Gran Concepción is the third largest conurbation in Chile, after Greater Santiago and Greater Valparaíso, with 945,650 inhabitants according to the 2012 pre census.

The agglomeration is composed of: Gran Concepción has also the second largest concentration of universities in Chile.

Apart from the so-called Traditional Universities, it has several private institutions.

The Universidad de Concepción is the most important university in the conurbation.

There is also a commuter rail system which serves most of the communes (Spanish: comunas) in the conurbation: Biotren.