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{{about|the city in Mexico|other uses|Tijuana (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               = Tijuana
| official_name      = 
| nickname           = Gateway to Mexico
| motto              = {{lang|es|Aquí empieza la patria}} ("The fatherland begins here")
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
 | caption_align = center
 | border        = infobox
 | total_width   = 300
 | perrow        = 1/2/2
 | image1        = Tijuana_skyline.jpg
 | caption1      = [[List of tallest buildings in Tijuana|Skyline of Tijuana]] 
 | image2        = Templo Tijuana Mexico (cropped).jpg
 | caption2      = [[Tijuana Mexico Temple|Tijuana Temple]]
 | image3        = Reloj monumental (cropped).jpg
 | caption3      = Arco Monumental
 | image5        = El_Cecut.jpg
 | caption5      = [[Tijuana Cultural Center]]
 | image6        = Sunset Playas de Tijuana.jpg
 | caption6      = [[Playas de Tijuana]]
 | color         = white
}}
| image_caption      = 
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| image_flag         = Bandera de Tijuana, Mexico.svg
| image_seal         = 
| image_shield       = Escudo de Tijuana, Baja California.svg
| image_map          = 
| mapsize            = 150px
| map_caption        = Location of Tijuana within Baja California
| pushpin_map        = Baja California#Mexico#North America
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = Mexico
| subdivision_type1  = [[States of Mexico|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Baja California]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Tijuana Municipality|Tijuana]]
| government_type    = [[Ayuntamiento]]
| leader_title       = {{ill|Mayor|es|Ayuntamiento de Tijuana|vertical-align=sup}}
| leader_name        = [[Ismael Burgueño]] <br />([[Morena (political party)|MORENA]])
| leader_title1      = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
| leader_name1       = 
| leader_title2      = 
| leader_name2       = 
| leader_title3      = 
| leader_name3       = 
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 11 July 1889
| established_title2 = 
| established_date2  = 
| established_title3 = 
| established_date3  = 
| area_magnitude     = 
| unit_pref          = 
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 637
| area_total_sq_mi   = 246
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_land_sq_mi    = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_sq_mi   = 
| area_water_percent = 
| area_urban_km2     = 
| area_urban_sq_mi   = 
| area_metro_km2     = 1392.5
| area_metro_sq_mi   = 537.9
| population_demonym = Tijuanan <br />(in Spanish) ''Tijuanense''<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tijuanense Identity |url=https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/apr/21/yonder-tijuanense-identity/ |url-status=live |date=21 April 2010 |access-date=4 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204070358/https://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2010/apr/21/yonder-tijuanense-identity/ |archive-date=4 February 2018}}</ref>
| demographics_type1 = [[GDP|GDP (PPP, constant 2015 values)]]
| demographics1_footnotes = 
| demographics1_title1 = Year
| demographics1_info1 = 2023
| demographics1_title2 = Total (Metro)
| demographics1_info2 = $61.0&nbsp;billion<ref name="TelluBase">{{cite web |title=TelluBase—Mexico Fact Sheet (Tellusant Public Service Series) |url=https://tellusant.com/repo/tb/tellubase_factsheet_mex.pdf |publisher=Tellusant |access-date=2024-01-11}}</ref>
| demographics1_title3 = Per capita
| demographics1_info3 = $27,600
| population_as_of   = 2020
| population_note    =
| population_footnotes    =
| population_total   = 1810645<ref name="populationstat1">{{cite web |title=SCITEL |url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/app/scitel/Default?ev=9 |publisher=INEGI |access-date=12 July 2024}}</ref>
| population_est     = 
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| population_rank    = [[List of North American cities by population|8th]] in North America<br />[[List of cities in Mexico|2nd]] in Mexico
| population_metro   = 2,157,853<ref name="populationstat1"/>
| population_density_km2 = 2832.5
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = auto
| population_urban   = 2,002,000 (estimated)<ref name="demographia1">{{cite web |title=Demographia World Urban Areas 16th Annual Edition |url=http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf |website=Demographia |date=June 2020}}</ref>
| timezone           = [[Pacific Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset         = −8
| timezone_DST       = [[Pacific Daylight Time|PDT]]
| utc_offset_DST     = −7
| coordinates        = {{coord|32|31|30|N|117|02|0|W|region:MX-BCN_city(1,900,000)|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m        = 20
| elevation_ft       = 65
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal codes in Mexico|Postal codes]]
| postal_code        = 22000–22699
| area_code          = [[international access code|+]] [[Telephone numbers in Mexico|52]] [[Area code 664/663 (Mexico)|664/663]]
| website            = [http://www.tijuana.gob.mx www.tijuana.gob.mx]
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Tijuana'''{{efn|Pronunciation: {{IPAc-en|t|iː|ˈ|hw|ɑː|n|ə}} {{respell|tee|HWAH|nə}},<ref name="ODO">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190529112041/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/us/Tijuana "Tijuana"] (US) and {{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Tijuana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809113820/https://www.lexico.com/definition/tijuana |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 August 2020 |title=Tijuana |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref name="Collins">{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/tijuana|title=Tijuana|work=[[Collins English Dictionary]]|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|alsoUS|ˌ|t|iː|ə|ˈ|w|ɑː|n|ə}} {{respell|TEE|ə|WAH|nə}}<ref name="Collins"/><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Tijuana|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref> – based on the obsolete Spanish form {{lang|es|Tía Juana}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/sdut-watch-your-mouth-san-diego-2016aug04-story.html|last=Jenkins|first=Logan|title=Watch your mouth in San Diego|work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]]|date=4 August 2016|access-date=29 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331135510/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/lifestyle/sdut-watch-your-mouth-san-diego-2016aug04-story.html|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> –, {{IPAc-en|UK|t|ɪ|ˈ|hw|ɑː|n|ə}} {{respell|ti|HWAH|nə}};<ref name="ODO"/><ref name="Collins"/> {{IPA|es|tiˈxwana|lang|Tijuana.ogg}}.}} is the most populous city of the Mexican state of [[Baja California]], located on the northwestern [[Pacific Coast of Mexico]]. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the [[Tijuana Municipality]], the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most populous city in [[northern Mexico]]. It is just south of California and is close to the [[Mexico–United States border]] which is part of the [[San Diego–Tijuana]] metro area.

Tijuana is the [[Largest cities in the Americas|27th largest city]] in the [[Americas]] and is the westernmost city in Mexico. As of 2024, the population of Tijuana has increased to 2,297,000, reflecting a growth of 1.63% since 2023. The city was [[List of cities in Mexico|second-largest]] nationally with 1,810,645 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SCITEL |url=https://www.inegi.org.mx/app/scitel/Default?ev=9 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=www.inegi.org.mx}}</ref> The international metropolitan region was estimated at 5,158,459 in 2016,<ref name=wg>{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-223&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&pt=a&va=&geo=-1049427|title=World Gazetteer – San Diego-Tijuana|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001005330/http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gpro&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-223&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&pt=a&va=&geo=-1049427|archive-date=1 October 2007}}</ref> making it the third-largest metropolitan area in [[The Californias]], [[List of the largest metropolitan areas in the Americas|19th-largest metropolitan area in the Americas]],<ref name=wga>{{cite web|url=http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-2&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&va=&pt=a|title=World Gazetteer – Metropolitan Areas of America|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930223100/http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&geo=-2&srt=pnan&col=aohdq&va=&pt=a|archive-date=30 September 2007}}</ref> and the largest bi-national [[conurbation]] that is shared between US and Mexico. The city is one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country and rated as a "High Sufficiency" [[global city]] by the [[Globalization and World Cities Research Network]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The World According to GaWC 2020 |url=https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html |website=GaWC – Research Network |publisher=Globalization and World Cities |access-date=31 August 2020}}</ref><ref name="Nations">{{cite journal |last=Walker |first=Margath |date=January 2011 |title=Knowledge production and border nationalism in northern Mexico |journal=Nations and Nationalism |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=168–187 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-8129.2010.00461.x}}</ref>

Tijuana traces its modern history to the arrival of [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] colonists in the 16th century who were mapping the coast of the [[Province of the Californias|Californias]]. Following the division of the Californias after the [[Conquest of California|American Conquest of California]], Tijuana found itself located on an international border, giving rise to a new economic and political structure. The city was incorporated on 11 July 1889 as urban development began. The city has served as a major tourist destination since the 1880s. Today, Tijuana is a dominant manufacturing center for North America, hosting facilities of many [[multinational corporation|multinational]] [[conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] companies. In the early 21st century, Tijuana has emerged as the medical device manufacturing capital of North America and is increasingly recognized as an important cultural Mecca for the border region of the Californias.<ref name="Cultural Mecca1">{{cite news |first=Adam |last=Piore |title=How to Build a Creative City |magazine=Newsweek International |date=2 September 2002}}</ref> The city is the most visited border city in the world, sharing a border of about {{convert|24|km|mi|abbr=on}} with its sister city [[San Diego]]. More than fifty million people cross the border between these two cities every year.

Despite its popularity as a tourist destination, Tijuana is a hotbed of crime, especially [[Crime in Mexico|violent crime]], due to the extensive presence of organized crime and [[Mexican drug war|Mexican cartels]]. It regularly ranks among the most violent cities by homicide rate. According to [[Statista]] in August 2023, Tijuana had the [[List of cities by homicide rate|second highest homicide rate in the world]].<ref name=":0" /> Incidents involving the murder or kidnapping of foreigners since the 2000s have also sparked travel fears and affected Tijuana's status among international tourists.<ref>{{cite web |date=2022-10-12 |title=65% of Southern Californians afraid to visit Tijuana, tourism officials say |url=https://ktla.com/news/65-of-southern-californians-afraid-to-visit-tijuana-tourism-officials-say/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=KTLA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Violence scaring off American tourists in Tijuana |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/03/19/Tijuana.mexico.tourism/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=2023-09-05}}</ref>

==Name==
The city's name comes from the [[Ranchos of California|rancho]] that [[Santiago Argüello]] Moraga established in 1829 on his Mexican land grant, naming it ''[[Rancho Tía Juana]]''.<ref name=parks>{{cite web |url=http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/sanysidro.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=1 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228042549/http://www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1054/files/sanysidro.pdf |archive-date=28 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first Spanish mission referred to the settlement variously as ''Rancho Tía Juana'', ''Tihuan'' and finally, ''Tijuana''.<ref>[https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4316277 Una Corrida Extraordinaria] by Patrick Spaulding Ryan, ''SSRN Working Paper'', 31 December 2022</ref> While the city was founded as "Tijuana" in 1889, "Tia Juana" remained the English-language name for the river, as well as a U.S. settlement that is now part of [[San Ysidro, San Diego|San Ysidro]], until approximately 1916.<ref>Id.</ref>

The commonly accepted theory among historians is that ''Tía Juana'', as Argüello named his rancho, is derived from the word {{lang|dih|Tiwan}} ("by the sea") in the [[Kumeyaay language|language of the Kumeyaay]]—the First Nations people of the San Diego-Tijuana region {{citation needed|date=June 2025}}. Urban legend, on the other hand, states that ''Tía Juana'', which means "Aunt Jane" in Spanish, was a real person whose inn provided food and lodging to travelers. There is, however, no record of such an inn; in fact, the first building in the area was built by Argüello in any case, after naming his ranch Rancho Tía Juana.<ref name="Niemann2002">{{cite book|author=Greg Niemann|title=Baja Legends: The Historic Characters, Events, and Locations That Put Baja California on the Map|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=35WQOduN1F4C&pg=PA61|year=2002|publisher=Sunbelt Publications, Inc.|isbn=978-0-932653-47-5|pages=61–|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331130249/https://books.google.com/books?id=35WQOduN1F4C&pg=PA61|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In [[California]], Tijuana is often referred to as ''T.J.''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/travel/tijuana-mexico-border.html|last=Khan|first=Sarah|title=Through a Tijuana Turnstile and Into Tacos and Tortas|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=6 February 2018|access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref>

==History==
{{For timeline}}
The land was originally inhabited by the [[Kumeyaay]], a tribe of [[Yuman]]-speaking hunter-gatherers. Europeans arrived in 1542, when colonist [[Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo]] toured the coastline of the area, which [[Sebastián Vizcaíno]] mapped in 1602. In 1769, [[Juan Crespí]] documented more details about the area that was later called the Valley of Tijuana.

===19th century===
Further settlement took place near the end of the mission era when [[José María de Echeandía]], governor of the Baja California and Alta California, awarded a large land grant to [[Santiago Argüello]] in 1829. This large cattle ranch, [[Rancho Tía Juana]], covered {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|-1|abbr=on}}. Although "Tia Juana" means "Aunt Jane" in Spanish, the name was actually an adaptation of the word 'Tihuan' or 'Tijuán' in the Kumeyaay language, the name of a nearby Kumeyaay settlement and whose meaning is disputed.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/v50-1/rancho_tiajuana.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060220212836/http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/v50-1/rancho_tiajuana.pdf |archive-date=2006-02-20 |url-status=live|journal=The Journal of San Diego History|title=THE RANCHO TÍA JUANA (TIJUANA) GRANT|author=Antonio Padilla Corona|access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref>

In 1848, as a result of the [[Mexican–American War]] with the United States, Mexico lost Alta California. While the majority of the 1,000 Hispanic families living in Alta California stayed on the American side, some moved south to Tijuana to remain inside Mexico, which was now in Baja California as the division between the Californias moved north in between San Diego and Tijuana. Because of this Tijuana gained a different purpose on the international border. The area had been populated by ranchers, but Tijuana developed a new social economic structure which were farming and livestock grazing, plus as a transit area for prospectors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/ciudad/CiudadHistoriaMinima.asp |title=Minimal History of Tijuana |author=David Pinera Ramirez |website= |access-date=20 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117131949/http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/ciudad/CiudadHistoriaMinima.asp |archive-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Urban settlement began in 1889, when descendants of Santiago Argüello and [[Agustin Olvera|Augustín Olvera]] entered an agreement to begin developing the city of Tijuana. The date of the agreement, 11 July 1889, is recognized as the founding of the city.<ref>As determined at the second Symposium of History, 1975.</ref> Tijuana saw its future in tourism from the beginning. From the late 19th century to the first few decades of the 20th century, the city attracted large numbers of Californians coming for trade and entertainment. The California land boom of the 1880s led to the first big wave of tourists, who were called "excursionists" and came looking for echoes of the famous novel ''[[Ramona]]'' by [[Helen Hunt Jackson]].

===20th century===
[[File:Tijuana in the 1920's.jpg|thumb|right|Downtown Tijuana in the 1920s]]

In 1911, during the [[Mexican Revolution]], revolutionaries claiming loyalty to [[Ricardo Flores Magón]] took over the city for shortly over a month. Federal troops then arrived. Assisted by the "defensores de Tijuana", they routed the revolutionaries, who fled north and were promptly arrested by the [[United States Army]].

The [[Panama–California Exposition]] of 1915 brought many visitors to the nearby California city of San Diego. Tijuana attracted these tourists with a ''Feria Típica Mexicana'' – Typical Mexican Fair. This included curio shops, regional food, thermal baths, horse racing and boxing.

The first professional race track opened in January 1916, just south of the border gate. It was almost immediately destroyed by the great "[[Charles Hatfield|Hatfield rainmaker]]" flood of 1916. Rebuilt in the general area, it ran horse races until the new [[Agua Caliente Racetrack|Agua Caliente]] track opened in 1929, several miles south and across the river on higher ground.

Legal drinking and gambling attracted U.S. nationals in the 1920s during [[prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]. The [[Avenida Revolución]] area became the city's tourist center, with casinos and the Hotel Caesar's, birthplace of the [[Caesar salad]].

In 1925, the city by presidential decree changed its name to ''Ciudad Zaragoza'', but its name reverted to ''Tijuana'' in 1929.

[[File:EscuelaAlvaroObregon1930.JPG|thumb|left|[[Álvaro Obregón]] School in 1930]]

In 1928, the [[Agua Caliente Touristic Complex]] was opened, including hotel, spa, dog-track, private airport, golf course and gambling casino. A year later, the new Agua Caliente Racetrack joined the complex. During the eight years it operated, the Agua Caliente hotel, casino and spa achieved a near mythical status, with Hollywood stars and gangsters flying in and playing. [[Rita Hayworth]] was discovered there. Musical nightclub productions were broadcast over the radio. A singer known as "la Faraona" got shot in a love-triangle and gave birth to the myth of a beautiful lady ghost. Remnants of the Agua Caliente casino can be seen in the outdoor swimming pool and the "minarete" (actually a former incinerator chimney) nearby the southern end of Avenida Sanchez Taboada, on the grounds of what is now the Lázaro Cárdenas educational complex. A replica of the iconic bell tower (which once stood at the resort entrance) now stands at the beginning of Boulevard Agua Caliente, about two miles west of the old resort.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Curry|first=Maria E|date=May–June 2020|title=Replica for an Agua Caliente's still-standing monument in Tijuana creates controversy|url=http://www.sohosandiego.org/enews/0520mariatower.htm|website=Save Our Heritage Organisation}}</ref>

In 1935, President Cárdenas decreed an end to gambling and casinos in Baja California, and the Agua Caliente complex faltered, then closed. In 1939, it was reopened as a junior high school (now, Preparatoria Lázaro Cárdenas). The buildings themselves were torn down in the 1970s and replaced by modern scholastic architecture.

[[File:Agua Caliente Tower, Tijuana 1951 (34996773976) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel|Agua Caliente Casino]] in 1951]]

With increased tourism and a large number of Mexican citizens relocating to Tijuana, the city's population grew from 21,971 to 65,364 between 1940 and 1950. With the decline of nightlife and tourism in the 1950s, the city restructured its tourist industry, by promoting a more family-oriented scene. Tijuana developed a greater variety of attractions and activities to offer its visitors.

In 1965, the Mexican federal government launched the Border Industrialization Program to attract foreign investment. Tijuana and other border cities became attractive for foreign companies to open [[maquiladoras]] (factories),<ref>''The Human Race: Escaping From History''. Employee turnover is also relatively high, p. 52.</ref> and the Tijuana economy started to diversify. Manufacturing jobs attracted workers from other parts of Mexico and the city's population grew from less than half a million in 1980 to almost 1 million in 1985.

In 1972, work began on the first [[Channelization (rivers)|concrete channeling]] of the [[Tijuana River]]; previously the river would flood across a wide plain east and southeast of downtown, inundating an area of cardboard and metal shacks called ''Cartolandia'' (“Paperland”). The project removed the shacks and added 1.8 million sq. m. of usable land, on which the [[Zona Río]] was built. With the 1981 opening of the [[Plaza Río Tijuana]] mall and the 1982 [[Tijuana Cultural Center]] (CECUT), Zona Río became the new commercial center of a modern Tijuana, and with its new boulevards with monument-filled ''glorietas'' (roundabouts), reminiscent of the grand [[Paseo de la Reforma]] in Mexico City, the city created the new image and allure of a modern, large city, rather than just a border town focused on tourism and vice.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.el-mexicano.com.mx/informacion/suplementos/2/40/identidad/2011/01/23/450718/historia-de-las-inundaciones-en-tijuana |title=2011-01-23 - Historia de las inundaciones en Tijuana |website=www.el-mexicano.com.mx |access-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930061214/http://www.el-mexicano.com.mx/informacion/suplementos/2/40/identidad/2011/01/23/450718/historia-de-las-inundaciones-en-tijuana |archive-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.sandiegoreader.com/news/2000/mar/09/feature-tijuana-aztec-high-tech/|title=Tijuana architecture: from Aztec to high tech|website=M.sandiegoreader.com|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302090523/https://m.sandiegoreader.com/news/2000/mar/09/feature-tijuana-aztec-high-tech/|archive-date=2 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1994, [[Institutional Revolutionary Party|PRI]] presidential candidate [[Luis Donaldo Colosio]] was assassinated in Tijuana while making an appearance in the plaza of Lomas Taurinas, a neighborhood nestled in a valley near Centro. The shooter was caught and imprisoned, but doubts remain about who the mastermind might have been.

===21st century===
[[File:CLUB CAMPESTRE - panoramio (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The number of skyscrapers and high rises in Tijuana has grown significantly in the 21st century.]]
After [[9/11]], tighter US border controls resulted in hours-long waits to return to the US. The number of US visitors dropped sharply due to this factor, as well as subsequent drug violence.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ViMUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|title=Run for the Border: Vice and Virtue in U.S.-Mexico Border Crossings|first=Steven|last=Bender|date=13 May 2012|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814789520|via=Google Books|access-date=1 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331052437/https://books.google.com/books?id=ViMUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Around 2008, thousands of Tijuana's elite bought houses in and moved to [[Bonita, California|Bonita]] and Eastlake in [[Chula Vista, California]], to escape violence, kidnapping and other crimes taking place during that period. An article in ''[[The Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that the emigration to [[San Diego County, California|San Diego County]] has transformed the demographic and cultural character of some cities to a degree.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marosi |first1=Richard |title=U.S. a haven for Tijuana elite |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-jun-07-me-exodus7-story.html |access-date=19 December 2019 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 June 2008}}</ref>

In recent years, Tijuana has become an important city of commerce and migration for Mexico and US. In spite of the violence and border crossing issues, the city has received a large number of tourists from US, China, Japan and the south of Mexico. Thanks to the realization of cultural and business festivals, the city has improved its image before the world, standing out as a competitive city for investment. Currently, the commercial and business sector is committed to the boom in the gastronomic industry, craft beer, entertainment, and real estate, as well as medical tourism, to attract visitors and investors.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Geography==
[[File:Cerro San Isidro desde el Cerro Colorado (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|View of the [[San Ysidro Mountains#Cerro San Isidro|Cerro San Isidro]] from across the valley from Cerro Colorado]]
Tijuana is the westernmost city in Mexico, and consequently in [[Latin America]], and the second-largest city in northern Mexico. Located about {{convert|210|km|mi|sp=us}} west of the state capital, [[Mexicali]], the city is bordered to the north by the cities of [[Imperial Beach]], and the San Diego neighborhoods of San Ysidro and Otay Mesa, California. To the southwest of the city is [[Rosarito Beach]], while to the south is unincorporated territory of Tijuana Municipality. The city is nestled among hills, canyons, and gullies. The central part of the city lies in a valley through which flows the channeled [[Tijuana River]].

Housing development in the Tijuana Hills has led to eradication of many seasonal mountain streams. This lack of natural drainage makes places within the city vulnerable to landslides during the rainy season. The varied terrain of Tijuana gives the city elevation extremes that range from sea level to {{convert|790|m|ft|sp=us}}. As [[downtown Tijuana]] was built at the bottom of the river valley, the district is subject to seasonal flooding created by drain-off from the Tijuana Hills. During this time, east-bound portions of the Via Rapida (east–west highway) may be blocked off by the Tijuana Police due to hazardous conditions.

Tijuana is noted for its rough terrain, which includes many canyons, steep hills, and mesas. Large hills in Tijuana include the [[Cerro Colorado (borough)|Cerro Colorado]] and the Cerro de las Abejas.

The city is located near the terminus of the Tijuana River and within the Tijuana River Basin. The Tijuana River is an [[intermittent river]], {{convert|195|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} long, on the Pacific coast of northern Baja California in Mexico and [[Southern California]] in the United States. It drains an arid area along the California–Baja California border, flowing through Mexico for most of its course and then crossing the border for the last {{convert|8|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} of its course where it forms an estuary that empties into the ocean.

===Cityscape===
{{main|List of tallest buildings in Tijuana}}
[[File:Downtown Tijuana.jpg|thumb|View of [[Downtown Tijuana]]]]
The city's skyscraper history is relatively recent.<ref name= SSP>{{cite web |title=Tijuana Timeline Diagram |url=http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=955&searchname=timeline |publisher=Skyscraper Source Media |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211030742/http://skyscraperpage.com/diagrams/?cityID=955&searchname=timeline |archive-date=11 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some of the first [[High-rise building|highrise]] building complexes constructed in the city were the twin towers of [[Grand Hotel Tijuana]].<ref name= SSP /> Tijuana experienced a building boom that was brought to a halt by the [[Great Recession]]. Among buildings that succumbed to the time period was the [[Trump Ocean Resort Baja Mexico]] that would have been located in Playas and reached {{convert|98|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Trump Baja venture leaves buyers high and dry |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-07-fi-trump7-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url-status=live |first=Elliot |last=Spagat |date=6 March 2009 |access-date=22 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303100116/http://articles.latimes.com/2009/mar/07/business/fi-trump7 |archive-date=3 March 2017}}</ref> Currently the tallest building, and soon to be the largest complex in footage, [[New City Residential]] reaches {{convert|102|m|ft|abbr=on}}. Overall, the city maintains 33 completed structures with other proposed and under-construction skyscrapers.<ref name= SSP />

The Tijuana skyline is the fifth largest skyline in Mexico and is located in the Zona Rio and to a smaller extent, Playas de Tijuana. In the Zona Rio the buildings are concentrated on the Tijuana River, lined parallel to the river; and on the edges of the Tijuana Country Club. In Playas the high rises are currently focused on the coast. Recent construction on high rises has begun in the aforementioned areas, as buildings such as New City Residential and Grand Hotel Tijuana have been developed and taken prominent places in the skyline as the tallest buildings. From Tijuana's skyline the [[San Diego skyline]] can also be seen, although the reverse is mostly not true on account of the high hills surrounding central Tijuana.

===Boroughs===
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 175
| align             = right
| perrow            = 1
| image1            = Paseo de los Héroes Tijuana (Lincoln).jpg
| caption1          = View down Paseo de los Héroes of the [[Abraham Lincoln]] Monument
| image2            = Aguacaliente skyscrapers4 (cropped).JPG
| caption2          = Skyscrapers on Blvd. Agua Caliente.
| image3            = Barilo ĝis oceano (963746004) (cropped).jpg
| caption3          = The [[Mexico–United States barrier]] at the [[Pacific Coast of Mexico|Pacific Coast]]
}}

The municipality of Tijuana is divided into eight administrative boroughs, or ''Delegaciones''. The Tijuana metropolitan area occupies all of borough seats. The boroughs are in turn divided into [[Colonia (Mexico)|colonias]] or [[ejido]]s. These boroughs offer administrative services such as [[urban planning]], [[civil registry]], inspection, verification, [[public work]]s and community development and are served by a ''delegado''.

*[[Centro, Tijuana|Centro]] – "Delegación Centro" includes the old downtown (Zona Centro), new business district ([[Zona Río]]), red light district ([[Zona Norte, Tijuana|Zona Norte]]), and other adjacent neighborhoods ("zonas").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sig.tijuana.gob.mx/|title=H. Ayuntamiento de Tijuana, B.C. Mexico|work=tijuana.gob.mx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703001014/http://www.sig.tijuana.gob.mx/|archive-date=3 July 2016}}</ref> This is the historical midpoint of Tijuana; the municipal palace is located here as well as most of the tourist zones, such as [[Avenida Revolución]] and the business district. The [[Tijuana Cultural Center]] (CECUT for CEntro CUltural de Tijuana) is located here as well as the Plaza Río Tijuana, until recently the largest mall in the state, within the [[Zona Río, Tijuana|Zona Rio]].
*[[Cerro Colorado, Tijuana|Cerro Colorado]] – The ''Cerro Colorado'' ("Red Hill") is located here and it is surrounded by houses. Because of its height many of the area's antennas for radio and television stations are located on its peak.
* [[La Mesa, Tijuana|La Mesa]] – This is where the [[Morelos Park]], the largest public park in the city, is located, as well as the retail and transit hub [[Cinco y Diez]], Plaza Mundo Divertido, the new [[Macroplaza, Tijuana|Macroplaza]] and the [[Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior|CETYS]] University.
*[[Otay Centenario]] – This borough was created in 2014 by merging Mesa de Otay and Centenario boroughs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnlinea/Notas/Noticias/15012014/796713-Doble-responsabilidad-desde-el-1-de-enero.html |title="Doble responsabilidad desde el 1 de enero", ''Frontera'', 2014-01-15 |access-date=2 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808044840/http://www.frontera.info/EdicionEnlinea/Notas/Noticias/15012014/796713-Doble-responsabilidad-desde-el-1-de-enero.html |archive-date=8 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Tijuana International Airport]], [[Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana|Tijuana campus]] of the [[Autonomous University of Baja California]] and the local branch of the [[National Technological Institute of Mexico|Technological Institute of Mexico]] are also located here as well as many [[maquiladora]]s. This is the borough with the largest number of factories and [[maquiladora]]s. Its largest colony is ''Ciudad Industrial'' ("Industrial City"). This delegation contains the [[Otay Mesa]] entry to the [[United States]] and the [[Friendship Park (San Diego - Tijuana)|Friendship Park]] (Parque de la amistad).
*[[Playas de Tijuana]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Bourough of Playas de Tijuana |url=http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/Delegaciones/Delegaciones.asp?delegacion=6 |access-date=21 July 2011 |publisher=City of Tijuana |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722225910/http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/Delegaciones/Delegaciones.asp?delegacion=6 |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> – This is the westernmost borough of the city bordered by the [[Pacific Ocean]] on the west and the [[United States]] border on the north. This is where the beaches of Tijuana are located (hence the name) and it is also one of the two exits to the south towards [[Rosarito]] and [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]].
*[[La Presa, Tijuana|La Presa]] – literally "'the dam'", this is the largest borough in size and the [[Abelardo L. Rodríguez Dam]] is located within its limits, hence its name. The new [[Corredor Tijuana-Rosarito 2000]] and the [[Mexican Federal Highway 2|Tijuana-Tecate]] freeways run through it.
*[[San Antonio de los Buenos, Tijuana|San Antonio de los Buenos]] – This is mostly a residential area although it also has two industrial parks.
*[[Sanchez Taboada, Tijuana|Sanchez Taboada]] – Like the previous borough this is mostly a residential area, but within its borders are located many "maquiladoras" specially at Pacific Industrial Park.

===Climate===
Tijuana's climate has a [[Hot semi-arid climate|hot semi-arid]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''BSh''),<ref>{{cite journal|author=M. Kottek|author2=J. Grieser|author3=C. Beck|author4=B. Rudolf|author5=F. Rubel|title=World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated|journal=Meteorol. Z.|volume=15|pages=259–263|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pics/kottek_et_al_2006.gif|doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130|access-date=22 April 2009|year=2006|issue=3|bibcode=2006MetZe..15..259K|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017125921/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pics/kottek_et_al_2006.gif|archive-date=17 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> with about {{convert|231|mm|2|abbr=on}} of annual precipitation, and generally mild to warm weather year-round. It has characteristics of the [[Mediterranean climate]] (''Csa'') found to the immediate north, east, and south east, with most of the annual precipitation falling in the winter, between the months of November and March.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/568/56842328.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=30 November 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722230300/http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/568/56842328.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> Similar to [[San Diego#Climate|San Diego]], there are large summer temperature differences between the immediate coastline and the inner areas of the city. This is due to cold current inflow moderating the seaside temperature swings from the strong solar radiation.

Between November and March, storms originate from fronts entering off of the [[Pacific Ocean]]. January is the wettest month of the year for the city and during this time a periodic event, similar to [[June Gloom]], is observed created by [[marine layer]]. January is the coolest month, during which temperatures average {{convert|13.6|C|F}}. In the city April signifies the end of winter and the start of [[Santa Ana winds]]. Though the daytime highs are generally around {{convert|20|C|F}}, heat waves can reach up to {{convert|33|C|F}}. The hottest months in the city are August and September, during which temperatures average {{convert|22.0|C|F}}. Summers are by far the driest time of year since influences from the [[California Current]] and the [[North Pacific High]] suppress the formation of rainfall caused by the [[North American Monsoon]]. [[Tropical cyclone]]s do impact the city from time to time, however. The most recent to do so was [[Hurricane Hilary]] in 2023, which dumped torrential that caused widespread flash floods and landslides.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hilary causes landslides, flooding and deadly crashes in Tijuana, Mexico |date=21 August 2023 |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/local/hilary-causes-landslides-flooding-and-deadly-crashes-in-tijuana-mexico/3289535/ |publisher=KSND |location=San Diego, CA |access-date=22 August 2023}}</ref>

As in coastal Southern California, air pollution sometimes occurs during periods of temperature inversion, especially during summer and fall, but (unlike Mexico City) is seldom severe and in recent years has lessened due to cleaner car engines.<ref name=Adams>{{cite journal |last1=Adams |first1=David |last2=Comrie |first2=Andrew |year=1997 |title=The North American Monsoon |journal=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society|volume=78 |issue=10 |pages=2197–2213 |doi=10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<2197:TNAM>2.0.CO;2|bibcode=1997BAMS...78.2197A |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Frost]] and snow are rare phenomena in the city as temperatures are usually well above freezing. Yet, in December 1967, snow fell in the city and in January 2007 feather light snow fell in the east of the city. However, excessive amounts of snow fall have never been recorded in the city. On 14 February 2008, a winter storm caused an unusual snowfall in the upper reaches of the hills of the city.

The record low temperature recorded in the city was {{convert|-6|C|F}}, while the highest was {{convert|49|C|F}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=982068&cityname=Tijuana,+Baja+California,+Mexico|title=Tijuana, Baja California Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase.com|access-date=24 October 2019}}</ref>

{{Weather box
|location = Tijuana ([[Tijuana International Airport]])
|metric first = y
|single line = y
|Jan record high C = 34.5
|Feb record high C = 39.0
|Mar record high C = 34.0
|Apr record high C = 36.0
|May record high C = 38.5
|Jun record high C = 41.8
|Jul record high C = 39.0
|Aug record high C = 41.0
|Sep record high C = 49.0
|Oct record high C = 47.0
|Nov record high C = 42.0
|Dec record high C = 37.0
|year record high C = 49.0
|Jan high C = 20.3
|Feb high C = 20.8
|Mar high C = 20.8
|Apr high C = 22.1
|May high C = 23.5
|Jun high C = 25.2
|Jul high C = 27.8
|Aug high C = 28.1
|Sep high C = 27.8
|Oct high C = 26.0
|Nov high C = 23.5
|Dec high C = 21.1
|year high C = 23.9
|Jan mean C = 13.6
|Feb mean C = 14.3
|Mar mean C = 14.8
|Apr mean C = 16.1
|May mean C = 18.0
|Jun mean C = 19.8
|Jul mean C = 22.2
|Aug mean C = 22.8
|Sep mean C = 22.0
|Oct mean C = 19.5
|Nov mean C = 16.6
|Dec mean C = 14.0
|year mean C = 17.8
|Jan low C = 6.9
|Feb low C = 7.8
|Mar low C = 8.8
|Apr low C = 10.2
|May low C = 12.4
|Jun low C = 14.3
|Jul low C = 16.5
|Aug low C = 17.5
|Sep low C = 16.1
|Oct low C = 13.0
|Nov low C = 9.8
|Dec low C = 6.9
|year low C = 11.7
|Jan record low C = -3.0
|Feb record low C = 0.0
|Mar record low C = 0.5
|Apr record low C = 1.0
|May record low C = 5.5
|Jun record low C = 5.0
|Jul record low C = 7.5
|Aug record low C = 10.5
|Sep record low C = 10.0
|Oct record low C = 5.0
|Nov record low C = 1.0
|Dec record low C = -5.0
|year record low C = -5.0
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 43.8
|Feb rain mm = 36.5
|Mar rain mm = 42.7
|Apr rain mm = 17.6
|May rain mm = 4.4
|Jun rain mm = 0.7
|Jul rain mm = 0.7
|Aug rain mm = 0.9
|Sep rain mm = 5.0
|Oct rain mm = 7.8
|Nov rain mm = 33.8
|Dec rain mm = 37.0
|year rain mm = 230.9
|Jan rain days = 5.9
|Feb rain days = 4.7
|Mar rain days = 5.9
|Apr rain days = 3.1
|May rain days = 1.4
|Jun rain days = 0.5
|Jul rain days = 0.4
|Aug rain days = 0.2
|Sep rain days = 0.7
|Oct rain days = 1.7
|Nov rain days = 3.9
|Dec rain days = 4.3
|unit rain days = 0.1 mm
|year rain days = 32.7
|Jan humidity = 70
|Feb humidity = 74
|Mar humidity = 73
|Apr humidity = 75
|May humidity = 77
|Jun humidity = 79
|Jul humidity = 80
|Aug humidity = 80
|Sep humidity = 79
|Oct humidity = 76
|Nov humidity = 69
|Dec humidity = 69
|year humidity = 75
| Jan sun = 210.6
| Feb sun = 209.0
| Mar sun = 275.8
| Apr sun = 293.8
| May sun = 327.0
| Jun sun = 345.7
| Jul sun = 357.9
| Aug sun = 331.0
| Sep sun = 288.8
| Oct sun = 261.1
| Nov sun = 227.0
| Dec sun = 197.7
| year sun = 
|source 1 = Servicio Meteorologico Nacional<ref name = SMN >{{cite web
|url = http://smn.cna.gob.mx/tools/RESOURCES/Normales5110/NORMAL02068.TXT
|title = NORMALES CLIMATOLÓGICAS 1951–2010
|publisher = Servicio Meteorológico Nacional
|language = es
|access-date = 18 March 2013
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181117104945/http://smn.cna.gob.mx/tools/RESOURCES/Normales5110/NORMAL02068.TXT
|archive-date = 17 November 2018
|url-status = live
}}</ref>
| source 2 = Weather.Directory<ref name="Weather.Directory">
{{cite web|url=https://weather.directory/mx/tijuana
|title= Tijuana Weather & Climate Guide
|access-date= 8 Sep 2025
|website= Weather.Directory}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2018}}
{{Historical populations
|1980 |461267
|1985 |584267
|1990 |698752
|1995 |966097
|2000 |1210820
|2005 |1410687
|2010 |1559683
|2015 |1641570
|2020 |1922523
|footnote=sources:<ref name=2008population>{{cite web|url=http://citypopulation.de/Mexico-BajaCalifornia.html|title=MEXICO: Baja California|date=8 January 2012|publisher=Citypopulation.de|access-date=1 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208155835/http://citypopulation.de/Mexico-BajaCalifornia.html|archive-date=8 December 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Note for 2010, much of the 5-year growth has occurred in the [[Tijuana (municipality)|municipality]] of Tijuana (suburbs) rather than the city itself as the urban fringe expands as people escape into isolated suburban subdivisions due to drug violence.  2020 data is for municipality rather than locality.</ref>
}}

Tijuana has a diverse [[Multiculturalism|cosmopolitan]] population which includes migrants from other parts of Mexico and from all over the world. Tijuana has one of Mexico's largest Asian populations, predominantly consisting of Chinese immigrants. Tijuana also has a large and rapidly growing population of [[United States|Americans]], mostly from Southern California. Many Latin Americans, notably [[Cubans]], and [[Guatemalans]], have made Tijuana their home. The city also has many [[Lebanon|Lebanese]], Italian, French and Spanish citizens. Recently, the city has received a large influx of [[Haitian Mexicans|Haitian]] immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-haitians-tijuana-20171026-story.html|title=Article|website=Sandiegouniontribune.com|date=27 October 2017|access-date=14 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514213553/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-haitians-tijuana-20171026-story.html|archive-date=14 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{multiple image
| total_width       = 250
| align             = left
| perrow            = 2
| image1            = San Francisco de Asis (Tijuana).jpg
| caption1          = San Francisco de Asís Church, built in 1959
| image2            = Catedral Tijuana Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.JPG
| caption2          = Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tijuana|Catholic Archdiocese of Tijuana]]
| image3            = Templo Tijuana Mexico (cropped).jpg
| caption3          = [[Tijuana Mexico Temple]] of the [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|LDS Church]]
| image4            = Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico - panoramio (8) (cropped).jpg
| caption4          = Imaculada Concepción Church
}}

The majority of Tijuana's migrant Mexican population hail from [[Sinaloa]], [[Michoacán]], [[Jalisco]], [[Oaxaca]], and [[Mexico City]]. Because of the diversity of Mexico and the influx of immigrants from almost every region in the country, there are no accurate estimates on ethnicity or race of the current population. The heavy influx of immigrants to the city and municipality of Tijuana has led to job creation in the form of over 700 twin-plant (maquiladora) factories, which serve as the basis of employment for the majority of the working-class people in northern Mexico. The high poverty level in Tijuana is attributed to the city's "magnet status" for people who have come from the poorer south of the nation and citizens from other nations seeking to escape from extreme poverty. Tijuana holds a status that provides the possibility of employment as well as higher education and the dream of crossing the border. Tijuana and Baja California in general have much stronger economies and higher incomes than other Mexican cities along the United States border, as well as more moderate weather.

[[File:Iglesia. Col. Francisco Villa - panoramio (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Señor de Misericordia Church]]

Tijuana today is one of the fastest-growing cities in Mexico, with an average of 80,000 people moving to Tijuana yearly.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} In terms of area, the city grows by approximately three [[hectares]] a day, mostly east and south as the city is mostly built out to the beach already with the exception of some canyons.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Along with settlements separated from Tijuana proper and other communities unimproved land, big business moves in providing supermarkets and retail to marginal areas, along with paved roads. The city experiences the construction of 26,000 new settlers a year{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} that has led to the unregulated, illegal [[squatter]] homes that takes place in the hills and valleys of ever expanding Tijuana, most of these areas are still without city services like sidewalks, paving, streetlights, and public transit. This is an ongoing process: as older and existing squatter areas are brought into the city services, more marginal areas become occupied by squatters.

National Population Council (CONAPO) data has estimated that by 2030, growth rates maintaining, the city will become the second-largest in Mexico and anchor to the fourth largest metropolitan area in Mexico. The suburban sprawl observed in Tijuana leaves the downtown and beach areas relatively affluent.

While the [[INEGI]] Census 2010 placed Tijuana's population at 1.3 million, only two percent more than in 2005 Census, Tijuana City Council estimates from 2010 place the population closer to two million, at 1.6 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tijuana Striving for Better Days |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/07/tijuana-striving-for-better-days/ |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=9 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429141036/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/07/tijuana-striving-for-better-days/ |archive-date=29 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{As of|2005}} the large majority of the city's population, 96%, adhere to the beliefs of [[Christianity]]. The denominations are further divided into followers of [[Catholicism]] – 61% – and of [[Protestantism]] – 35%. While other beliefs occupying a 4% margin in the city include [[Taoism]] (among other Asian and European religions), [[atheism]] and [[agnosticism]] is also found.

===Crime===

Tijuana is the birthplace and base of the [[Tijuana Cartel]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tijuana Cartel|url=https://sites.google.com/site/violenceacrosstheborder/announcements/tijuana-cartel|access-date=25 September 2011|newspaper=Violence across the border}}</ref> From 2007 through 2010, Tijuana experienced a high level of violent [[Crime in Mexico|crime]] related to gang violence, in part derived from the [[Mexican drug war]] and [[human trafficking]]. Homicides peaked in 2010, when 844 people were killed,<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news |title=Tijuana violence slows as one cartel takes control |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-drugs-tijuana-idUSTRE7844EX20110905 |date=5 September 2011 |first=Lizbeth |last=Diaz |publisher=Thomson Reuters |access-date=2 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155012/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/05/us-mexico-drugs-tijuana-idUSTRE7844EX20110905 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> compared with 355 in 2004<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050524-9999-1n24tjmurder.html |title=Days are grueling and grisly for Tijuana's homicide cop |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune |date=24 May 2005 |first=Anna |last=Cearley |access-date=28 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702062105/http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050524-9999-1n24tjmurder.html |archive-date=2 July 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> and 349 in the first eight months of 2011.<ref name="reuters.com"/> Reportedly, the wave of violence resulted from a [[wikt:turf war|turf war]] as the administration of President [[Felipe Calderón]] weakened the local [[Ramón Arellano Félix|Arellano Félix]] cartel; violence slowed when the larger [[Sinaloa cartel]] took control.<ref name="reuters.com"/>

During the peak years of violent crime in the city, gun battles between rival cartels, and between cartels and the police, erupted in public. In April 2008, police found 1,500 shell casings on various streets after one battle left 13 suspected drug traffickers dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/26/tijuana.shootout.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch |title=13 dead in Tijuana shootouts |publisher=CNN |access-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527140953/http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/26/tijuana.shootout.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch |archive-date=27 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2009 and depending on the source, Tijuana Municipality experienced either 556 or 1,118 murders, mostly as a result of the [[Mexican drug war|drug war]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.transparenciabc.gob.mx/wps/wcm/resources/file/ebcf1c4875af1a6/inci_dic%2009_Tijuana.pdf |title=Denuncias Registradas Ante Agencias del Ministerio Publico del Fuero Comun |access-date=20 February 2011 |publisher=Portal de Transparencia del Gobierno del Estado de Baja California |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722225533/http://www.transparenciabc.gob.mx/wps/wcm/resources/file/ebcf1c4875af1a6/inci_dic%2009_Tijuana.pdf |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/continuas/vitales/bd/mortalidad/MortalidadGeneral.asp?s=est&c=11144 |title=Estadísticas de Mortalidad |access-date=14 September 2011 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028162638/http://www.inegi.org.mx/est/contenidos/espanol/proyectos/continuas/vitales/bd/mortalidad/MortalidadGeneral.asp?s=est&c=11144 |archive-date=28 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

There were 492 murders in 2013, a 48% increase in the homicide rate between 2012 and 2013. This was the highest number of murders since 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.osac.gov/Content/Browse/Report|title=Reports|website=Osac.gov}}</ref> By the end of 2017, the number of murders in Tijuana increased to 1,744, which was almost double those in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dibble |first=Sandra |date=14 January 2018 |title=Control for street drug trade pushes Tijuana to grisly new record: 1,744 homicides |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sd-me-homicides-tijuana-20180102-story.html |work=San Diego Union-Tribune |location=United States |access-date=6 April 2018}}<br />{{cite news |agency=Los Angeles Times |date=14 January 2018 |title=Violence in Tijuana Continues After Unprecedented Number of Homicides Recorded in 2017 |url=http://ktla.com/2018/01/14/violence-in-tijuana-continues-after-unprecedented-number-of-homicides-recorded-in-2017/ |work=KTLA |location=Los Angeles, United States}}</ref>

In 2018, [[OECD]] data recorded 2,253 homicides in Tijuana, equivalent to 129.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Metropolitan areas: Crime |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?QueryId=97151# |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=[[OECD]]}}</ref>

In May 2022, [[Statista]] data reported Tijuana as having the second highest homicide rate in the world at 138 per 100,000 inhabitants.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=May 2022 |title=World's most dangerous cities, by murder rate 2022 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/243797/ranking-of-the-most-dangerous-cities-in-the-world-by-murder-rate-per-capita/ |access-date=1 September 2022 |website=Statista}}</ref>

==Government==
[[File:TijuanaGovernmentPalace.jpg|thumb|The Palace of Government of [[Tijuana Municipality]]]]
At present, the parties with the greatest presence in Tijuana are the [[National Action Party (Mexico)|National Action Party]] (PAN), [[Institutional Revolutionary Party]] (PRI), and [[Ecologist Green Party of Mexico]] (PVEM). The PAN has been the dominant party in the city for 20 years. Historically the PRI had been the dominant party in regional politics, until 1989 when the PAN began to dominate the city, until yet again, in 2004, PRI began regaining prominence and won the Mayor's Office.

Less prominent parties also maintain relations with the dominant parties. These other parties, with less presence include the [[New Alliance Party (Mexico)|New Alliance Party]] (PANAL), [[Social Encounter Party]] (PES), and [[Party of the Democratic Revolution]] (PRD). Allied with the PAN at the state and local level under the Alliance for Baja California are the Social Encounter Party (PES) and New Alliance Party (PANAL). Allied with the PRI at the state and local level under the "Alliance for Better Living" are the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM) and Baja California State Party (PEBC).

Tijuana's importance and rise to a global city has led to its recognition among countries worldwide. In addition to international cultural recognition, Tijuana has received political recognition and is a developing a political center currently host to eight consulates from European, Asian and North American countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Mexico |url=http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/mexico# |publisher=GoAbroad.com |access-date=14 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111029214021/http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/mexico |archive-date=29 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:Zona Rio Tijuana.jpg|thumb|right|View of the [[Zona Río]], Tijuana's central business district]]
Tijuana is the economic center of [[Baja California]] and an important center for international trade in [[The Californias]]. The city is one of North America's most prominent manufacturing centers, as well as a major tourist destination.

[[Plaza Rio Tijuana]] is a large regional mall anchored by [[Cinépolis]], [[Sanborns]], Súper DAX and [[Sears (Mexico)|Sears]]. An important concentration of commercial plazas is in the [[Cinco y Diez]] around an eponymous intersection, named for a former American-style [[five and dime]] store that was located there. It is also a major hub for public transit. [[Plaza Carrousel]], with its namesake merry-go-round, is located here.

Tijuana, along with the nearby [[Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California|Valle de Guadalupe]], has recently become a culinary hotspot due to its [[Baja Med]] cuisine, including chefs such as [[Javier Plascencia]], but also for its tacos, other street food, food trucks, coffee houses and artisanal beer.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://revistatravesias.com/mexico/principales/847|title="''10 sorpresas gastronómicas en Tijuana'' (10 culinary surprises in Tijuana)", ''Travesías'', October 2015|access-date=31 October 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161101103444/http://revistatravesias.com/mexico/principales/847|archive-date=1 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tijuana receives 2.5 million [[medical tourists]] per year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Turismo médico deja una derrama de mil 200 mdd|url=https://www.elimparcial.com/tijuana/tijuana/Turismo-medico-deja-una-derrama-de-mil-200-mdd-20200301-0003.html|access-date=3 February 2021|website=ELIMPARCIAL.COM {{!}} Noticias de Tijuana, México|date=March 2020 |language=es-ES}}</ref>
{{clear left}}

===Tourism===
{{multiple image |total_width=350
 | align = right
 | perrow = 2
 | image1 = Tijuana (29795189511) (cropped).jpg
 | caption1 = Restaurants on [[Avenida Revolución]]
 | image2 = Plazasantacecilia.JPG
 | caption2 = Plaza Santa Cecília decorated with traditional Mexican [[papel picado]]
 | image3 = Zona Centro, 22000 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico - panoramio (18).jpg
 | caption3 = Market in [[Downtown Tijuana|Zona Centro]]
 | image4 = Tijuana - 191481401.jpg
 | caption4 = A Tijuana [[Zonkey (Tijuana)|zonkey]]
}}

Tijuana also relies on tourism for a major part of its revenue. About 300,000 visitors cross by foot or car from the [[San Ysidro, California|San Ysidro]] point of entry in the United States every day. Restaurants and [[taco stand]]s, pharmacies, bars and dance clubs, and shops and stalls selling Mexican crafts and souvenirs are part of the draw for the city's tourists, many located within walking distance of the border. The city's tourist centers include [[Downtown Tijuana]] including the nightlife hot spots around [http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-sexta-tijuana La Sexta], [[Avenida Revolucion|Avenida Revolución]], souvenir shopping at the ''Mercado de Artesanías'' and [[Plaza Viva Tijuana]], Tijuana's Cultural Center ([[Tijuana Cultural Center|CECUT]]) and neighboring [[Plaza Río Tijuana]] shopping center, and the city's best known vices, in the form of its legal [[Zona Norte, Tijuana|Red Light District]] and gambling ([[Agua Caliente, Tijuana|Agua Caliente]]). Tijuana is also known for being the birthplace of the [[Caesar salad]]. Mexico's [[drinking age]] of 18 (vs. 21 in the United States) makes it a common weekend destination for many high school and college aged Southern Californians who tend to stay on Avenida Revolución.

Tijuana is also known for its [[red-light district]] [[Zona Norte, Tijuana|Zona Norte]] (also referred to as ''La Coahuila'' after one of its main streets) with legal [[prostitution]] in strip clubs and on the street.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dibble |first=Sandra |date=31 October 2015 |title=Spotlight on Tijuana's 'tolerance zone' |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-baja-california/sdut-tijuana-tolerance-zone-2015oct31-story.html |work=San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=9 September 2018}}</ref> The strip clubs are typically full-contact, meaning the dancers let patrons fondle them.<ref name="DallaBaker2011">{{cite book |author1=Rochelle L. Dalla |author2=Lynda M. Baker |author3=John Defrain |author4=Celia Williamson |title=Global Perspectives on Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: Europe, Latin America, North America, and Global |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WhunAcBQYO8C&pg=PA142|date=8 April 2011 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-0-7391-4387-2 |page=142}}</ref> Many dancers also sell their sexual services.<ref>{{cite news |last=Noel |first=Andrea |date=8 October 2016 |title=Lap Dancing for the Cartels: Sex Work and Survival on Mexico's Streets |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/lap-dancing-for-the-cartels-sex-work-and-survival-on-mexicos-streets |work=The Daily Beast |access-date=9 September 2018}}<br />{{cite book|author=Michael Hemmingson|title=ZONA NORTE: The Post-Structural Body of Erotic Dancers and Sex Workers in Tijuana, San Diego and Los Angeles| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X11JDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|date=27 May 2009|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-4438-1201-6|pages=19–20}}</ref> In a 1999 estimation, there were 15,000 women engaged in prostitution in Tijuana outside of clubs and brothels.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ugarte |first1=Marisa B. |last2=Zarate |first2=Laura |last3=Farley |first3=Melissa |date=15 October 2008 |title=Prostitution and Trafficking of Women and Children from Mexico to the United States |journal=Journal of Trauma Practice |volume=2 |issue=3–4 |pages=147–165 |doi=10.1300/J189v02n03_08 |s2cid=154085105}}</ref>

Tijuana has many pharmacies that target visitors from the United States, which sell some medicines without prescriptions and/or at much lower costs than in the U.S. Many medications still require a Mexican prescription, which can be obtained from adjacent doctors' offices. People filling up prescriptions for drugs classified in the US as [[list of Schedule II drugs|Schedule II]] or [[list of Schedule III drugs|Schedule III]] have found it more difficult to locate such medications, and the purchase of pseudoephedrine also has become restricted by Tijuana pharmacies, just as in the U.S. To fill a prescription in Tijuana for any drug covered by the US [[Controlled Substances Act]] and legally bring it into the United States requires a prescription from the United States for re-import. Americans can import up to a 90-day supply of non-controlled medications for personal use to the US from Mexico and other countries.

Businesses such as auto detailing, medical and dental services and plastic surgery are heavily marketed, and are usually much less expensive than in the U.S.

Tijuana is headquarters for Mexico's largest gambling concern, [[Casino Caliente|Grupo Caliente]], which operates the only casinos in the city, more than twenty branches.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.grupocaliente.com.mx/|title=Grupo Caliente – Home| website=Grupocaliente.com.mx| access-date=28 February 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329124917/http://www.grupocaliente.com.mx/|archive-date=29 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tourists are sometimes [[Robbery|robbed]] by municipal police.<ref name="corrupt">{{cite web| url= https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/how-much-has-tijuana-done-to-clean-up-its-corrupt-police-force/ |title= How Much Has Tijuana Done to Clean Up Its Corrupt Police Force?|website= www.voiceofsandiego.org |date= 23 March 2006|access-date= 14 May 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190514203132/https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/how-much-has-tijuana-done-to-clean-up-its-corrupt-police-force/|archive-date= 14 May 2019|url-status= live}}</ref>

===Manufacturing===
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 350
| align             = right
| perrow            = 2
| image1            = Hospital Centro Medico Excel.jpg
| caption1          = Excel Medical Center. Tijuana is a leader in the manufacturing of medical devices.
| image2            = Toreo Park.jpg
| caption2          = Tijuana has grown in the 21st century as a significant commercial and manufacturing center of [[North America]].
}}

Tijuana is a large manufacturing center, and in addition to tourism, it serves as a cornerstone of the city economy. In the past decade alone, Tijuana became the medical device manufacture capital of the North American continent, surpassing previous leader [[Minneapolis–Saint Paul]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Analysis by Crossborder Group Finds Tijuana #1 City in North America for Medical Device Manufacturing Employment |url=http://crossbordergroup.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/analysis-by-crossborder-group-finds-tijuana-1-city-in-north-america-for-medical-device-manufacturing-employment/ |access-date=14 August 2011 |publisher=Tijuana Economic Development Corporation |date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330182406/http://crossbordergroup.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/analysis-by-crossborder-group-finds-tijuana-1-city-in-north-america-for-medical-device-manufacturing-employment/ |archive-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Recently Scantibodies<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scantibodies.com/about/|title=About SLI &#124; Scantibodies Laboratory, Inc.|date=15 February 2012|website=scantibodies.com}}</ref> announced a new plant of 130,000 m2 devoted to manufacturing of medical devices <ref>{{cite web |title=SiiLA |url=https://www.siilamexico.blog/en/post/scantibodies-will-invest-80-million-dollars-in-expanding-its-production-in-tijuana |website=SiiLA Mexico}}</ref> The new plant is a build to suit by FINSA<ref>{{cite web |title=FINSA Development |url=https://www.finsa.net/ |website=FINSA}}</ref>

Tijuana's proximity to [[Southern California]], and the city's large, skilled, diverse, and relatively inexpensive workforce, make it an attractive city for foreign companies looking to establish extensive industrial parks composed of assembly plants that are called ''[[maquiladora]]s'', even more so than other cities in the US-Mexican border zone, taking advantage of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) to export products. At its peak, in 2001 Tijuana had roughly 820 of these 'maquiladoras'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfomaquiladoras.org/dataprincipalabril05.htm| title=Maquiladora estadísticas abril 2005 | work=cfomaquiladoras.org |access-date=31 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607154400/http://www.cfomaquiladoras.org/dataprincipalabril05.htm |archive-date=7 June 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Foreign and domestic companies employ thousands of employees in these plants, usually in assembly-related labor. Such jobs are not demanding but typically offer above average salaries for Mexico, with most maqiladoras jobs beginning at MX$100 per day (about 5 US dollars, as of September 2016), significantly above the Mexican minimum wage of Mex$57.46 (about 3 US dollars, as of September 2016). Companies that have set up maquiladoras in Tijuana include [[Medtronic]], [[Lanix]], [[Hyundai Group|Hyundai]], [[Sony]],<ref>Alberts, Hana R., [https://www.forbes.com/2009/09/01/sony-hon-hai-tv-factory-business-billionaires-terry-gou.html "Sony Hives Off Major Factory"], ''Forbes'', 1 September 2009</ref> [[Vortec]], [[BMW]], [[Vizio]], [[Toyota]], [[Dell]], [[Samsung]], [[Kodak]], [[Panasonic Corporation|Matsushita/Panasonic]], [[GE]], [[Nabisco]], [[Ford Motor Company|Ford]], [[Microsoft]], [[Cemex]], [[Zonda Telecom|Zonda]], [[Philips]], [[Pioneer Corporation|Pioneer]], [[Airbus]], [[Plantronics]], [[Siemens Mexico]], [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar]], [[Sanyo]] and [[Volkswagen]]. Many of the maquiladoras are located in the Otay Mesa and Florido sections of Tijuana.
Economic development has its central business district at Zona Río, which together, with the corridor along Blvd. Agua Caliente (the extension of Avenida Revolución), contains the majority of the higher-end office space in the city. {{citation needed|date=March 2019}}

==Education==
[[File:UABC en la Plaza del Orgullo Cimarrón (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana]] (UABC)]]
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2022}}
Tijuana is home to many private Primary Schools, Secondary Schools and High Schools as well as nationally high-ranked colleges and universities.

The [[Instituto México]] is a notable secondary school.

'''Higher education'''<br />
Universities in Tijuana include:
*[[Autonomous University of Baja California, Tijuana]]
*[[Ibero-American University]]
*[[Xochicalco University]]
*[https://www.cetys.mx/en/tijuana-campus/ Cetys Universidad, Tijuana]
*[https://www.masterstudies.com/institutions/instituto-tecnol%C3%B3gico-de-tijuana Tijuana Institute of Technology]
*[https://universitam.edu.mx/ UNIVERSITAM Technology University]

==Culture==
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
{{multiple image |total_width=400
 | align = right
 | perrow = 2
 | image1 = Centro cultural tijuana.jpg
 | caption1 = [[Tijuana Cultural Center]] is an arts center and home to the Museum of [[The Californias]].
 | image2 = Casa de la Cultura - panoramio.jpg
 | caption2 = Casa de la Cultura de Tijuana
}}

Many foreigners travel to Tijuana to drink and dance, buy [[prescription drug]]s, purchase bootleg brand-name clothing, timepieces, and other personal accessories found globally, as well as manufactured and hand-crafted local curiosities. Locals and regular tourists avoid hassles by visiting the clubs at ''Plaza Fiesta'' or other areas of the [[Zona Río, Tijuana|Zona Río]] without the crowds, heavy marketing, and occasional tourist misbehavior or outright lawbreaking common on the Revolución strip.

Parque Morelos has a small zoo and park space; Parque de la Amistad in Otay Centenario has a small pond, and a running and dirt-bike track. Parque Teniente Guerrero is a downtown park with a public library and weekend entertainment by clowns.

===Entertainment===
[[File:Avenida Revolución (2650821469).jpg |thumb|upright|The [[Jai alai|Jai Alai]] arena, built in 1947, attracted spectators from both sides of the border.]]
As Tijuana matured from a tourist-oriented border town into one of Mexico's largest cities, the 1982 opening of the [[Tijuana Cultural Center]] (CECUT) marked a milestone. CECUT's mission was to strengthening Tijuana's image, both to US visitors and to Mexicans, as a destination for culture and not only shopping and vice. The center includes an OMNIMAX cinema showing [[IMAX]] films, the Museum of the Californias, contemporary art exhibition halls, a restaurant, café, bookstore, and other cultural facilities.

La Casa de la Cultura cultural center comprises a school, a theater, and a public library, and teaches dance, painting, music, plastic arts, photography and languages.

Other cultural venues include the Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura (Municipal Institute of Art and Culture), the Tijuana Wax Museum, the Museo El Trompo ([[Trompo]] Museum), and [[El Foro]], the former [[Jai Alai]] Palace, that is now a concert venue. Concerts are also held at the Estadio Caliente stadium, Hipódromo [[Agua Caliente Racetrack]], and at the "Audiorama" at the Museo El Trompo children's museum of science and technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tijuanaeventos.com/conciertos#axzz5h5Kf7eEd|title=Eventos – Conciertos – Tijuana Eventos|website=Tijuanaeventos.com}}</ref>

The [[Tijuana Country Club]] (Club Campestre de Tijuana) has many affluent members and a famous golf course and also functions as an entertainment and events venue. Tijuana also has a large [[Rotary Club]].

'''Nightlife'''<br />
[[File:Caesar's hotel and restaurant exterior 2019.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Caesar salad]] was invented at [[Caesar's]] in the 1920s.]]
Avenida Revolución has been known for its proliferation of nightclub shows, primarily catering to tourists.

Tijuana's nightlife scene is one of the city's strongest attractions. The area surrounding "'''La Sexta'''", the intersection at Calle Sexta and Av. Revolución, is now a major hub of new bars and dance clubs. Zona Rio, Tijuana's new Downtown, is home to some of the city's finest restaurants and bars. Another capstone of Tijuana's entertainment offerings is its adult nightlife industry, which includes the city's red light district as well as less conspicuous adult entertainment venues.

===Art===
{{multiple image |total_width=250
 | align = right
 | perrow = 2
 | image1 = Tijuana (49975377493).jpg
 | caption1 = Sculptures at Playas de Tijuana
 | image2 = Glorieta Cuauhtemoc Tijuana, Baja California, México (cropped).jpg
 | caption2 = [[Monument to Cuauhtémoc]]
 | image3 = Monumento Zaragoza - panoramio.jpg
 | caption3 = Monument to [[Ignacio Zaragoza]]
 | image4 = Parque "18 de Marzo" Col. Morelos - panoramio.jpg
 | caption4 = The ''18 de Marzo'' Memorial
}}

Tijuana also has a very active and independent artist community whose internationally recognized work has earned Tijuana the title of "one of the most important new cultural meccas", according to ''[[Newsweek]]'',<ref name="Cultural Mecca">''Strange New World''</ref> an exhibition of Tijuana's current art scene, is being curated by the [[Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego]] and is traveling across the US in 2006 and 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title = ART REVIEW Tijuana's scrappy, do-it-yourself spirit Ingenuity seizes the day as a traveling exhibition brings a vibrant creative scene across the border. |last = Pagel |first = David Pagel |newspaper = [[Los Angeles Times]] |date = 30 January 2007 |page = E–1}}</ref> Art collectives like ''Bulbo'' and film production like ''Palenque Filmaciones'' explore the use of film like the award-winning [[Tijuana Makes Me Happy]], media like television bulbo TV and print "bulbo PRESS", to show different realities of Tijuana out of Mexico. In 2004, Tijuana earned international acclaim for an art exhibition displayed on the cement banks of the Tijuana River and along the Mexico/U.S. border fence in Otay Mesa.

[[Graffiti]] is widespread in Tijuana. They can range from free-hand writing in spray can and marker form, often carrying social or sexual commentary in English or Spanish, pictures in [[wheatpaste]] and stencils, consisting of stenciled renderings of personalities crucial to Hispanic culture from past and present eras, such as television news announcers or stars, but also extending to images of artists like [[Salvador Dalí]]. Graffiti in Tijuana may seem at first to consist largely of simplistic tags and thus not as technically evolved, colorful, or accepted in the mainstream as the "pieces" of graffiti scenes of the United States, Europe, or Japan, but large, colorful graffiti murals adorn walls from both native Tijuanan artists as well as visiting graffiti writers, especially from California. The Tijuanan art pieces show as much prowess and skill as those made by their more renowned U.S. counterparts, although illicit graffiti are strongly discouraged by the Tijuana government, as in other major metropolitan areas.

===Music===
Since the decade of the 1920s, Tijuana has excelled in the musical field, thanks to the first groups of ranchera music that began to set the tourist establishments in the area with the visit of foreigners, including the former Casino Agua Caliente.

[[Javier Batiz]] founded in 1957 he founded a group called "{{ill|Los TJ's|es|TJ's|vertical-align=sup}}" with which he collected musical influences that were received in the Mexican border cities of black music, blues and R&B from people like T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, [[B.B. King]], [[Chuck Berry]], Howlin' Wolf, James Brown, among others. Later he would start his solo career in the rest of the country and participating in some bands in Mexico City.

[[File:Tijuana-performers.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Norteño (music)|Norteño]] musical ensemble performing in [[Downtown Tijuana]]]]

During the 60s, the American trumpeter [[Herb Alpert]], in a visit to the bullfights made in the old Bullfight, found musical inspiration so after the recording of his single "The Lonely Bull", which was a radio hit in 1962. With the success, he decided to make a casting and formed "The Tijuana Brass", with whom he toured and had a presentation on television. It was a musical collaboration with artists from Los Angeles, with style called "Tijuana Marimba´s Brass". The band was dissolved in 1969 but they continued with some presentations under the name of T.J.B. 55

Despite the downturn in rock artists for some years, in the 90s [[Tijuana No!]] emerged, returning a bit of the genre to the city. They also incorporated ska, punk and reggae. "No" would be the first album released, from which successes like "Pobre de ti", which had [[Julieta Venegas]] as a vocalist, would emerge. Later the singer began her solo career already in the 00s of the 21st century. Her musical career reached the recording of six studio albums, and she won two [[Grammys]], six [[Latin Grammys]], six MTV Latin America and two [[Latin Music Billboard]].

[[File:Vista del Reloj-Arco monumental (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|The Tijuana Arch, in Zona Centro]]

Among other things, Tijuana has been the inspiration for the birthplace of [[Nortec]] music style and [[cultural movement|Ruidoson]], resulting in a very large and active electronic music scene where groups and artists like [[Los Macuanos]], [[Maria y Jose]], [[Siberium]], [[Hidhawk]] and [[Harpocrates]] emerged. Tijuana also enjoys a large base of support in many other musical scenes such as [[mexican hip hop]], [[reggae]], [[hardcore punk|hardcore]], [[punk rock|punk]], [[black metal]] and [[house music]]. Famous musicians are from Tijuana including the pop-rock singer-songwriter [[Lynda Thomas]] and [[Vanessa Zamora]] and international indie punk bands like [[Delux]] and Los Kung-Fu Monkeys.

To promote the cultural development in children and youth of Tijuana, since 1996 the Tijuana Youth Symphony (SJT) has been promoted, which promotes education and musical training through instrument practices, music reading and public concerts. In addition, Tijuana has an opera season. There are also several musical festivals throughout the year, among which the Latin American Guitar Festival, Mainly Mozart Binacional, and the International Exhibition of contemporary dance "Bodies in Transit" stand out.

Tijuana is home to the Baja California Orchestra, one of the most prestigious and solid artistic institutions in northwestern Mexico, which was nominated for the Latin Grammy in the category of best classical album by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Inc., with the album Tango kills Danzón kills Tango. This phonogram was distinguished as 'Best Classical Album of the year 2001' by the Mexican Union of Theater and Music Chroniclers. Currently, it maintains an annual season, offering symphonic and chamber music concerts in the most important forums of Tijuana and Baja California.

==Sports==

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Club
! Sport
! Founded
! League
! Venue
|-
|[[Club Tijuana]]
|[[Association football]]
|2007
|[[Liga MX]]
|[[Estadio Caliente]]
|-
|[[Toros de Tijuana]]
|[[Baseball]]
|2013
|[[Mexican League]]
|[[Estadio Chevron]]
|-
|[[Tijuana Zonkeys]]
|[[Basketball]]
|2010
|[[Cibacopa|Circuito de Baloncesto de La Costa Del Pacifico]]
|[[Auditorio Fausto Gutierrez Moreno]]
|-
|[[Galgos de Tijuana]]
|[[American football]]
|2021
|[[Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional]]
|[[Estadio Caliente]]
|}

The city is home to the [[Tijuana Zonkeys]] [[professional basketball]] team of the [[Circuito de Baloncesto de la Costa del Pacífico|CIBACOPA]] basketball league. The team is composed mostly of players from Mexico and plays from February to July in the [[Auditorio Municipal (Tijuana)|Municipal Auditorium]].

The city has a strong tradition of [[association football]], [[Club Tijuana]] began playing in the [[Liga MX]] [[Primera División de México|México Primera División]] on the 2011/12 season, winning the 2012 Apertura title. They play their matches at the [[Estadio Caliente]], a new 33,000-seat stadium. The team's mascot is the [[Xoloitzcuintle]], a famous Mexican hairless dog.

Tijuana also has a long history of producing many world champion professional boxers, such as [[Antonio Margarito]] and [[Erik Morales]].

===Stadiums===
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 175
| align             = right
| perrow            = 1
| image1            = Xolos estadio caliente.jpg
| caption1          = [[Estadio Caliente]], home to [[Club Tijuana]] of the [[Liga MX]]
| image2            = Estadio gasmart.jpg
| caption2          = [[Estadio Chevron]], home to [[Toros de Tijuana]] of the [[Liga Mexicana de Béisbol]]
}}

'''Estadio Caliente'''<br />
{{main|Estadio Caliente}}
[[Estadio Caliente]] is a multi-purpose stadium in Tijuana, serving as the match venue for Club Tijuana, a [[Liga MX]] [[Primera División de México|México Primera División]] [[Association football|football]] team. It is mainly used for football matches and has a seating capacity of 27,333 spectators.

'''Estadio Chevron'''<br />
{{main|Estadio Chevron}}
The Chevron Stadium is the home of the Toros de Tijuana. It opened in 1977 and housed the Colts missing Tijuana Mexican Pacific League. Subsequently, the stadium was used for football matches. For 2004, professional baseball returned, now with a franchise LMB under the name of ''Toros de Tijuana'', which, the following year, changed its name to ''Colts'' as it had been known previously.

At first the facility was called Cerro Colorado Stadium, due to its location at the foot of the hill of that name. With the return of baseball, chain supermarkets ''Calimax'' bought the naming rights to the stadium. In 2004, the first season of ''Toros'', the fans filled the stadium for most matches. On 4 April 2013, the stadium was remodeled, marking the beginning of a new era for Toros de Tijuana.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}

==Transportation==
[[File:Aeropuerto de Tijuana 11.jpg|thumb|left|[[Tijuana International Airport]]]]
Tijuana is a major gateway to the interior of Mexico to which it is connected by air and road directly, and by sea via the ports of Ensenada and San Diego. Within Tijuana there are freeways and other roads, and buses, but no passenger rail.

Local public transportation in Tijuana is run by semiprivate companies, and has one of the most complex, or perhaps unorganized networks.

===Air===
The [[Tijuana International Airport]] is the city's main airport, one of the busiest in Mexico, and serves several airlines with destinations all across Mexico. It is also a second main airport for the San Diego area for passengers heading south into Mexico and Latin America, who may use the airport's [[Cross Border Xpress]] terminal located on the U.S. side of the border in Otay Mesa and connected to the rest of the airport on the Mexican side by a pedestrian toll bridge. U.S., European, Asian and [[Canada|Canadian]] destinations can be reached via [[San Diego International Airport]], located about {{convert|35|km|mi|0|sp=us}} north of the international border.

===Highways===
[[File:Via Rapida de Tijuana.jpg|thumb|right|Vía Rápida in Tijuana]]
Two important Mexican federal highway corridors start in Tijuana. One of them is [[Mexican Federal Highway 1|Fed 1]], which runs south through the [[Baja California Peninsula]] through [[Rosarito Beach]], [[Baja Mar]], and [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]] before ending in [[Cabo San Lucas]], [[Baja California Sur]]. From Tijuana to Ensenada, most travelers take Fed 1D (scenic road), a four-lane, limited-access toll road that runs along the coast, starting at Playas de Tijuana. [[Mexican Federal Highway 2|Fed 2]] runs east for {{convert|1,000|km|mi|abbr=off|sp=us}} near the international border, as far as [[Ciudad Juárez]], [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]].

Within the metropolitan area the [[Corredor Tijuana-Rosarito 2000]] freeway connects [[Mesa de Otay]] in the northeast of the city with [[Rosarito Beach]] in the southwest.

Just north of the San Ysidro border crossing, [[Interstate 5 (California)|Interstate 5]] and [[Interstate 805 (California)|Interstate 805]] head northbound to San Diego and beyond. From the Otay Mesa border crossing, [[California State Route 905]] takes drivers west to connect with [[California State Route 125]] toll road, as well as both I-805 and I-5.

===Transit===
{{multiple image |total_width=400
 | align = right
 | perrow = 2
 | image1 = Amistad SITT BRT Tijuana.jpg
 | caption1 = Amistad [[bus rapid transit]] (BRT) station
 | image2 = SITT Bus Leaving Stop.jpg
 | caption2 = A Tijuana BRT bus
}}

The city's main [[bus station]] is in its eastern borough. A small terminal downtown serves a few Mexican bus lines, and U.S.-based [[Greyhound Lines]] and [[Crucero USA]]. Another bus station near the border provides frequent service to [[Ensenada, Baja California|Ensenada]], and other major cities—including [[Mazatlán]], [[Culiacán]], [[Hermosillo]], and [[Guadalajara]]. Major [[bus]] lines operating in Tijuana include Azul y Blanco de Magallanes (Blue & White) and Transporte {{Not a typo|Efectivo}} Express de Tijuana – TEEXTI; modernizing system originally intended to phase out the other lines that partially introduced but ceased and merged with Azul y Blanco.

A [[bus rapid transit]] system, named SITT, operates one route from Downtown Tijuana and Garita Puerto Mexico near the [[San Ysidro Port of Entry]], southeasterly along the Tijuana River to Terminal Insurgentes in the southeast of the city. It is part of a planned system of main and feeder lines to replace other buses and minibuses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sitt.org.mx/inicio/rutasymapas/|title=SISTEMA INTEGRAL DE TRANSPORTE DE TIJUANA is under construction|website=Sitt.org.mx|access-date=16 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017044910/http://www.sitt.org.mx/inicio/rutasymapas/|archive-date=17 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2006, Tijuana underwent a major overhaul of its existing system of ''guayines'', or shared fixed-route station wagons, forcing the replacement of the ''guayines'' with new models of vans, serving as fixed-route taxis. Major transit hubs include Centro (Downtown Tijuana), Otay, Soler, and the ''Cinco'' y ''Diez'' avenues. Taxi lines operating in the city include Free Taxis, those that do not maintain a specific route; Economic Taxis; Diamond Taxis – black or yellow cabs; and regular taxis maintaining a set route. There are as many bus lines and routes as fixed-route taxi ones or ''calafias'', and new routes for buses, taxis or ''calafias'' are frequently created, due to high demand of public transportation. Public transportation service is inexpensive, with bus tickets at maximum, US$0.75. Fixed-route taxis are somewhat more expensive, depending on the taxi route, reaching US$2.00. Bus, taxi and ''calafia'' lines and routes are distinguished from one another by their vehicles colors. However, there is no public record for these routes, set timetables, or fixed bus stops, making Tijuana's public transportation services very unreliable especially for lesser served areas. Locals generally transmit this type of information (routes) by word of mouth.

In March 2021, the [[Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (Mexico)]] approved a state contract for the design, construction, and operation of the first phase of a Tijuana-Tecate interurban rail line. The {{Convert|27|km|mi|abbr=on}} segment will connect the San Ysidro-Tijuana land port of entry to Ejido Maclovio Rojas municipality in Tijuana's east and will include seven intermediate stations – Kino, Américas Oriente/Xolos, La 5 y 10, Swap Meet Siglo XX1, García, Terán Terán and El 2000.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BNamericas - Mexico approves construction start-up of Tij... |url=https://www.bnamericas.com/en/news/mexico-approves-construction-start-up-of-tijuana-tecate-rail-link |access-date=11 May 2022 |website=BNamericas.com}}</ref>

==International relations==
[[File:Cristo Iglesia San Martin Porres - panoramio (cropped1).jpg|thumb|right|''Cristo Rey'' statue near Colonia Los Álamos]]
Tijuana has multiple sister cities and twin towns. These relations have been formalized by a variety of organizations as well as municipal governments. Currently [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with the City of Tijuana are:
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white;"
|- style="color:white;"
!! style="background:darkblue; width: 25%; color:white" |City
!! style="background:darkblue; width: 50%; color:white" |Nation
!! style="background:darkblue; width: 20%; color:white" |Since
|-
|[[Busan]]
|{{flagicon|KOR}} South Korea
|1995
|-
|[[San Diego]]<ref name="SC">{{cite web |title=Sister Cities – Interactive City Directory – Tijuana, Mexico |url=http://sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Tijuana,%20Mexico |publisher=Sister Cities International |access-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113041139/http://sister-cities.org/interactive-map/Tijuana,%20Mexico |archive-date=13 November 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{flagicon|USA}} United States
|
|-
|[[La Paz, Baja California Sur|La Paz]]
|{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Mexico]]
| 2018
|-
|[[León, Guanajuato|León]]
|{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Mexico]]
|
|-
|[[Mazatlán]]
|{{flagicon|MEX}} [[Mexico]]
|
|-
|[[Panjin]]
|{{flagicon|PRC}} [[People's Republic of China]]
|
|-
|[[Havana]]
|{{flagicon|CUB}} [[Cuba]]
|
|-
|[[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Zaragoza]]
|{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Spain]]
|
|-
|[[Medellín, Colombia|Medellín]]
|{{flagicon|COL}} [[Colombia]]
|
|-
|[[Laredo, Texas|Laredo]]
|{{flagicon|USA}} [[United States]]
|
|-
|[[Słubice]]
|{{flagicon|POL}} [[Poland]]
|1998
|-
|[[Wuhan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.wh.gov.cn/publish/english/2013-07/22/1201307220851050080.html|title=Tijuana, Mexico becomes Wuhan's 20th sister city|access-date=1 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090709/http://english.wh.gov.cn/publish/english/2013-07/22/1201307220851050080.html|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{flagicon|PRC}} [[China]]
|2013
|}
{{clear}}

==Notable people==
{{main|List of people from Tijuana}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|Timeline of Tijuana#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Tijuana}}
*Kun, Josh, and Fiamma Montezemolo, eds. ''Tijuana Dreaming: Life and Art at the Global Border'' (Duke University Press; 2012) 387 pages; scholarly and popular essays including material translated from Spanish for the first time; topics include the city's image in fiction as a Prohibition-era "city of sin" for American visitors

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Tijuana}}
'''Official'''
*[http://www.tijuana.gob.mx/ Tijuana Municipal Government]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110824204636/http://www.tijuana-edc.com/english/index.php Tijuana Economic Development Corporation]

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}}
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[[Category:Tijuana| ]]<!--Please leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Populated places in Tijuana Municipality]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Mexico]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1889]]
[[Category:1889 establishments in Mexico]]
[[Category:Cities in Mexico]]