[2] Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Ibaraki has risen steadily over the past century.

The area of the modern city of Ibaraki was within ancient Settsu Province, and was the site of large settlements in the Yayoi period and was the location of large burial mounds in the Kofun period, including the Ota Chausuyama Kofun, which is designated by the Imperial Household Agency as the mausoleum of Emperor Keitai.

In the Edo Period, it was directly controlled by Tokugawa shogunate due to its strategic importance on the Sanyōdō highway.

Ibaraki has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Osaka 9th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

Ibaraki is a regional commercial center and distribution hub for northern Osaka.