According to the 2007 census, the population is 1,766,184. Cotton, sugar, chromite, sisal, copra, and hardwood are the chief exports. The city manufactures cement, pottery, furniture, shoes, and rubber. The city is surrounded by Maputo Province, but is administered as its own province.

Maputo is located on the west side of Maputo Bay, near the Estuário do Espírito Santo where the rivers Tembe, Umbeluzi, Matola and Infulene drain. The bay is 95 kilometres (59 miles) long and 30 kilometres (19 miles) wide. At the extreme east of the city and bay is the island of Inhaca.

The total area covered by the municipality of Maputo is 346 square kilometres (134 sq mi) and borders the city of Matola northeast and east, the districts of Marracuene to the north; Boane in the east and Matutuíne at the south all of which are part of Maputo Province. The city is 120 km (75 miles) from the South African border at Ressano Garcia and 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Swaziland near the town of Namaacha.

Maputo features a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw). Maputo is a relatively dry city, averaging 814 millimetres (32.0 inches) of precipitation per year. The city has relatively short rainy season lasting from November through March. Maputo also features noticeably warmer and cooler seasons, with its warmest month (January) on average about 7 °C (13 °F) warmer than its coolest month (July).

Situated on the Indian Ocean, Maputo is particularly vulnerable to climate impacts such as cyclones, flooding and sea level rise. Poverty and inequality, which are concentrated in the overpopulated bairros, further exacerbate climate change vulnerabilities in the city.