Manila was the first city in the Philippines to be granted municipal rights in 1901 and autonomy on June 18, 1949. The city is considered part of the original group of global cities in the world, as its trade networks were the first to stretch across the Pacific Ocean and connect Asia to Spanish America through the galleon trade. It was then that an unbroken chain of trade routes circling the globe was first established.
As of 2019, Manila is the most densely populated city in the world (46.178 inhabitants per square kilometer). It is one of the most populous and fastest-growing cities in Southeast Asia, the second most populous city in the Philippines, and one of the largest metropolises in the globe, with a population of more than 24 million together with its suburbs.
