Geography · Philippines

Geography

Caloocan, Philippines

City in Philippines · South-Eastern Asia

Caloocan, Philippines
Photo: Ralff Nestor S. Nacor · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Quick answerCaloocan is a city in Philippines, with 1,712,945 people inside the city limits in 2024. The wider metropolitan area had about 24.9 million people in 2024. It is best known for the Bonifacio Monument, the Cradle of the Katipunan and the Cry of Balintawak. Its official languages are Filipino and English, and its currency is the Philippine peso.

Caloocan is the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines, with about 1.7 million people (1,712,945 in the 2024 census). It lies in Metro Manila on Luzon and is known as the Cradle of the Katipunan, where the Philippine Revolution against Spain began in 1896.

Key facts

CountryPhilippines
Population (city)1,712,945 (2024)
Population (metro)24,922,000 (2024) · Metro Manila
Elevation30 m above sea level
Time zoneAsia/Manila
LanguageFilipino, English
CurrencyPhilippine peso (PHP, ₱)
Coordinates14.65° N, 120.97° E

Overview

Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan, is a highly urbanised city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. It had 1,712,945 residents in the 2024 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in the country, and it sits 30 metres above sea level. The city is divided into two geographical parts, South Caloocan and North Caloocan, after Quezon City absorbed much of its territory in 1949.

Caloocan became a municipality in 1815, when it was separated from Tondo, and it was officially inducted into cityhood on 16 February 1962. It is historically significant as the centre of the Katipunan, the secret society that launched the Philippine Revolution against Spain. In a house in Caloocan, Andrés Bonifacio and his men held secret meetings, and the first armed encounter of the revolution, the Cry of Balintawak, took place here in August 1896.

Today South Caloocan is a dense urban and business centre of northern Metro Manila, while North Caloocan is mostly residential, with subdivisions and resettlement areas. The city's best-known landmark is the Bonifacio Monument, a towering memorial to Andrés Bonifacio at Monumento Circle.

What Caloocan is known for

Landmarks

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Caloocan?

About 1.7 million people live in Caloocan (1,712,945 in the 2024 census). That makes Caloocan the fourth-most populous city in the Philippines, after Quezon City, Manila and Davao City. It is part of Metro Manila and is divided into two non-contiguous parts, North and South Caloocan.

What is Caloocan famous for?

Caloocan is famous as the Cradle of the Katipunan, the secret society that launched the Philippine Revolution against Spain. The Cry of Balintawak, the first armed encounter of the revolution, took place here in 1896, and the Bonifacio Monument, honouring the revolutionary Andrés Bonifacio, stands in the city.

Where is Caloocan located?

Caloocan is in Metro Manila, on the island of Luzon, just north of Manila and Quezon City. It is split into South Caloocan, a dense urban centre, and North Caloocan, a mostly residential area bordering Bulacan and Rizal provinces. Its coordinates are 14.65° N, 120.97° E.

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Sources & last updated

Last updated: . Figures are shown with their year; where sources disagree, the value is left out rather than estimated.