Metro Manila is the national capital region of the Philippines. In 2007, the Economics and Statistics Office of the National Statistical Coordination Board reported that it generates 33 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). It has more than 11.5 million residents, which is 13 percent of the country's total population. This entry traces Metro Manila's colonial and historical past and its integration into the world trading system during the Spanish and American periods. It elaborates on a number of socioeconomic gains and environmental conditions that are associated [Page 484]with its present-day urbanization and spatial development.