Makati

Makati is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines and the country's leading centre for finance, commerce and diplomacy. It covers only about 18 square kilometres and is bordered by Mandaluyong, Taguig, Pasay and Manila, yet its central business district swells the daytime population to several million, and the 2024 census counted 309,770 residents. The city is home to many foreign embassies and has the largest skyline in the country. The name comes from the Tagalog word kati, meaning low tide, and the place was a Spanish-era town established in 1670 as San Pedro de Macati before its name was shortened to Makati in 1914. After the destruction of Manila in the Second World War the area grew rapidly, and planned communities such as Forbes Park and Bel-Air were laid out there from the 1950s.