Administrative divisions of Portugal
Encyclopedia
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
and the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
have their own regional political and administrative statutes and self-governing institutions.
Until the end of the authoritarian regime (1926–1974), the administration of Portugal was highly centralized in the monarchy and, later, the republican governments. Administratively, Portugal was divided into district
District
Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities.-Austria:...
s , municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
es , with only the last two having some political autonomy.
The current government structure is based on the 1976 Constitution, adopted after the 1975 Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
. In addition to defining the autonomous status of the Azores and Madeira (Articles 225-234), the Constitution specifically identifies the three tiers of government (Article 235-262): civil parishes, municipalities and administrative regions . In addition, Law No.11/2003 (13 May 2003) allows the municipalities to organize themselves into inter-municipal communities , that can be of general or specific purposes; and metropolitan areas , that can be of two types: great metropolitan areas and urban communities . The 1976 Constitution allows a high degree of freedom for the lower tier governments to decide their expenditures, but they are conditioned by state transferences to operate. A referendum
Referendum
A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
was conducted in 1998 in order to implement statutory and political regions with some degree of autonomy, but was rejected. As a consequence of these constitutional revisions the "district" has been removed from the legal framework, but still remains an important and relevant division for other entities. Similarly, it is still recognized by the general public. The 2011 bailout accord resulted in the proposed reduction of the number of municipal and parish local governments after July 2012, a condition of the $110 Billion accord.
In addition, the Portuguese territory was redefined during European integration, under a system of statistical regions and subregions known as Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes...
. These NUTS definitions, used for collecting statistical information, follow many of the countries border definitions. Although utilized by the Portuguese government, they do not have a legal status in law.
History
Portugal has a complex administrative structure, a consequence of a millennium of various territorial divisions. Unlike Spain or France, the Portuguese territory was settled early, and maintained with stability after the 13th century.The first division of the Portuguese territory was based exclusively on the Roman Iberian provinces of Tarraconensis, Lusitania
Lusitania
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...
and Baetica, established by Emperor Augustus between 27-13 B.C. The actual territory of Portugal north of the Douro, the Province of Tarraconensis, occupied half of the peninsula, while the Province Lusitania, included the area south of the Douro. These Roman provinces were themselves subdivided into conventus iuridicus
Conventus iuridicus
In Ancient Rome territorial organization, a conventus iuridicus was the capital city of a subdivision of some provinces with functions of seat of a district court of justice and maybe others.-External links:...
: Conventus Bracarum, its seat in Bracara Augusta (today the city of Braga); Conventus Scallabitanus, its seat in Scallabis (today the city of Santarém); and Conventus Pacensis, its seat in Pax Julia (today Beja). By the end of the third century, Emperor Diocleatian administratively reordered Tarraconesis, dividing it into three separate territories (Tarraconensis, Carthaginensis and Callaecia), the latter comprising the northern Portugal, Galizia and Austurias. These divisions remained constant even after the Visigoths controlled the Iberian peninsula.
During the period of Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
and Muslim caliphates, the Iberian peninsula was divided administratively into provinces (kuwar) and municipalities (kurar), along the lines of the Roman-Visigothic delineations. Meanwhile, the taifa of Badajoz dominated the spaces of Beiras, Estremadura and a great part of the Alentejo.
With the expansion of the Portuguese national territory, following the conquest
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
of new lands, the monarchy imposed a structure that permitted permanent dominion and organization of territorial space. There was also a tendency to demarcate lands associated with settlements or seigneurial properties; there was a constant history of foral
Foral
thumb|left|200px|Foral of Castro Verde - PortugalThe word foral derives from the Portuguese word foro, ultimately from Latin forum, equivalent to Spanish fuero, Galician foro, Catalan furs and Basque foru ....
s (the royal charters) being allocated for unorganized territories, as a means to primarily establish fielty rights and encourage medieval settlement. Historically, the institution of the foral
Foral
thumb|left|200px|Foral of Castro Verde - PortugalThe word foral derives from the Portuguese word foro, ultimately from Latin forum, equivalent to Spanish fuero, Galician foro, Catalan furs and Basque foru ....
system was a way to divide the territory and to establish local administrative control (and not regional or hierarchical continuity). Similarly the parish, instituted by the religious orders that dominated the country, controlled local ecclesiastical power at the local level.
During the reign of King Dinis (1279–1325), the monarch instituted a series of inquiries throughout the kingdom which resulted, a few years later, in the configuration of the territory into provinces and municipalities. This was the first official recognition of the diversity of the country, and in the King's Testamento do Reino de Portugal he recognized the five "regions" of the nation: Antre Douro e Minho; Antre Douro e Mondego; Beira,Estremadura and Antre Tejo e Odiana.
Provinces
Afonso IV of Portugal
Afonso IV , called the Brave , was the seventh king of Portugal and the Algarve from 1325 until his death. He was the only legitimate son of King Denis of Portugal by his wife Elizabeth of Aragon.-Biography:...
(1325–1357), instituted a system of six official comarcas, that reflected a concrete definition of these regions: Antre Douro e Minho, Antre Douro e Mondego, Beira,Estremadura, Antre Tejo e Odiana and Algarve. Between the reign of Afonso IV and the 20th century there were numerous alterations to the limits of the nation, a consequence of development and population growth. Further modifications to the limits of these provinces occurred in the Plano de Ordenamento da Mata Nacional da Machada (1864), the first scientific delimiting of forest resources, and the Projecto Geral da Arborização dos Areais Móveis de Portugal (1897), which modified land usage along the coast.
But, until 1832, the provinces did not serve an administrative function, although they did mark the differences in habits, linguistic peculiarities and socio-cultural characteristics. The province remained a military designation, chiefed by the General das Armas (Military Governor), expressly forbidden from influencing municipal affairs. During the Liberal regime, some of the liberal politicians conceived an administrative system where provinces were the top level tier of government, maintaining their former names, but with different frontiers. The debate over the importance of provinces only arose from fears that there would be an excessive concentration of power in the hands of governmental officers . The adoption of the 17 districts (1835) instead of eight provinces was an attempt to dissolve such power.
But, by 1976, the distinction was once again dropped, even as Portugal was divided into regions or provinces . There was a substantial difference between the European provinces and regions and the overseas colonies (the so-called overseas provinces). The Provinces were inspired by the geneticregions of Portugal and royal Comarcas, and used by the Estado Novo dictatorship to characterize traditional and rural Portugal in the first half of the 20th century. Yet, the Districts continued to define administrative and political control, much like the organization of public security for the State, limiting the powers of local government. This organizational structure for the territory resulted in a loss of the sense of regional identity, which was only kept alive by oral traditions, based on regional references of origin.
Following the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
, the regions and provinces were abolished and the districts became the second level administrative regions.
Overseas
The term overseas province was exalted by the government of António de Oliveira SalazarAntónio de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
only after 1951 to shift the attention of anti-colonial protests in the United Nations. But the history of extra-local territories (colonies or provinces) within Portuguese administration dates back to the first settlements along the African coast, South-east Asia and Brazil, and were instituted as part of the 1832 reforms. The initiatives envisioned a comprehensive series of provinces that would have included European Portugal, archipelagos and extra-local dependencies in Southeast Asia, Africa and India. These colonies included:
- Portuguese West Africa an overseas province between 1951 and 1975, when it became the independent nation of AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
; - Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
– an overseas province between 1951 and 1974, autonomous republicAutonomous republicAn autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
between 1974 and 1975, when it became an independent nation; - Portuguese GuineaPortuguese GuineaPortuguese Guinea was the name for what is today Guinea-Bissau from 1446 to September 10, 1974.-History:...
an overseas province between 1951–1974, until unilaterally declaring independence as Guinea Bissau in 1973 (later recognised by Portugal in 1974); - MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
overseas province between 1844 and 1883; included many of the overseas provinces of South-east Asia with Portuguese Timor in the administration of GoaGoaGoa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, between 1883 and 1951); an overseas province between 1951 and 1975; special territory between 1975 and 1999, before being returned to ChinaPeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
as a special administrative region in 1999; - Portuguese East AfricaPortuguese East AfricaMozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
overseas province between 1951 and 1974); local administration between 1974 and 1975, before it became the independent nation of MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
; - Portuguese IndiaPortuguese IndiaThe Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
an overseas province between 1946 and 1962, it was annexed by India in 1962 (and later recognised by Portugal in 1974); - São Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
an overseas province between 1951 and 1971); local administration between 1971 and 1975, before it became an independent nation in 1975; - Portuguese TimorPortuguese TimorPortuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
an overseas territory between 1951 and 1961, until unilaterally declaring independence as East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in 1975, it was annexed by IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in 1976, recognised by UNUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
as non-self-governing-territory under Portuguese administration between 1961–1999. After 1999 it was a United Nations protectorate until formal independence in 2002.
Initially the population of these overseas territories were made to exploit resources (minerals, spices, wood or slaves), but later there was a sense of evangelisation or lusotropolicalism, that facilitated the colonization of these lands. The first significant colony was Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
whose history included a period as kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarve(1815–1822), before a political schism would result in its independence in 1822.
Districts
The district system dates back to 25 April 1835, a creation of the Liberal government, and inspired by the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
départements, with the objective to "facilitate the action of government...and permit access to the authorities".
The district, although currently in a process of being phased out, is the most relevant and historically significant subdivision of the nation's territory; it serves as the basis for a series of administrative divisions, such as electoral constituencies or district football associations
Portuguese District Football Associations
There are 22 district Football Associations in Portugal. These organizations are the governing bodies of football in each Portuguese district....
, as well as being a socially recognizable territorial division of the country.
In 1976, Portugal was divided into 18 districts and two autonomous regions (the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
), consisting of 308 municipalities , which in turn were divided into 4257 local government authorities .
There are 18 districts in mainland Portugal:
|
 |
The distribution of Portuguese districts is nominally homogeneous, although there are outliers (Beja for example is 4.6 times larger than the smallest district, Viana do Castelo). But these divisions bely the inadequacies and disparities that exist within the country: the distribution of population and gross domestic product between territorial units are markedly different. The district of Beja, for example, represents approximately 11.5% of the area of Portugal, while Viana do Castelo is less than 2.5%. But, in comparison, Beja represents only 1.6% of the population of Portugal.
Portugal is primarily a seafaring nation, and traditionally human settlement has congregated along the coastline, so much so that the coastal districts, while being relatively small, were disproportionately larger by population. The six largest districts (with the exception of Santarém) are the six districts with the smallest populations and common character: a frontier with Spain. Of these interior districts, which represent 63.8% of the nation and have a population that is less than two million residents, is only marginally less than the population of the district of Lisbon.
Subdivisions
| Sudvision | No. | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Regiões Autónomas | 2 | Autonomous Regions |
| Distritos | 18 | Districts |
| Grande Área Metropolitana | 7 | Greater Metropolitan Areas |
| Comunidades Urbanas | 12 | Urban Communities |
| Concelhos | 308 | Municipalities |
| Freguesias | 4261 | Civil Parishes |
| Cidades | 151 | Cities |
| Vilas | 533 | Towns |
It was in 1976 (with the establishment of the democratic constitution) that the fragmentation of Portugal into the system that exists today began. There have been various political attempts to reorganize the system to reflect a practical and logical rationale based on economic, cultural and demographic realities. The most recent attempt, a process of regionalization, proposed by Socialist
Socialist Party (Portugal)
The Socialist Party , abbreviated to PS, is a social-democratic political party in Portugal. It was founded on 19 April 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action ....
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Portugal
Prime Minister is the current title of the chief of the Portuguese Government. As chief executive, the Prime Minister coordinates the action of ministers, representing the Government from the other organs of state, accountable to Parliament and keeps the President informed...
António Guterres
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCC is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister and President of the Socialist International. Currently he is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.-Early life:...
was defeated in a referendum on 8 November 1998.
The division of the Portuguese territory is established in title eight (Título VIII) of the Portuguese constitution: granting local authority to territorial collectivities with representative organs to affect the interests of the local populations. These collectivities are defined as regions,municipalities and civil parishes, but reserves the right of urban areas and islands to establish other forms of local authority. In defining the rights and privileges of these entities, the constitution also defines sources of income, that includes local heritage, budgets and equalization transfers from the State, in addition to defining the basic role of local government at each level.
In 2011, after more than two weeks of bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
and the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, the Portuguese government was obliged to reduce the number of municipal and parish local governments after July 2012. It was determined that these changes would then be formalized before the 2013 local government elections, as part of a process to reduce expenditures, a condition of the $110 Billion accord.
Administrative Regions
Historically, by the end of the 18th century there were no regional forms of government, or regional identities; the concept of natural inner borders didn’t exist and the provinces did not have territorial unity.In November 1998, eight regions were officially identified by Decree Law 18/98, which resulted from an accord between the Socialist Party (PS)
Socialist Party (Portugal)
The Socialist Party , abbreviated to PS, is a social-democratic political party in Portugal. It was founded on 19 April 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action ....
and the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP)
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
in July 1997. Trying to find an effective form of regional division, the compromise resulted in the PCP and The Greens (PEV) accepting the Entre Douro e Minho region, and the PS removing their demands for a division of the Alto and Baixo Alentejo region's definition.
Later, the new territorial map of eight regions would include minor revisions to the borders (the southern border of the Douro, Alto Ribeatejo and Alta Extremadura), resulting in a consultation with respective municipal authorities. The new regional map was later referred jokingly as theMapa da T.S.F., because many of the political decision-makers made their decisions on the plan after listening to public comments from the transmissions of T.S.F. Rádio Notícias. This transmission showed that, although the idea of regions was acceptable to the public, there was less consensus on their limits, or even outright hostility. Party politics influenced municipal decisions to accept the proposal or assume positions that were not appreciated by the populations. The final map was neither an amalgamation of the districts or provinces, nor a dismemberment of the Áreas de Intervenção das Comissões de Coordenação Regional (Intervention Areas of the Regional Coordination Commissions), but there was confusion and disinformation, resulting in local unwillingness to accept regionalization in general.
Autonomous regions
Since 1978, Portugal conceded political autonomy to its North Atlantic archipelagos (MadeiraMadeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
and Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
) due to their distance, isolation, geographical context and socio-economic circumstances. The regional autonomies have their own organic laws, regional governments and administration, overseen by a Regional Government , constituted by a Regional Presidency and Cabinet comprising several Regional Secretaries .
The Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
is an archipelago of nine islands and several islets that were discovered and settled by the Portuguese in the late 15th century. The Azores lies a third of the distance between Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...
, and are volcanic in origin (there continue to be several active hydrothermal vents, hot springs, and several calderas that are dormant, in addition to active seismicity). Mount Pico
Mount Pico
Mount Pico is a stratovolcano and the highest point on Pico Island in the Azores. It reaches an altitude of 2,351 meters above sea level, which makes it the highest point in Portugal and also in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
(2,351 meters), on the island of Pico
Pico Island
Pico Island , is an island in the Central Group of the Portuguese Azores noted for its eponymous volcano, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the Azores, and the highest elevation of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge...
is considered the highest mountain in Portugal. The government and administration of the archipelago is distributed between the major urbanized centers of the Azores: the regional parliament is located in the city of Horta
Horta (Azores)
Horta is a single municipality and city in the western part of the Archipealgo of the Azores, encompassing the island of Faial. Horta has a population of about approximately 15,038 people and an area of 173.1 square kilometers. The population density is about 88 persons per square kilometer...
(on Faial Island
Faial Island
Faial Island , also known in English as Fayal, is a Portuguese island of the Central Group of the Azores....
); Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
(on São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island
São Miguel Island , nicknamed "The Green Island", is the largest and most populous island in the Portuguese Azores archipelago. The island covers and has around 140,000 inhabitants, 45,000 of these people located in the largest city in the archipelago: Ponta Delgada.-History:In 1427, São Miguel...
) is the most populous city and home to the Regional Presidency and administration; while Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo
Angra do Heroísmo , locally referred to as Angra, is a municipality and city on the island of Terceira, within the Portuguese autonomous region of the Azores. The municipal area has a population of 35,581 and an area of . Along with Praia da Vitória to the north, it is one of two municipal...
(on Terceira Island
Terceira Island
Referred to as the “Ilha Lilás” , Terceira is an island in the Azores archipelago, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the larger islands of the archipelago, with a population of 56,000 inhabitants in an area of approximately 396.75 km²...
), the historical and cultural capital, is also the home of the Azorean judiciary and seat of the Diocese of the Azores.
Madeira is an archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
that includes two principal islands, Madeira and Porto Santo
Porto Santo Island
Porto Santo Island is a Portuguese island northeast of Madeira Island in the North Atlantic Ocean; it is the northernmost and easternmost island of the archipelago of Madeira, located in the Atlantic Ocean west of Europe and Africa.- History :...
, plus two uninhabited natural group of islands, the Desertas
Desertas Islands
The Desertas Islands are a small Portuguese archipelago, located about 25 km to the southeast of Ponta de São Lourenço, the eastern tip of the island of Madeira, the whole chain located roughly between Madeira and the Canary Islands.-Geography:...
and Savage Islands
Savage Islands
The Savage Islands, also referred to as the Salvage Islands or the Selvagens Islands, of Sé. They are designated a Nature Reserve, comprising two areas: one on Selvagem Grande Island and the second on Selvagem Pequena Island.-Geography:...
. The archipelago is located closer to Africa than Europe, is highly commercial and urbanized; its regional capital (Funchal
Funchal
Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
) is developmentally comparable to urban centers in the Canary
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
or Baleric Islands.
Municipalities
Apart from the national territory, that includes mainland Portugal and the two archipelagos, the municipalities have been the most constant territorial subdivision in the past 900 years. While the term for municipality appeared in the 13th century, to "express a community constituted in a territory of varying extensions, whose residents - the neighbours of the municipality - are granted major or minor administrative autonomy", the territorial division predates its use. Preceding the nation's independence, the oldest of the larger municipalities still in existence CoimbraCoimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
and Santarém
Santarém Municipality
Santarém Municipality is located in Santarém District and contains the city of Santarém.-Parishes:* Abitureiras* Abrã* Achete* Alcanede* Alcanhões* Almoster* Amiais de Baixo* Arneiro das Milhariças* Azoia de Baixo* Azoia de Cima* Casével...
were founded in 1085 e 1095, respectively. São João da Pesqueira (in the district of Viseu
Viseu
Viseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...
) is the oldest Portuguese municipality, founded in 1055.
Many of these municipalities have their origin in the foral
Foral
thumb|left|200px|Foral of Castro Verde - PortugalThe word foral derives from the Portuguese word foro, ultimately from Latin forum, equivalent to Spanish fuero, Galician foro, Catalan furs and Basque foru ....
charters that the Kings attributed to lands in order to facilitate growth or, to some, to validate settlement. A great number of these settlements permanence to today, subjects to those charters definitions and/or subjects to national laws established after the Liberal Constitution. The existence since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
of a large number of small municipalities with no financial resources and without people qualified to take part in municipal councils caused the stagnation of their growth. The Liberal revolution of 1836, resulted in the suppression/annexation of many of these smaller municipalities, which allowed the infusion of new revenues and facilitated growth in population and size.
The distribution of municipalities within each district or autonomous region is relatively homogeneous (each having on average 15 municipalities within their territory). The district with the most municipalities is Viseu (with 24), followed by Santarém and Aveiro (21 and 19 respectively), while Viana do Castelo has the least number of municipalities (just ten).
In comparison to districts, the 308 municipalities are less homogeneous. The largest is Odemira (in the district of Beja) with 1720.6 km², 26106 inhabitants and subdivided into 17 civil parishes. The municipality of São João da Madeira
São João da Madeira
São João da Madeira , in English St. John's Wood, is a municipality in northwestern Portugal. Its part of Porto Metropolitan Area, the second largest of Portugal. It has a land area of 8.11 km² and a total population of 21 685 inhabitants...
(in the district of Aveiro) is the smallest with an area just over 8.11 km², corresponding to the city (with a density of 2601.97 inhabitants per km²). São João da Madeira is part of a small group of five municipalities that have one civil parish: Alpiarça
Alpiarça
Alpiarça is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 95.0 km² and a total population of 8,157 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in Santarém District....
(district of Santarém), Barrancos
Barrancos
Barrancos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 168.3 km² and a total population of 1,825 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of one parish, being one of the six Portuguese municipalities composed of only one parish, and is located in Beja District, close to the Spanish...
(district of Beja), Porto Santo (Madeira) and São Brás de Alportel
São Brás de Alportel
São Brás de Alportel is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 153.4 km² and a total population of 11,205 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in the District of Faro....
(district of Faro). Barcelos is the municipality with the largest number of civil parishes (89), while the municipality of Corvo (in the Azores), with an area of approximately 17.1 km² and 425 residents, is the only Portuguese municipality without a civil parish (Article 136, in the third revision of the Estatuto Político-Administrativo da Região Autónoma dos Açores
Political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores
The political status of the Autonomous Region of the Azores is the standard paralegal constitutional framework for the autonomy of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores...
).
There are 308 municipalities in Portugal, that are colloquially known by councils . Like the districts, the municipalities are usually named for its biggest city, or at least, one of its historically most important city or town. However, the municipality is usually much larger than the city or town after which it is named.
The municipality has been the most stable subdivision of Portugal, seat of local administrative and executive power. Since the establishment of a democratic local administration in 1976 (following the 25 April 1974 Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
), the Portuguese municipalities have been ruled by a bicameral system. The municipal chamber is the executive body, and is composed of a president of the municipality and an even number of councillors whose number depends on the municipality's population, and which are elected proportionally to the votes received by the various parties or groups of citizens that take part in the municipal elections. The municipal assembly
Assembleia Municipal
An Assembleia Municipal governs a municipality in Portugal. Part of the assembly's members are elected every four years among candidate lists by the Hondt method, simulteanously with the election of the Câmara Municipal; the remainder member are the presidents of parish boards that compose the...
is composed of the presidents of all the civil parishes plus a number of directly elected representatives that has to be at least equal to the number of civil parish presidents plus one, and which otherwise depends on the municipal population. These representatives are also elected proportionally to the votes obtained by the various political forces in dedicated elections.
Civil Parishes
The parish, in contrast with the municipalities, had their base in the ecclesiastical divisions that "had its origin in the fact that neighbours professed the same religion and professed their faith and divinity in the same temple". FreguesiaFreguesia
Freguesia is the Portuguese term for a secondary local administrative unit in Portugal and some of its former colonies, and a former secondary local administrative unit in Macau, roughly equivalent to an administrative parish. A freguesia is a subdivision of a concelho, the Portuguese synonym term...
, the traditional Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
word for parish, had its beginning in the filius ecclesiae (child of the church) and filius gregis (child of the shepards's flock), the collectivity of the religious faithful, with similar aspirations and interests. Between 1216 and 1223, Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II of Portugal
Afonso II , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , nicknamed "the Fat" , third king of Portugal, was born in Coimbra on 23 April 1185 and died on 25 March 1223 in the same city. He was the second but eldest surviving son of Sancho I of Portugal by his wife, Dulce, Infanta of Aragon...
began a process of legitimizing the Portuguese territory by conferring charters to nobles, clergy and municipal chambers (which would not be completed until after 1249 (under Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III of Portugal
Afonso III , or Affonso , Alfonso or Alphonso or Alphonsus , the Bolognian , the fifth King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249...
), making the parish the smallest division. But, the power of the clergy built theses areas, accumulating immense wealth and power. From his experiences in ythe Azores, Mouzinho da Silveira broke the power of the church and institutionalized the existent parishes into secular organs/divisions after 1835 (civil parishes). The freguesia began to refer to the civil/administrative entity, while the paroquia became affiliated with the religious entity.
As of 2010, the 308 municipalities were subdivided into 4,261 civil parishes, each one governed by their civil parish boards and headed by an executive that includes the president , treasurer and secretary.
As part of the austerity (brought on by the sovereign debt crisis) and administrative reforms of the local government, Paulo Júlio, Secretary of State for Local Administration , admitted that until 2012, 1500 civil parishes would be extinguished throughout the country, in order to reduce costs and rationalize management. The proposals, also justified these changes with the Green Book on Local Administrative Reform suggesting most civil parishes did not meet minimum prerequisites associated with population densities, and that local elected officials would be able to better manage reconfigured parishes. The National Association of Civil Parishes , more pessimisticly, indicated that new criteria, established by the national government would result in the elimination of 2504 parishes with the reforms, based on criteria that defined populations in terms of predominantly urban , marginally urban and predominantly rural , suggesting that approximately 200 fell into a "grey zone".
Agglomerations
The development of metropolitan areas and intermunicipal communities has as its base in the associative organization of the national territory based on the urban system, even as the 25th Constitution Government was unable to impose a regional-level tier. The Portuguese Constitution accepts (but does not impose) an autonomous administrative level with its own elected bodies that would include and substitute bigger urban agglomerations. But, while it acknowledges , "other forms of local authority/municipal territorial", it does not presuppose the creation of a "supra-municipal local autonomous authority (which would demand a direct election of their governing bodies by their own voters)". In fact, inter-municipal solutions go back as far as the Administrative Code of 1936 that foresaw the "federations of municipalities".
The 2 August 1991 legal framework (Law no. 44/91) for the creation of the Greater Metropolitan Area of Lisbon and the Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto did not have at its base in the Constitutionally mandated system of administrative regions, but was rather a "mandatory association of municipalities aggregating the two major cities" to only articulate municipal concerns.
According to this law:
- The Metropolitan Area of Lisbon would be based in Lisbon and would include 18 municipalities: Alcochete, Almada, Amadora, Azambuja, Barreiro, CascaisCascais MunicipalityCascais Municipality is located in Lisbon District. It contains the town of Cascais. It has 205 117 inhabitants, according to 2011 census, in 2001 it had 170 683 inhabitants...
, LisboaLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Loures, Mafra, Moita, Montijo, Oeiras, Palmela, Sesimbra, SetúbalSetúbal MunicipalitySetúbal Municipality is located in Setúbal District. The main city is Setúbal.The municipality of Setúbal is composed of 8 parishes, and is the seat of the Setúbal District on the subregion of Península de Setúbal...
, Seixal, SintraSintra MunicipalitySintra , located in the central Lisbon Region, is a municipality consisting of several civil parishes and two urbanized cities and known for many of its 19th century Romantic architecture, which resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
and Vila Franca de Xira (Article 2, no.1); - The Metropolitan Area of Porto would be based in Porto and would include the following nine municipalities:Espinho, Gondomar, Maia, Matosinhos, Porto, Póvoa do Varzim, Valongo, Vila do Conde and Vila Nova da GaiaVila Nova de Gaia MunicipalityVila Nova de Gaia Municipality is located in Porto District in Norte Region in Portugal. It contains the city of Vila Nova de Gaia.The municipality contains 24 parishes with a total population of 288,749 inhabitants, and is the most populous municipality in Norte Region.-Parishes:There are 24...
(Article 2, no. 2).
The implementation of those two Metropolitan Areas depended on the favourable vote of a two thirds majority of the municipal assemblies that represented the majority of the population of the corresponding area.
Once the creation of the administrative region foreseen in the Constitution was immediately withdrawn after the failed referendum, the option to enlarge the metropolitan areas and to promote the association of local authorities/municipalities was made. This included:
- the Greater Metropolitan Areas (GAM) – which included a minimum of nine municipalities and integrated, at least, 350,000 inhabitants; and
- the Urban Communities (ComUrb), that had to comprise a minimum of three municipalities and integrated, at least, 150,000 inhabitants
Metropolitan Areas
The Greater Metropolitan AreasGrande Área Metropolitana
A Greater Metropolitan Area is a type of administrative division in Portugal. Each one consists of at least nine municipalities and has at least 350,000 inhabitants...
are territorial units formed by grouping municipalities, in order to economize on municipal investments and services. The revised listing, include:
- The Lisbon Metropolitan AreaLisbon Metropolitan AreaLisbon Metropolitan Area is a territorial zone that includes 18 municipalities in Portugal. The smaller Grande Lisboa area is a subregion of the NUTS II Lisbon Region by its own right....
consists of 18 municipalities (in two subregions: Grande Lisboa and Península de Setúbal), that includes the following municipalities (from largest to smallest by population): Lisbon, SintraSintra MunicipalitySintra , located in the central Lisbon Region, is a municipality consisting of several civil parishes and two urbanized cities and known for many of its 19th century Romantic architecture, which resulted in its classification as a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
, Loures, Amadora, CascaisCascais MunicipalityCascais Municipality is located in Lisbon District. It contains the town of Cascais. It has 205 117 inhabitants, according to 2011 census, in 2001 it had 170 683 inhabitants...
, Oeiras, Almada, Seixal, OdivelasOdivelas MunicipalityOdivelas is a municipality located in the district of Lisbon in central Portugal, within the periphery of the city of Lisbon. Its total area is approximately 26.4 km², and encompasses a population of 143,995 inhabitants...
, Vila Franca de Xira, SetúbalSetúbal MunicipalitySetúbal Municipality is located in Setúbal District. The main city is Setúbal.The municipality of Setúbal is composed of 8 parishes, and is the seat of the Setúbal District on the subregion of Península de Setúbal...
, Barreiro, Moita, Mafra, Palmela, Montijo, Sesimbra, and Alcochete. By the 2001, its population was 2,547,665 inhabitants, centred on LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
(the most dense metropolitan area). - The Greater Metropolitan Area of PortoGreater Metropolitan Area of PortoThe Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto is a metropolitan area in coastal northern Portugal which covers 16 municipalities, including the City of Porto, making up the second biggest urban area in the country...
consists of 14 municipalities (from largest to smallest by population): Vila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de GaiaVila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...
, PortoPortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, MatosinhosMatosinhosMatosinhos Municipality is located in Porto District, Portugal. The main city is Matosinhos. It is bordered to the south by the city of Porto and lies within the Greater Porto subregion. The municipality has a population of 168,451 in 10 parishes. Many people have recently moved from the...
, GondomarGondomar, PortugalGondomar is one of three cities in Gondomar Municipality, Portugal....
, Santa Maria da Feira, Maia, ValongoValongoValongo is a Portuguese municipality located in the District of Porto, the city population is 18,698, and the municipality is composed of 5 parishes, of which three are cities and has a total population of 97,814 inhabitants.The two most populous cities in the Valongo municipality are Ermesinde,...
, Vila do Conde, Oliveira de AzeméisOliveira de AzeméisOliveira de Azeméis Municipality is located in Oporto Metropolitan Area in Portugal. It has a total area of 163.5 km² and a total population of about 70,000 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of more than 15,000. Oliveira de Azeméis is part of Oporto Metropolitan Area and it is located...
, Santo TirsoSanto TirsoSanto Tirso is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto District, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry....
, Póvoa de VarzimPóvoa de VarzimPóvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
, Trofa, Espinho, Arouca, Vale de Cambra and São João da MadeiraSão João da MadeiraSão João da Madeira , in English St. John's Wood, is a municipality in northwestern Portugal. Its part of Porto Metropolitan Area, the second largest of Portugal. It has a land area of 8.11 km² and a total population of 21 685 inhabitants...
. - The Greater Metropolitan Area of MinhoGreater Metropolitan Area of MinhoGreater Metropolitan Area of Minho is an administrative division in Portugal. It consists of 13 municipalities that makes the third most populous metropolitan area in the country. They spread over three subregions: Ave , Cávado and Tâmega...
(its 2001 census population was approximately 745,830 inhabitants) has 12 municipalities (largest to smallest): BragaBraga Municipality-Parishes:...
, Guimarães, Vila Nova de Famalicão, Barcelos, Fafe, Vila Verde, Vizela, Celorico de Basto, Amares, Cabeceiras de Basto, Vieira do Minho and Terras de Bouro. - The Greater Metropolitan Area of AveiroGreater Metropolitan Area of AveiroThe Greater Metropolitan Area of Aveiro is an administrative division in Portugal. It consists of 13 municipalities that makes the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the country. They spread over two subregions: Baixo Vouga and Entre Douro e Vouga . The total population is 460,495 of...
has 13 municipalities (largest to smallest): AveiroAveiro MunicipalityAveiro Municipality is located in Aveiro District, Portugal. The capital of the district and of the municipality is the city of Aveiro.-Demographics:-Parishes:* Aradas* Cacia* Eirol* Eixo* Esgueira* Glória * Nariz...
, Oliveira de Azeméis, Ovar, Águeda, Ílhavo, Anadia, Estarreja, Vale de Cambra, Albergaria-a-Velha, Vagos, Oliveira do Bairro, Sever do VougaSever do Vouga MunicipalitySever do Vouga is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 129.6 km² and a total population of 12,977 inhabitants, and 11,354 electors...
and Murtosa. Aveiro is the capital of an area that included a population of 460,157 inhabitants (2001). - The Greater Metropolitan Area of CoimbraGreater Metropolitan Area of CoimbraThe Greater Metropolitan Area of Coimbra is an administrative division in Portugal. It has 16 municipalities : Coimbra, Figueira da Foz, Cantanhede, Montemor-o-Velho, Soure, Mealhada, Penacova, Lousã, Condeixa-a-Nova, Miranda do Corvo, Mira, Tábua, Mortágua, Vila Nova de Poiares, Penela and...
, which by 2001 had a population of 430,845 inhabitants, within the 16 municipalities (largest to smallest): CoimbraCoimbraCoimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, Figueira da FozFigueira da FozFigueira da Foz , also known as Figueira for short, is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, 40 km west of Coimbra, and sheltered by hills ....
, Cantanhede, Montemor-o-VelhoMontemor-o-VelhoMontemor-o-Velho is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It has roughly 30,000 inhabitants.-Demographics:-Parishes:* Abrunheira* Arazede* Carapinheira* Ereira* Gatões* Liceia* Meãs do Campo* Montemor-o-Velho* Pereira...
, Soure, MealhadaMealhadaMealhada Municipality is located in Aveiro District in Portugal. It has a total area of 110.7 km² and a total population of 21,282 inhabitants, and 17,043 electors . The city of Mealhada itself has a population of 5.000....
, PenacovaPenacovaPenacova Municipality is a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It has a population of 16,725 and an area of 220 km2. The seat is the town of Penacova.-Parishes:* Carvalho* Figueira de Lorvão* Friúmes* Lorvão* Oliveira do Mondego* Paradela...
, Lousã, Condeixa-a-NovaCondeixa-a-NovaCondeixa-a-Nova , also known as Condeixa, is a town and a municipality in the district of Coimbra, Portugal. It is located 15 km south of Coimbra, and in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Coimbra...
, Miranda do CorvoMiranda do CorvoMiranda do Corvo is a Portuguese town and municipality in the Coimbra district of Portugal.Miranda do Corvo literally means "View over the Corvo River." The town has a beautiful church situated on a hill overlooking the area. A large "Rio de Janeiro"-type statue of Jesus also looks out over the...
, MiraMira, PortugalMira is a town in Mira Municipality in the district of Coimbra, Portugal. It is a coastal municipality known for its beaches, forests, and agriculture.-Economy:...
, TábuaTábua MunicipalityTábua is a municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. It contains the town of Tábua.-Parishes:* Ázere* Candosa* Carapinha* Covas* Covelo* Espariz* Meda de Mouros* Midões* Mouronho* Pinheiro de Coja* Póvoa de Midões* São João da Boa Vista...
, MortáguaMortáguaMortágua is a municipality with a total area of 251.2 km² and a total population of 10,365 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 10 parishes and is located in the district of Viseu....
, Vila Nova de PoiaresVila Nova de PoiaresVila Nova de Poiares is a town in Vila Nova de Poiares Municipality of the Coimbra district, in Portugal.-Twin towns:Vila Nova de Poiares is twinned with* Mielec in Poland -External links:*...
, Penela and GóisGóisGóis is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Góis is located on the edge of the Ceira River. There are many festas throughout the summer and one of Portugal's biggest Motorbike Festas in August, after the one in Faro.-Parishes:...
. - The Greater Metropolitan Area of the AlgarveGreater Metropolitan Area of the AlgarveThe Greater Metropolitan Area of the Algarve is an administrative division in Portugal. It has 16 municipalities : Loulé, Faro, Portimão, Olhão, Silves, Albufeira, Lagos, Tavira, Lagoa, Vila Real de Santo António, São Brás de Alportel, Monchique, Castro Marim, Aljezur, Vila do Bispo and...
has 16 municipalities (largest to smallest): LouléLouléLoulé is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 764.2 km² and a total population of 62,295 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 12,103.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro....
, FaroFaro, PortugalFaro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
, PortimãoPortimãoPortimão is a Portuguese town located in the District of Faro in the Region of Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão . In 1924, it was incorporated as a cidade and became known merely as Portimão. The town has 41,000 inhabitants and the Portimão...
, OlhãoOlhãoOlhão , or Olhão da Restauração, is a city and a municipality in the Algarve region, in Southern Portugal. It is located near Faro, which is the district's capital and the capital of the Algarve. It is mostly a fishing port city...
, Silves, AlbufeiraAlbufeiraAlbufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²...
, LagosLagosLagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
, TaviraTaviraTavira is a Portuguese city, situated at 37°07' north, 7°39' west in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is 30 km east of Faro and 160 km west of Seville in Spain. The Gilão River meets the Atlantic Ocean in Tavira....
, LagoaLagoa (Algarve)Lagoa Municipality is a Portuguese municipality in Faro District, in the region known as the Algarve, with about 6,100 inhabitants.Its seat is the city of Lagoa....
, Vila Real de Santo António, São Brás de AlportelSão Brás de AlportelSão Brás de Alportel is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 153.4 km² and a total population of 11,205 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in the District of Faro....
, Monchique, Castro MarimCastro MarimCastro Marim is a town and a municipality in the southern region of Algarve, in Portugal. The municipality is composed of 4 parishes.The present Mayor is José Fernandes Estevens, elected by the Social Democratic Party.The municipal holiday is June 24....
, AljezurAljezurAljezur is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 323.5 km² and a total population of 5,322 inhabitants. The word is derived from the Arabic word "Aljuzur" , the plural of island....
, Vila do BispoVila do BispoVila do Bispo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 179.0 km² and a total population of 5,381 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in the District of Faro...
and AlcoutimAlcoutimAlcoutim is a town and a municipality in southeastern Portugal near the border with Spain. The municipality has a total area of 575.32 km² and a population of 3,411 inhabitants. At the Portuguese census of 2001 it had a population of 3,770 inhabitants and was the least densely populated...
. FaroFaro, PortugalFaro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
is the central place with a metro region that includes 391,819 inhabitants. - The Greater Metropolitan Area of ViseuGreater Metropolitan Area of ViseuThe Greater Metropolitan Area of Viseu is an administrative division in Portugal. It has 21 municipalities : Viseu, Tondela, Seia, Mangualde, São Pedro do Sul, Castro Daire, Gouveia, Nelas, Sátão, Santa Comba Dão, Vouzela, Moimenta da Beira, Oliveira de Frades, Carregal do Sal, Penalva do...
has 21 municipalities (largest to smallest): ViseuViseuViseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...
, TondelaTondelaTondela is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 371.2 km² and a total population of 31,026 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 26 parishes and is located in Viseu District....
, SeiaSeiaSeia Municipality is located in Guarda District in Portugal. It has a total area of 435.7 km² and a total population of 27,574 inhabitants. Its urban population is about 7,000...
, Mangualde, São Pedro do SulSão Pedro do SulSão Pedro do Sul is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 349.0 km² and a total population of 19,215 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 19 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, Castro Daire, GouveiaGouveiaGouveia is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 300.6 km² and a total population of 15,792 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of 3,759....
, NelasNelasNelas is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 125.7 km² and a total population of 14,504 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 9 parishes and is located in the district of Viseu....
, SátãoSátãoSátão is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 201.9 km² and a total population of 13,419 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 12 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, Santa Comba DãoSanta Comba DãoSanta Comba Dão is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 112.0 km² and a total municipal population of 12,393 inhabitants...
, VouzelaVouzelaVouzela is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 193.7 km² and a total population of 11,807 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 12 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, Moimenta da BeiraMoimenta da BeiraMoimenta da Beira is a municipality in the northern part of Portugal, located in the district of Viseu. In 2001, its population was 11,053 inhabitants within an area of 219.97 km².-History:...
, Oliveira de FradesOliveira de FradesOliveira de Frades is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 145.4 km² and a total population of 10,597 inhabitants.County created in 1836 by splitting the county Lafões the existing municipalities of Oliveira de Frades, Sao Pedro do Sul and Vouzela.The municipality is composed of 12...
, Carregal do SalCarregal do SalCarregal do Sal is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 116.9 km² and a total population of 10,555 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of seven parishes and is located in Viseu District....
, Penalva do CasteloPenalva do CasteloPenalva do Castelo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 134.2 km² and a total population of 8,768 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 13 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, TaroucaTaroucaTarouca is a municipality in Portugal and a city with a total area of 100.1 km² and a total population of 8,303 inhabitants, locatede in Norte Region and Douro Subregion.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes and is located in Viseu District....
, Aguiar da BeiraAguiar da BeiraAguiar da Beira is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 206.9 km² and a total population of 6,270 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 13 parishes, and is located in Guarda District....
, Sernancelhe, Vila Nova de PaivaVila Nova de PaivaVila Nova de Paiva is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 175.5 km² and a total population of 6,319 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 7 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, Fornos de AlgodresFornos de AlgodresFornos de Algodres is a municipality and a town in Portugal with a total area of 131.5 km² and a total population of 5,435 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Guarda District, Centro Region, Serra da Estrela Subregion...
and PenedonoPenedonoPenedono is a municipality in the northern district of Viseu in Portugal with a total area of 133.7 km² and a total population of 3,378 inhabitants.-History:...
. The city of ViseuViseuViseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...
leads a region that is rural or semi-urban (the exceptions are Viseu, Mangualde and Seia) with a 2001 population of 354,162 inhabitants.
Urban Communities
- Oeste (West Subregion) is a community north-west of Lisbon in the central-littoralLittoralThe littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
part of Portugal, covering a population of 338,747 inhabitants (2001 census), with its administration in the largest city Caldas da RainhaCaldas da RainhaCaldas da Rainha is a city in western central Portugal. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste...
, that includes 12 municipalities (largest to smallest):Torres VedrasTorres VedrasTorres Vedras is a city and a municipality in the district of Lisbon, Portugal, about 50 km north of Lisbon. It belongs to the Oeste subregion and the Centro region.The municipality covers an area of 405.89 km² distributed over 20 freguesias...
, AlcobaçaAlcobaça MunicipalityAlcobaça Municipality contains the city of Alcobaça. It is located in Leiria District and Oeste Subregion, in Portugal, formerly included in the Estremadura Province...
, Caldas da RainhaCaldas da RainhaCaldas da Rainha is a city in western central Portugal. The city serves as the seat of the larger municipality of the same name and is the seat of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Oeste...
, Alenquer, Peniche, LourinhãLourinhãLourinhã is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 147.2 km² and a total population of 24,601 inhabitants. The seat of the municipality is the village of Lourinhã, with a population of 8,800 inhabitants....
, NazaréNazaré, PortugalNazaré is a town in Nazaré Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 82,4 km² and a total population of 14,904 inhabitants. It is in subregion Oeste and Leiria district....
, CadavalCadavalCadaval is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 174.9 km² and a total population of 14,385 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in Lisbon District....
, BombarralBombarralBombarral is a Portuguese municipality in the Oeste Subregion and Leiria District, of central Portugal. With an area of and approximately 13,325 inhabitants , it includes five civil parishes that provide local services...
, Óbidos, Arruda dos VinhosArruda dos VinhosArruda dos Vinhos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 78.0 km² and a total population of 11,210 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in Lisboa District....
and Sobral de Monte Agraço. - Vale do Sousa was one of the first urban communities to be formed (January 2004); located east of PortoPortoPorto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
, it has grown economically, due to its industrial base. Currently this urban community consists of six municipalities (largest to smallest), with its seat in PenafielPenafiel, PortugalThe city of Penafiel had, as of 2001, a population of 9,343. It is located in Penafiel Municipality, that has 71,801 inhabitants....
, incorporating a population of about 327,768 inhabitants (2001 census):Paredes, Penafiel, Felgueiras, Paços de FerreiraPaços de FerreiraPaços de Ferreira is a city in Portugal. It is sometimes also called Capital do Móvel , since the city is home to numerous furniture manufacturing plants. Besides older Portuguese furniture companies, Portugal's major industrial operations of IKEA are also located there...
, LousadaLousada-Parishes:The 25 parishes of Lousada are:* Alvarenga* Aveleda* Boim* Caíde de Rei* Casais* Cernadelo* Covas* Cristelos * Figueiras* Lodares* Lustosa* Macieira* Meinedo* Nespereira* Nevogilde* Nogueira* Ordem* Pias...
and Castelo de PaivaCastelo de PaivaCastelo de Paiva Municipality is located in the North East of Aveiro District in Portugal with a total area of 115.0 km² and a total population of 17,128 inhabitants...
. - Leiria - With a population just under 317,271 inhabitants (2001), its eight municipalities are coordinated by the municipality of LeiriaLeiriaLeiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
, and include: Pombal, OurémOurémOurém is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 416.6 km² and a total population of 49,269 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of about 12,000.The municipality is composed of 18 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém...
, Marinha Grande, Porto de MósPorto de MósPorto de Mós is a town in Porto de Mós Municipality in Portugal....
, BatalhaBatalha Municipality, PortugalBatalha Municipality is located in Leiria District, Pinhal Litoral Subregion, Centro Region, Portugal. The seat is Batalha, Portugal.-See also:* Batalha...
, LeiriaLeiriaLeiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...
, AnsiãoAnsiãoAnsião , is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 176.2 km² and a total population of 13,673 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 8 parishes, and is located in Leiria District....
and AlvaiázereAlvaiázereAlvaiázere is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 160.5 km² and a total population of 8,112 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 7 parishes, and is located in the district of Leiria...
. - Lezíria do Tejo - including a population of 240,322 inhabitants with its base in the largest centre, SantarémSantarém, PortugalSantarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
, the 11 municipalities (largest to smallest): SantarémSantarém, PortugalSantarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....
, CartaxoCartaxoCartaxo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 158.2 km² and a total population of 24,465 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of 9,507.The municipality is composed of 8 parishes, and is located Santarém District....
, Benavente, AlmeirimAlmeirimAlmeirim is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 222.0 km² and a total population of 22,434 inhabitants. The city proper has a population of 10,520.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in Santarém District....
, Coruche, Rio MaiorRio MaiorRio Maior is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 272.8 km² and a total population of 21,621 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes, and is located in the Santarém District.The present Mayor is Isaura Morais, elected by the PSD....
, AzambujaAzambujaAzambuja is a Portuguese municipality in Lisbon District, in the historical region of Ribatejo with a total area of 262.7 km² and a total population of 20,838 inhabitants...
, Salvaterra de MagosSalvaterra de MagosSalvaterra de Magos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 244,74 km² and a total population of 22,053 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém....
, ChamuscaChamuscaChamusca is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 746.0 km² and a total population of 11,313 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 7 parishes, and is located in Santarém District....
, AlpiarçaAlpiarçaAlpiarça is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 95.0 km² and a total population of 8,157 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in Santarém District....
and Golegã. - Baixo Alentejo - although the largest political division in Portugal (by area), its 18 municipalities have 234,481 inhabitants, centred on the city of Beja (largest to smallest): Beja, Santiago do CacémSantiago do CacémSantiago do Cacém is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 1060.0 km² and a total population of 30,305 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 11 parishes, and is located in Setúbal District....
, OdemiraOdemiraOdemira is a municipality in the Portuguese region of Alentejo with a total area of 1,720.6 km² and a total population of 25,738 inhabitants....
, SerpaSerpaSerpa is a municipality in Portugal, in Alentejo Region, with a total area of 1104.0 km² and a total population of 16,178 inhabitants. The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa....
, Moura, GrândolaGrândolaGrândola is a town and municipality in Portugal with a total area of and a total population of 14,543 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes and is located in Setúbal District....
, Alcácer do SalAlcácer do SalAlcácer do Sal is a municipality in Portugal, located in Setúbal District. It has a total area of and a total population of 13,624 inhabitants.-History :-Earliest settlement:...
, SinesSines, PortugalSines is a coastal municipality in the district of Setúbal, in the Alentejo Litoral region of the Portuguese Alentejo. Its population in 2011 was over 14260 residents, with a total area of 203.3 km², concentrated on the municipal seat of Sines.-History:...
, AljustrelAljustrelAljustrel is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 458.3 km² and a total population of 9,940 inhabitants.During the Roman era, Aljustrel was known as Metallum Vispascense....
, Ferreira do AlentejoFerreira do AlentejoFerreira do Alentejo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 648.4 km² and a total population of 8,505 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in Beja District....
, MértolaMértolaMértola is a municipality in southeastern Portugal next to the Spanish border. It has a total area of 1,292.87 km² and a total population of 8,712 inhabitants . In terms of land area, it is the sixth-largest municipality in Portugal. The resultant population density of 6.74 persons/km² is the...
, AlmodôvarAlmodôvarAlmodôvar is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 777.9 km² and a total population of 7,650 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of 8 parishes, and is located in the District of Beja....
, Castro Verde, Ourique, VidigueiraVidigueiraVidigueira is a municipality in Portugal, with a total area of 316.0 km² and a total population of 6,019 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of four parishes, and is located in the District of Beja....
, CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, Alvito and BarrancosBarrancosBarrancos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 168.3 km² and a total population of 1,825 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of one parish, being one of the six Portuguese municipalities composed of only one parish, and is located in Beja District, close to the Spanish...
. - Trás-os-Montes - The capital and largest city of Bragança, and covers a population of 227,883 inhabitants, in the northeastern portion of continental Portugal, with 15 municipalities (largest to smallest):Chaves, Bragança, MirandelaMirandelaMirandela is a city in Mirandela Municipality in northern Portugal. The city itself has a population of about 15 000.Mirandela is famous for its cuisine, particularly the alheiras. Mirandela is becoming a popular tourist destination in northeastern Portugal. One of its four bridges on the Tua...
, ValpaçosValpaçosValpaços is a municipality in northern Portugal with a total area of 548.74 km² and a total population of 19,154 inhabitants.-History:The first documents that cite Valpaços date back to the 12th century...
, Macedo de CavaleirosMacedo de CavaleirosMacedo de Cavaleiros is a municipality in northeastern Portugal, in Bragança District.-History:During antiquity, the region was occupied by the Celts, then Romans and finally the Arab forces of the Umayyad Caliphate, who dominated the region until the Christian Reconquista...
, Vila Pouca de AguiarVila Pouca de AguiarVila Pouca de Aguiar is a municipality in northern Portugal with an area of 437.07 km², and population of approximately 14837 inhabitants...
, Montalegre, MogadouroMogadouroMogadouro is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 760.65 km² and a total population of 10,792 inhabitants. The seat is the town of Mogadouro.-History:...
, VinhaisVinhaisVinhais is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 694.9 km² and a total population of 10,051 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 35 parishes and is located in the district of Bragança....
, Miranda do DouroMiranda do DouroMiranda do Douro or Miranda de l Douro , is a city in Miranda do Douro Municipality, district of Bragança, Portugal.The city has a population of 1,960.-General information:...
, Ribeira de PenaRibeira de PenaRibeira de Pena is a municipality in the Vila Real District, in Norte Region in Portugal. The municipality has a total area of 217.5 km² and a total population of 7,251 inhabitants....
, BoticasBoticasBoticas is a municipality in northern Portugal with a total area of 321.96 km² and population of approximately 6116 inhabitants .-History:...
, Alfândega da FéAlfândega da FéAlfândega da Fé is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 321.94 km² and a total population of 5,701 inhabitants.-History:It is possible that historically there already existed a few settlements founded on castros in the region; the archeological vistages of such settlements are...
, VimiosoVimiosoVimioso is a municipality in the northern part of Portugal with an area of approximately 481.6 km² and population of 5105 inhabitants.-Geography:The municipality is composed of 14 parishes and is located in the district of Bragança....
and Freixo de Espada à Cinta. - Valimar - A community, north of Porto (formed March 2004) in the historical region of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, its name constructed from a merging of the Portuguese words for sea (mar), valleys (vale) and Lima River, including the six municipalities: Arcos de ValdevezArcos de ValdevezArcos de Valdevez is a municipality along the northern frontier of Portugal and Galicia , that incorporates a territory of 447.6 km² and a total population of 24,466 inhabitants...
, CaminhaCaminhaCaminha is a municipality in the north-west of Portugal, 21 km north from Viana do Castelo, located in the Viana do Castelo District.The municipality has a total area of 137.4 km² and 16,839 inhabitants ....
, Esposende, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima and Viana do Castelo. The region, which includes 220,799 inhabitants, is centred in Ponte de Lima, althougth the largest community is in Viana do Castelo. - Centro Alentejo - It has 16 municipalities (largest to smallest): ÉvoraÉvoraÉvora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....
, Élvas, Montemor-o-NovoMontemor-o-NovoMontemor-o-Novo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 1233.0 km² and a total population of 18,485 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of 12,000.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
, Estremoz, Vendas NovasVendas NovasVendas Novas is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 222.4 km² and a total population of 11,957. The city has 10,235 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 2 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
, Reguengos de MonsarazReguengos de MonsarazReguengos de Monsaraz is Portuguese municipality in with a total area of 464 km² and a total population of 11,355. The City of Reguengos de Monsaraz proper has a population of 7,308....
, Vila ViçosaVila ViçosaVila Viçosa is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 195.0 km² and a total population of 8,745 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
, Campo MaiorCampo MaiorCampo Maior , is a municipality in the Portalegre District, Alentejo Region, Portugal.The municipality has an area of 247,26 km² and a population of 8359 . It is divided into 3 parishes . It is bordered by Spain on the North and East, by Elvas Municipality on the Southeast, and by Arronches...
, BorbaBorba (Portugal)Borba is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 145.0 km² and a total population of 7,562 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora.The present Mayor is Ângelo João Verdades de Sá ....
, ArraiolosArraiolosArraiolos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 683.0 km² and a total population of 7,389 inhabitants. The small town of Arraiolos has 3,351 inhabitants.The municipality is located in Évora District....
, Redondo, Portel, AlandroalAlandroalAlandroal Municipality is a municipality in Portugal located on the eastern frontier with Spain along the Guadiana River in the Central Alentejo region...
, Mora, Viana do AlentejoViana do AlentejoViana do Alentejo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 393.0 km² and a total population of 5,581 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 3 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora....
and MourãoMourãoMourão is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 279.0 km² and a total population of 3,315 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 3 parishes, and is located in the District of Évora...
. The capital/largest city is ÉvoraÉvoraÉvora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....
. By the 2001 census, its population was 204,798 inhabitants. - Baixo Tâmega - Seven municipalities constituting 198,058 inhabitants, centred in the capital and largest cityAmaranteAmarante, PortugalAmarante is a city in Amarante Municipality, Portugal.The city itself has a population of 11,261 inhabitants. It sits on the banks of the Tâmega River.It is a sister city of Wiesloch, Germany.- Culture :...
(largest to smallest): Amarante, Marco de Canavezes, Baião, CinfãesCinfãesCinfães is a Portuguese village in the northern district of Viseu, with something like 3.300 inhabitants. It is also the main seat of a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 239.3 km² and a total population of 21,318 inhabitants....
, Celorico de BastoCelorico de BastoCelorico de Basto Municipality is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 181.1 km² and a total population of 20,128 inhabitants.The town of Celorico de Basto has around 2500 inhabitants....
, Resende and Mondim de BastoMondim de BastoMondim de Basto is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.1 km² and a total population of 8,470 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 8 parishes, and is located in the district of Vila Real....
. - Douro - With its centre in Vila Real, the Douro urban community consists of 15 municipalities with a total of 195,203 inhabitants (largest to smallest): Vila Real, LamegoLamegoLamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants Lamego is a municipality in northern Portugal, with a population of 27,054 inhabitants (the catchment of the city of...
, Peso da RéguaPeso da RéguaPeso da Régua , commonly known as Régua, is a municipality in northern Portugal, in the district of Vila Real. With a total area of , extended over 12 parishes, its population included 17,987 inhabitants .-History:Peso da Régua was inhabited by Roman and barbarian invasions during the early part of...
, AlijóAlijóAlijó is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal, located in the district of Vila Real. The municipality, comprising 19 parishes, has a total area of 267.6 km² and a population of 13,942 inhabitants .-History:There are several megalithic structures, dolmens and castros in Alijó...
, Torre de Moncorvo, São João da PesqueiraSão João da PesqueiraSão João da Pesqueira is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 266.1 km² and a total population of 8,367 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, Santa Marta de PenaguiãoSanta Marta de PenaguiãoSanta Marta de Penaguião is a Portuguese municipality in the district of Vila Real, in the northern region of Douro. The municipality, comprising 11 parishes, covers an area of 69.28 km² with a base population of 8400 inhabitants.-History:...
, Vila Nova de Foz CôaVila Nova de Foz CôaVila Nova de Foz Côa is a city and a municipality in the district of Guarda, Portugal, with a total population of 8,249 inhabitants. The city population is around 3,300.Main rivers in the municipal territory include the Douro and the Côa....
, Vila FlorVila FlorVila Flor is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 265.8 km² and a total population of 7,737 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 19 parishes and is located in the district of Bragança....
, Carrazeda de AnsiãesCarrazeda de AnsiãesCarrazeda de Ansiães is a municipality in northern Portugal with a total area of 279.3 km² and a total population of 7,220 inhabitants.-History:...
, ArmamarArmamarArmamar is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 117.2 km² and a total population of 7,318 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of nineteen parishes and is located in Viseu District.-Geography:...
, SabrosaSabrosaSabrosa is a municipality in the district of Vila Real in northern Portugal. The municipality is composed of 15 parishes and has a total area of 156.92 km² and a population of 6,835 inhabitants .-History:Although the municipality was established on 6 November 1836, the history of the region...
, TabuaçoTabuaçoTabuaço is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 133.9 km² and a total population of 6,501 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 17 parishes and is located in the district Viseu....
, MurçaMurçaMurça is a municipality in norhern Portugal with a total area of 189.37 and a total population of 6,476 inhabitants. Situated in the central part of the eastern district of Vila Real, and consigned to the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro region, the municipality of Murça occupies an are of...
and Mesão FrioMesão FrioMesão Frio is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 26.7 km² and a total population of 4,652 inhabitants, composed of seven parishes in the district of Vila Real.-History:...
. - Médio Tejo - The capital TomarTomarTomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...
administers a population of 191,617 inhabitants that includes 11 municipalities (largest to smallest): TomarTomarTomar Municipality has a total area of 351.0 km² and a total population of 43,007 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 16 parishes, and is located in Santarém District...
, AbrantesAbrantesAbrantes is a municipality in Portugal, with a population of 41,560 inhabitants, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River.-History:...
, Torres NovasTorres NovasTorres Novas is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 270.0 km² and a total population of 37,155 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 17 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém. The city of Torres Novas has about 15,000 inhabitants. This city has a castle...
, Entroncamento, AlcanenaAlcanenaAlcanena is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 127 km² and a total population of 14,709 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of ten parishes, and is located in Santarém District....
, Ferreira do Zêzere, MaçãoMaçãoMação is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 400.0 km² and a total population of 7,763 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of eight parishes, and is located in the Santarém District....
, Vila Nova da BarquinhaVila Nova da BarquinhaVila Nova da Barquinha is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 49.6 km² and a total population of 7,878 inhabitants. It is composed of 5 parishes and is located in the district of Santarém....
, SardoalSardoalSardoal is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 92.2 km² and a total population of 3,992 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in the district of Santarém....
, ConstânciaConstânciaConstância is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 80.4 km² and a total population of 3796 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 3 parishes, and is located in Santarém District....
and Vila de ReiVila de ReiVila de Rei is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 191.3 km² and a total population of 3,354 inhabitants. The municipality is composed of three parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco....
. - Beiras - Focused in its largest city, GuardaGuarda, PortugalGuarda is a city in Guarda Municipality, Portugal. The city has a population of 32 111Guarda was founded in 1199 by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I....
, its population of approximately 183,592 inhabitants, is included in 12 municipalities (largest to smallest): CovilhãCovilhãCovilhã is a city in Covilha Municipality in Centro region, Portugal. The city proper has 36,723 inhabitants, and the municipality has an area of 555.6 km² with a total population of 53,501, being composed of 31 parishes. It is located in the Cova da Beira subregion, in the district of...
, Guarda, SabugalSabugalSabugal is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 822.7 km² and a total population of 14,222 inhabitants[in the municipality] and about 3.000 in the city....
, PinhelPinhelPinhel is a municipality in Centro Region, Beira Interior Norte Subregion, Portugal with a total area of 484.5 km² and a total population of 10,436 inhabitants.The city of Pinhel has about 3.500 inhabitants....
, TrancosoTrancoso, PortugalTrancoso is a city and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 361.5 km² and a total population of 10,639 inhabitants. City population about 3.000...
, Celorico da BeiraCelorico da BeiraCelorico da Beira is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 247.2 km² and a total population of 8,752 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 22 parishes, and is located in Guarda District.Main town: Celorico da Beira, near the Mondego River....
, AlmeidaAlmeida, PortugalAlmeida is a town in Almeida Municipality, Portugal. The fortress around the town guards an important cross-border road from Spain, and underwent several sieges. The siege of 1810 ended spectacularly when a chance shell ignited the main gunpowder magazine, which exploded, killing 500 defenders...
, Belmonte, Figueira de Castelo RodrigoFigueira de Castelo RodrigoFigueira de Castelo Rodrigo is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 508.6 km² and a total population of 6,884 inhabitants.Located in the Riba Coa , just like other municipalities around Riba Coa, such as Almeida, Meda, Pinhel and Sabugal...
, PenamacorPenamacorPenamacor is a municipality in Portugal with an area of 563.9 km² and a population of 6,160 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 12 parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco....
, MedaMêdaMêda is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of and a total population of 6,000 inhabitants. The city of Mêda has a population of 2,004.It was promoted to city in December 2004.-Municipality:...
and ManteigasManteigasManteigas is a town and a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 125.0 km² and a total population of 4,002 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in Guarda District; in Centro Region and Beira Interior Norte Subregion, Comunidade urbana: Beiras...
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Intermunicipal communities
A voluntary association of communities not attached to geographic size, but grouped to take advantage of economies of scale:- Pinhal - comprising seven municipalities, with its capital in SertãSertãSertã is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 446.7 km² and a total population of 16,208 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes and is located in Castelo Branco District....
(its largest community it oliveira do Hosptial), its population was approximately 73,185 inhabitants (largest to smallest): Oliveira do HospitalOliveira do HospitalOliveira do Hospital is a municipality in the old district of Coimbra, in the central part of continental Portugal.-History:Inhabited by ancient civilizations, Oliveira do Hospital has Roman settlements, Visigothic relics, noble Gothic mansions as well as ancient villages built of slate...
, SertãSertãSertã is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 446.7 km² and a total population of 16,208 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 14 parishes and is located in Castelo Branco District....
, Arganil, Figueiró dos VinhosFigueiró dos VinhosFigueiró dos Vinhos is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 173.4 km² and a total population of 7,080 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 5 parishes, and is located in Leiria District....
, Pampilhosa da SerraPampilhosa da SerraPampilhosa da Serra is a town in Pampilhosa da Serra Municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal....
, Pedrógão Grande and Castanheira de PêraCastanheira de PeraCastanheira de Pera , often erroneously written Castanheira de Pêra, is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 66.8 km² and a total population of 3,464 inhabitants....
. - Vale do Minho - The Minho Valley with five municipalities and 62,373 inhabitants headed by Valença (largest to smallest):MonçãoMonçãoMonção is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 211.3 km² and a total population of 19,738 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 33 freguesias , and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....
, ValençaValença, PortugalValença is a city in Valença Municipality, Portugal. It is a half-castle and half-land city. Bordering Galicia, Valença is also a famous Portuguese landmark to view an ancient castle town. These two parts of this city are not separated from each other and is also near to Viana Do Castelo....
, Melgaço, Paredes de CouraParedes de CouraParedes de Coura is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 138.2 km² and a total population of 9,367 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 21 parishes and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....
and Vila Nova de CerveiraVila Nova de CerveiraVila Nova de Cerveira is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 108.6 km² and a total population of 8,752 inhabitants .The municipality is composed of 15 parishes and is located in the district of Viana do Castelo....
.
Undefined areas
There are still undefined areas within the Portuguese territory:- Beira Interior Sul - Not a definitive list: Castelo Branco, FundãoFundão Municipality, PortugalFundão Municipality is located in Castelo Branco District, Portugal. It contains the city of Fundão.-Parishes:* Alcaide* Alcaria* Alcongosta* Aldeia de Joanes* Aldeia Nova do Cabo* Alpedrinha* Atalaia do Campo* Barroca* Bogas de Baixo* Bogas de Cima...
, Idanha-a-NovaIdanha-a-NovaIdanha-a-Nova is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 1,416.4 km² and a total population of 10,929 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 17 parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco....
, Proença-a-NovaProença-a-NovaProença-a-Nova is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 395.3 km² and a total population of 9,610 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of six parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco....
, Oleiros, Vila Velha de RódãoVila Velha de RódãoVila Velha de Ródão is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 329.9 km² and a total population of 3,802 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco....
. The total population is 119,263, by the 2001 census. The capital, most likely, would be the city of Castelo Branco. - Alto Alentejo - Not a definitive list: Portalegre, Ponte de Sor, NisaNisa, PortugalNisa is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 575.8 km² and a total population of 8,047 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 10 parishes, and is located in Portalegre District....
, Sousel, AvisAvis (Portugal)Avis is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 606.0 km² and a total population of 5,054 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 8 parishes, and is located in the District of Portalegre....
, Gavião, CratoCrato, PortugalCrato is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 398.0 km² and a total population of 3,995 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 6 parishes, and is located in Portalegre District....
, MarvãoMarvãoMarvão is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 154.9 km² and a total population of 3,739 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in Portalegre District....
, Alter do ChãoAlter do ChãoAlter do Chão is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 362.0 km² and a total population of 3,666 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 4 parishes, and is located in the District of Portalegre....
, Castelo de Vide, Fronteira, Monforte and ArronchesArronchesArronches is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 314.8 km² and a total population of 3,278 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 3 parishes, and is located in Portalegre District....
. The total population is 95,086 by the 2001 census. The capital, most likely, would be the city of Portalegre.
NUTS
| Sudvision | No. | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NUTS 1: National | 3 | Continental Portugal Continental Portugal Continental Portugal or Mainland Portugal is the designation of the mainland Portuguese territory, located on Europe's Iberian Peninsula.... , the Azores Azores The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the... and Madeira Madeira Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union... |
| NUTS 2: Regions | 7 | Regional Coordination Commissions, and Autonomous Regions |
| NUTS 3: Subregion | 30 | Administrative and Autonomous Regions |
| LAU 1 | 308 | Municipalities |
| LAU 2 | 4261 | Civil Parishes |
Eurostat
Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide the European Union with statistical information at European level and to promote the integration of statistical methods across the Member States of the European Union,...
and implemented in 1998, the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes...
(NUTS) regions, which comprises three levels of the Portuguese territory, are instrumental in European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
'sStructural Fund delivery mechanisms. The standard was developed by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and thus only covers the member states, and extensively used by national governments, Eurostat and other EU bodies for statistical and policy matters. Until 4 November 2002, the Sistema Estatístico Nacional (SEN) used a NUTS codification system that was distinct from the Eurostat system. With the enactment of Decree Law 244/2002 (5 November 2002), published in the Diário da República, this system was abandoned in order to harmonize the national system with that of Eurostat.
The NUTS system subdivides the nation into three levels: NUTS I, NUTS II and NUTS III. In some European partners, as is the case with Portugal, a complimentary hierarchy, respectively LAU I and LAU II (posteriorly referred to as NUTS IV and NUTS V) is employed. The LAU, or Local Administrative Units, in the Portuguese context pertains to the 308 municipalities (LAU I) and 4257 civil parishes (LAU II) respectively. In the broadest sense, the NUTS hierarchy, while they may follow some of the borders (municipal or parish) diverge in their delineation.
NUTS I
The first and broadest subdivision of Portugal is between Mainland Portugal and the autonomous regionsAutonomous regions of Portugal
The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal are the Azores and Madeira...
of the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
and Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
.
NUTS II
NUTS III
These seven regions are subdivided into 30 subregions with statistical relevance only. Each region is listed (north to south) with its subregions identified.- Norte - which includes eight subregions: Alto Trás-os-MontesAlto Trás-os-MontesAlto Trás-os-Montes often regered as Nordeste Transmontano is one of the largest Portuguese NUTS-level 3 subregion integrated in the Norte Region...
, AveAve, SubregionAve is a subregion integrated in the larger Norte Region, Portugal. Is bordered to the north by Cávado Subregion, to the east and south by Tâmega Subregion and to the west by Grande Porto Subregion. It is a densely populated subregion and one of the more industrialized in the country...
, Cávado, DouroDouro, SubregionDouro Subregion is a part of Norte Region, Portugal that includes most of the Portuguese section of the Douro River.With an area of 4,114 km² and a population of 217,000, it is one of the less-densely-populated Portuguese subregions. Its main urban centers are Vila Real Douro Subregion is a...
, Entre Douro e VougaEntre Douro e VougaEntre Douro e Vouga is a NUTS3 Portuguese subregion integrated in the NUTS2 Norte Region, part of Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto. Its name stands for the fact that it covers an area between the Douro River and Vouga River. It is bordered in the north by Grande Porto Subregion and Tâmega...
, Grande PortoGrande PortoGrande Porto or Greater Porto is a Portuguese NUTS3 subregion, integrating the NUTS2 region of Norte, in Portugal.It corresponds to 11 municipalities out of 16, the other 5 in Entre Douro e Vouga Subregion that constitute the larger Greater Metropolitan Area of Porto, centered in the city of Porto....
, Minho-LimaMinho-LimaMinho-Lima is a Portuguese NUTS3 subregion, belonging to Norte Region, between the Minho River and Lima River in the northern part of Portugal. It corresponds to the historical region of Alto Minho and is centered around its main city – Viana do Castelo...
and TâmegaTâmega, SubregionTâmega Subregion is a NUTS3 subregion and is part of the NUTS2 region of Norte Region, Portugal. Its name derives from the Tâmega River that crosses through the subregion. With 558,000 inhabitants it is the fourth most populated subregion in Portugal. It has several important urban centers -...
; - Centro - based in twelve subregions: Baixo MondegoBaixo MondegoBaixo Mondego is a Portuguese NUTS3 subregion that comprises the lower part of the Mondego River. It is a subregion of the Centro Region and is centered on the historical city of Coimbra...
, Baixo VougaBaixo VougaBaixo Vouga is a Portuguese subregion integrated in the Centro Region. It is centered around the city of Aveiro. Other major cities include Águeda, Ílhavo and Ovar. The subregion covers an area of 1,807 km² and has a population of 394,393 inhabitants for an overall density of 218 hab/km²...
, Beira Interior NorteBeira Interior NorteBeira Interior Norte is a Portuguese subregion in the Centro Region. It is also part of an urban community called Beiras. The capital and most important city is Guarda...
, Beira Interior SulBeira Interior SulBeira Interior Sul is a NUTS3 subregion of Portugal integrating the NUTS2 Centro Region. It is bordered to the east and south by Spain, to the north by the Cova da Beira and Beira Interior Norte subregions and to the west by the Pinhal Interior Sul subregion. It was created around the city of...
, Cova da Beira, Dão-LafõesDão-LafõesDão-Lafões is a Portuguese NUTS III sub-region in the Centro Region. It is located in central Portugal, and has an approximate area of 3,483 km² and 286,315 inhabitants. Its largest city is Viseu Dão-Lafões is a Portuguese NUTS III sub-region in the Centro Region. It is located in central...
, Médio TejoMédio TejoMédio Tejo is a NUTS3 subregion of the Centro Region, in Portugal. Médio Tejo is also one of Portugal urban communities . The capital city and its most important city is Tomar.-Municipalities:...
, Oeste, Pinhal Interior NortePinhal Interior NortePinhal Interior Norte is a Portuguese subregion, in Centro Region, Portugal. The principal and most populous town is Lousã .The only city is Oliveira do Hospital.-Municipalities:* Alvaiázere* Ansião* Arganil* Castanheira de Pêra* Figueiró dos Vinhos...
, Pinhal Interior SulPinhal Interior SulPinhal Interior Sul is a Portuguese subregion, in Centro region, Portugal. Its main town is Sertã.-Municipalities:* Mação* Oleiros* Proença-a-Nova* Sertã* Vila de Rei...
, Pinhal Litoral and Serra da EstrelaSerra da Estrela, SubregionSerra da Estrela is a NUTS3 statistical subregion of Portugal integrated in the NUTS2 Centro region.It takes its name from the largest mountain range in Portugal - the Serra da Estrela....
; - Lisboa - of the two subregions: Grande LisboaGrande LisboaGrande Lisboa is a Portuguese NUTS III subregion integrated in the Lisboa Region. It includes the capital city of Portugal - Lisbon . It is the main economical subregion of the country. It covers 1,376 km² and is the most populated and densely populated Portuguese subregion...
and Península de SetúbalPenínsula de SetúbalThe Península de Setúbal is a NUTS III subdivision of Lisbon Region , in Portugal. The subregion's administrative center is Setúbal, and the largest cities are Almada and Setúbal.It takes its name from the Setúbal Peninsula.Area: 1,729 km²... - Alentejo - consisting of five subregions: Alentejo CentralAlentejo CentralAlentejo Central is a NUTS3 subregion of Alentejo Region, in Portugal. Alentejo Central is composed entirely of the Évora District minus the municipality of Mora, but including one municipality of the Portalegre District, Sousel....
, Alentejo LitoralAlentejo LitoralAlentejo Litoral is a NUTS3 subregion of the Alentejo Region, in Portugal. Alentejo Litoral is comprised by municipalities of both the Beja District and the Setúbal District. The chief city is Sines...
, Alto Alentejo, Baixo Alentejo, Lezíria do TejoLezíria do TejoLezíria do Tejo is a Portuguese NUTS III subregion, part of NUTS II Alentejo Region.Lezíria do Tejo belonging to Lisboa e Vale do Tejo Region for planning, but to Lisbon Region in the NUTS scheme, has its main urban center in the city of Santarém and almost coincides with the traditional Ribatejo...
; - Algarve
- AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
- MadeiraMadeiraMadeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
These regions are the Portuguese NUTS
Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics
The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes...
II subdivisions, based not at the district
Districts of Portugal
Portugal is divided into 18 districts in mainland Portugal, plus two autonomous regions .The Portuguese Constitution of 1976 specifies that Portugal have only, as first level divisions, the autonomous regions and the administrative regions...
level, but at the municipal
Municipalities of Portugal
In Portugal, municipality or concelho is the most stable subdivision of Portugal since the foundation of the country.Portugal has an entirely separate system of cities and towns. Cities and towns are located in municipalities, but often do not have the same boundaries, even if built-up is continuous...
one, leading to large inconsistencies between district and region limits.
The two Autonomous Regions , in the Atlantic Ocean, correspond to NUTS I, II and III.
LAU
Municipalities and civil parishes were at NUTS IV and V levels, but these nomenclature units have being abolished and substituted by LAULau
Lau may refer to:An indigenous people that live on the Solomon Islands.People with the German/Austrian surname:* Charlie Lau, catcher and hitting coach in Major League Baseball* Laurence Lau , actor...
s: the municipality is classified as LAU 1, while the civil parish is LAU level 2.
Other
| Sudvision | No. | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 3166-2:PT ISO 3166-2:PT ISO 3166-2:PT is the entry for Portugal in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Portugal, ISO 3166-2 codes are... |
20 | 18 Districts and two Autonomous regions of Portugal Autonomous regions of Portugal The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal are the Azores and Madeira... |
| Constituencies | 20 | Assembly of the Republic Assembly of the Republic The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery... : 18 Districts and two Autonomous regions of Portugal Autonomous regions of Portugal The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal are the Azores and Madeira... |
| Código Postal | 10 | Postal code zones (first digit) Postal codes in Portugal The Portuguese postal code is formed by four digits, a hyphen, then three digits, followed by a postal location of up to 25 characters in capitals. This location is the name of the town, sometimes followed by a three-letter abbreviation of the municipality The Portuguese postal code (código... |
| Código Telefonica | 51 | Telephone area codes Telephone numbers in Portugal Country Code: +351International Call Prefix: 00Trunk Prefix: nonePortugal changed to a closed telephone numbering plan in 1999. Previously, the trunk prefix was '0', but this was dropped... |
See also
- Regions, Sub-Regions and Municipalities of PortugalRegions, sub-regions and municipalities of PortugalHere is the list of the municipalities of Portugal under the NUTS II format:*Region**Sub-Region***District ****Municipality*Norte Region **Alto Trás-os-Montes Subregion [14]...
- List of cities in Portugal
- List of towns in Portugal
- ISO 3166-2:PTISO 3166-2:PTISO 3166-2:PT is the entry for Portugal in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Portugal, ISO 3166-2 codes are...
- Portuguese TimorPortuguese TimorPortuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
and MacauMacauMacau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...