Metro Manila is divided into seventeen primary local government units (LGU) that consist of sixteen cities and one municipality. Each city and municipality is governed by an elected mayor and is divided into several villages or barangays (formerly called barrios) headed by an elected barangay captain. Barangay populations range in size from under 1,000 to over 200,000. As of the 2015 census, the total population of Metro Manila was 12,877,253.
Among all local government units in Metro Manila, only the cities of Manila, Caloocan and Pasay implement the so-called "Zone Systems". A zone is a group of barangays in a district. Although a zone is considered a subdivision in the local government units, the people do not elect a chairman for the zone in a popular election similar to the normal barangay or local elections. The zoning system is merely for strategical purposes. Additionally, these three cities use a hybrid system for its barangays - all barangays have their corresponding numbers but only a few have corresponding names. For example, the name of a barangay in the City of Manila would read as "Barangay 288 Zone 27".
As of 2010, there are 1,706 barangays in Metro Manila. This list covers all barangays sorted alphabetically with the exception of Manila, Caloocan and Pasay. Instead, district names are listed for these cities.