Lakeland's sister cities are; Richmond Hill in Canada, Imabari in Japan, and Balti in Moldova.

Geography.
Lakeland is located at 28°2?28?N, 81°57?32?W (28.041248, -81.958978).GR1 Lakeland is 141 feet above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 51.45 square miles (133.3 km²). 45.84 square miles (118.7 km²) of it is land and 5.61 square miles (14.5 km²) of it (10.90%) is water.

In July 2006, Scott Lake, one of the city's lakes, was almost totally drained by a cluster of sinkholes. The lake later partially refilled.

Demographics.
As of the census of 2000, there were 78,452 people, 33,509 households, and 20,373 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,711.3/mi² (660.8/km²). There were 38,980 housing units at an average density of 850.3/mi² (328.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.52% White, 21.26% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.34% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.76% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.41% of the population.

There were 33,509 households out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.2% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.1 males.

Lakeland has seen explosive growth. According to The Tampa Tribune the population in 2020 is projected to be 115,000 residents.