Cebu City

Cebu City
Sugbo (Cebuano)
Nicknames: 
  • Queen City of the South;
  • Oldest City in the Philippines;
  • First Capital of the Philippines; and
  • Creative Capital of the Philippines
Anthem: Sugbuanon ako
Map of Cebu with Cebu City highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Cebu City
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 10°17′35″N 123°54′07″E / 10.293°N 123.902°E / 10.293; 123.902
Country Philippines
RegionCentral Visayas
ProvinceCebu (geographically only)
District1st (North) and 2nd (South) districts of Cebu City
Founded
(as Spanish colony)
Reincorporated (as city)
1565

24 February 1937
Highly urbanized cityDecember 22, 1979
Barangays80 (see Barangays)
Government
  TypeSangguniang Panlungsod
  MayorRaymond Alvin Garcia (KUSUG)
  Vice MayorDondon Hontiveros (BARUG)
  City Council
  Congress
  Electorate721,469 voters (2025)
Area
  City
315.00 km2 (121.62 sq mi)
  Urban
205 km2 (79 sq mi)
  Metro
1,062.88 km2 (410.38 sq mi)
  Rank34th out of 145
Elevation
34 m (112 ft)
Highest elevation
981 m (3,219 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)
  City
964,169
  Rank6th
  Density3,100/km2 (7,900/sq mi)
  Urban
2,454,000
  Metro
3,164,337
  Metro density3,000/km2 (7,700/sq mi)
  Households
238,317
DemonymCebuano
Economy
  Gross domestic product (GDP)₱288.6 billion (2022)
$5.099 billion (2022)
  Income class1st city income class
  Poverty incidence
9.80
% (2021)
  Revenue9,258 million (2022)
  Assets30,545 million (2022)
  Expenditure10,555 million (2022)
  Liabilities15,768 million (2022)
Service provider
  ElectricityVisayan Electric Company (VECO)
  WaterMetropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
6000
PSGC
IDD:area code+63(0)32
Sister cities
List
Catholic dioceseArchdiocese of Cebu
Websitecebucity.gov.ph

Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making it the sixth-most populated city in the nation and the most populous in the Visayas and the Central Visayas Region.

It serves as the capital of Cebu wherein it is geographically situated and grouped under the province by the Philippine Statistics Authority, but is one of three cities (together with Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue) that are administratively independent of the provincial government and also the largest city within that province. It also serves as the regional center of Central Visayas, and its metropolitan area exerts influence on commerce, trade, industry, education, culture, tourism, and healthcare beyond the region, over Central and Eastern Visayas and partly over Mindanao. It is the Philippines' main domestic shipping port and is home to about 80% of the country's domestic shipping companies. Additionally, Cebu City is the prime trading center of the southern Philippines.

Cebu City is bounded on the north by the town of Balamban and the city of Danao, on the west by the city of Toledo, on the east by the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue and the towns of Liloan, Consolacion and Compostela and to the south by the city of Talisay. Located at the center of the eastern seaboard of Cebu Island, it is the core city of Metro Cebu, the second largest metropolitan area in the Philippines, which includes the cities of Carcar, Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Naga and Talisay and the municipalities (towns) of Compostela, Consolacion, Cordova, Liloan, Minglanilla and San Fernando. Metro Cebu had a total population of 3,165,799 as of the 2020 census.

The current political boundaries of the city are an incorporation of the former municipalities of Cebu, San Nicolas, El Pardo, Mabolo, Talamban and Banilad in the Commonwealth period.

The city has experienced rapid economic growth since the 1990s, a phenomenon also known as "Ceboom". Owing to its economic importance and influence in modern times, Cebu City is also popularly referred to as the Queen City of the South.