Settlements, cities and municipalities in Mexico

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As of 2005 Mexico had 187,938 localidades ("localities" or settlements") which are census-designated places that can be defined as a small town, a large city, or simply a single unit housing in a rural area. A city in Mexico is defined to be a settlement with more than 2,500 inhabitants. In 2005 there were 2,640 cities with a population between 2,500 and 15,000 inhabitants, 427 with a population between 15,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, 112 with a population between 100,000 and one million, and 11 with a population of more than one million.


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Municipalities (municipios in Spanish) and boroughs (delegaciones in Spanish) are incorporated places in Mexico, that is, second or third-level political divisions with internal autonomy, legally prescribed limits, powers and functions. In terms of second-level political divisions there are 2,438 municipalities and Mexico and 16 semi-autonomous boroughs (all within the Federal District). 

Municipalities in central Mexico are usually very small in area and thus coextensive with cities (as is the case of Guadalajara, Puebla and León), whereas municipalities in northern and southeastern Mexico are much larger and usually contain more than one city or town that may not necessarily conform a single urban agglomeration (as is the case of Tijuana)

Metropolitan areas of Mexico

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Metropolitan area in Mexico are defined as a group of municipalities that heavily interact with each other normally around a core city. In 2004 there were 55 metropolitan areas in Mexico where close to 50% of the country's population lived. 

The most populated metropolitan area being the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico (or Greater Mexico City) which has a population of approx 25 million in 2010. 

The next four largest metropolitan areas in Mexico are Greater Guadalajara (4.4 million), Greater Monterrey (4 million), Greater Puebla (2.6 million) and Greater Toluca (1.8 million).
Read about Mexico's reglions >
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Colonial towns and cities