are located. It hosted the 1987, 2017, and 2026 ASEAN summits. It is also home to the Asian Development Bank and the World Health Organization Western Pacific Regional Office.