Metropolitan Manila^[3] (Filipino: Kalakhang Maynila , Kamaynilaan), the National Capital Region (NCR) (Filipino: Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines. It is composed of 16 cities—namely Manila proper,

Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Navotas, Pasay, Pasig,

Parañaque, Quezon City, San Juan, Taguig, Valenzuela—and the municipality of Pateros.

The region is the political, economic, social, cultural, and educational center of the Philippines. As proclaimed

by Presidential Decree No. 940, Metro Manila as a whole is the Philippines' seat of government but the City of

Manila is the capital.^[4]

Metro Manila is the most populous of the twelve defined metropolitan areas in the Philippines and the

11th most populous in the world. As of the 2007 census, it had a population of 11,553,427, comprising 13% of the

national population.^[2] Including suburbs in the adjacent provinces (Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal) of Greater Manila, the population is around 20 million.^[5][6]

Metro Manila's gross regional product is estimated as of July 2009 to be ₱468.4 billion (at constant 1985 prices)

and accounts for 33% of the nation's GDP.^[7] In 2008, it ranked as the 40th wealthiest urban agglomeration in the world according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.^[8]