List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines

The Philippines has six metropolitan areas established through Philippine Law : Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Naga, Metro Iloilo-Guimaras, Metro Davao and Metro BLISTT / Metro Baguio.
The Philippines has three metropolitan areas officially recognized by the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development for their prominence, population, size, and economy: Manila, Cebu, and Davao. The most populous is Metro Manila, which includes the City of Manila, 15 neighboring cities, and one municipality. The largest by land area is Metro Davao in Mindanao.
Previously, the National Economic and Development Authority, DEPDev's predecessor, recognized eight other metropolitan areas: Metro Angeles, Metro Bacolod, Metro Batangas, Metro Cagayan de Oro, Metro Dagupan, Metro GenSan, and Metro Olongapo. However, these were not included as official metropolises in the 2017–2022 Philippine Development Plan prepared by NEDA. By 2025, the population of Metro Cagayan de Oro is projected to reach a level that would qualify it for reclassification as a metropolitan area.
The official definitions of these metropolitan areas, listed below, do not always reflect the actual extent of continuous urbanization. For instance, [Greater Metro Manila|Manila Area|the built-up area of Metro Manila] has long extended beyond its borders into the neighboring provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.

List

Regional centers

Sub-regional centers

History

In 2020, 54% of the Philippine population lived in urban areas encompassing many cities. Growth in some cities has led to urban spillover in adjacent municipalities.
Metro Manila was created in 1975 with the establishment of the Metro Manila Commission. This commission, reorganized in 1986 as the Metro Manila Authority, was renamed in 1995 as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. While MMDA has no power over the local government units it covers, it has worked with the LGUs to solve issues that affect all of them such as traffic management.
The practice of creating an intercity board or agency to determine the limits of a metropolitan area has become common. A number of proposals have been created to create similar metropolitan arrangements in other areas of the country. In 1997, Cebu created the Metropolitan Cebu Development Council, which was renamed the Metropolitan Cebu Development and Coordinating Board in 2011. In 2022, Baguio and Davao created their own metropolitan boards. Other proposed metropolitan boards include ones for Bulacan and Bataan.

List of built-up urban areas

The following table lists urban areas in the Philippines, with a population of over 500,000, according to Demographia's "World Urban Areas" study as of 2023. Demographia defines an urban area as a continuously built up land mass of urban development that is within a labor and housing market, without regard for administrative boundaries.

Rank	Urban Area	Est. Population	Built-up Area	Built-up Area	Pop. Density	Pop. Density
1	Manila	24,156,000	738	1,911	32,732	12,638
2	Cebu City	2,482,000	79	205	31,418	12,130
3	Davao City	1,379,000	50	130	27,580	10,649
4	Cagayan de Oro	723,000	27	70	26,778	10,339
5	Angeles City	712,000	72	186	9,889	3,818
6	Bacolod	611,000	32	83	19,094	7,372
7	Iloilo City	542,000	35	91	15,486	5,979
8	Zamboanga City	539,000	21	54	25,667	9,910
9	General Santos	529,000	36	93	14,694	5,674