Xiamen is classified as a Large-Port Metropolis. The overseas Chinese used to support Xiamen's educational and cultural institutions. Ever since the 12th century, Xiamen was also an important origin for many migrants to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. On 31 August 2010, Xiamen Port incorporated the neighboring port of Zhangzhou to form the largest port of China's Southeast. It is the 4th port in China with the capacity to handle 6th-generation large container vessels.

It is ranked the 8th-largest container port in China and ranks 17th in the world. The port of Xiamen is a well-developed first-class trunk line port in the Asia-Pacific region. Xiamen Island possessed a major international seaport. As part of the Opening Up Policy under Deng Xiaoping, Xiamen became one of China's original four special economic zones opened to foreign investment and trade in the early 1980s. The Kinmen Islands (Quemoy) administered by the Republic of China (Taiwan) which lie less than 6 kilometers (4 mi) away separated by Xiamen Bay. This area also connects with Quanzhou in the north, making up a metropolis of nearly ten million people.

The urbanized area of the city has spread from its original island to include most parts of all six of its districts, and with 4 Zhangzhou districts ( Xiangcheng, Longwen, Longhai and Changtai), form a built-up area of 7,284,148 inhabitants. All together, these cover an area of 1,700.61 square kilometers (656.61 sq mi) with a population of 5,163,970 as of 2020 and estimated at 5.308 million as of 31 December 2022.

It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang, and Xiang'an. Xiamen ( UK: / ʃ( j) ɑː ˈ m ɛ n/ sh(y)ah- MEN, US: /- ˈ m ʌ n/ -⁠ MUN simplified Chinese: 厦门 traditional Chinese: 廈門 pinyin: Xiàmén), also known as Amoy ( / ə ˈ m ɔɪ/ ə- MOY from Hokkien pronunciation, Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ēe-muî / Ē-mn̂g, IPA: ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. 'Xiamen' in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters

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