Pu'er City governs 9 counties, 1 district, 103 townships (towns), and a total population of 2.65 million.

A major downturn in the price of tea in 2007 caused severe economic distress in the area.

Nanzhao set a division called Bu'ri Jian (步日瞼)[note 1] in 839 AD; this was the first time the region was integrated into the administrative system of a Chinese dynasty.

Its name was changed to Simao in 1950 following the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War, while its surrounding county was known as Pu'er.

Pu'er is located in southern/southwestern Yunnan, on the lower reaches of the Mekong (known in Chinese as the Lancang), with the bordering prefectures being Yuxi to the northeast, Honghe to the east, Xishuangbanna to the south, Lincang to the northwest, and Dali and Chuxiong.

[1] Located at an altitude of above 1,300 m (4,300 ft) and within a degree south of the Tropic of Cancer, Pu'er, as with much of southern Yunnan, has a warm humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa), with muddled distinction between the seasons and daytime temperatures remaining warm year-round.

[12] Highs peak in April and May before the core of the rainy season and reach a minimum in December; however, the warmest and coolest months are June and January, respectively at 23.0 °C (73.4 °F) and 13.7 °C (56.7 °F); the annual mean is 19.3 °C (66.7 °F).