As of 2003, the city has an estimated population of 404,428 and the density of 2,072.71 persons per km². The total area is 195.12 km².
The name Gifu was given in the Sengoku period by Oda Nobunaga, a leading feudal lord in province that is now Aichi Prefecture. Renaming what was previously called Mino, he intended to show his ambition to reunify Japan. He named it after a legendary mountain, Mt. Gi, in ancient China.
