List of cities in Portugal

This is a list of cities in Portugal. In Portugal, a city (Template:Lang-pt) is an honorific term given to locations that meet several criteria, such as having a minimum number of inhabitants, good infrastructure (schools, medical care, cultural and sports facilities), or have a major historical importance. The country's demographic expansion of the 1980s prompted the elevation of several towns to city status and, as of 2018, 159 locations in Portugal are considered a city.

Overview

In Portugal, the city is not an administrative division, therefore a city generally does not necessarily correspond to a municipality, which is the second-level local government in the country. Some entirely urban municipalities do coincide with cities, such as Lisbon, Porto, Funchal, Amadora, Entroncamento, and São João da Madeira.

The municipality with the most cities is Paredes Municipality, which contains four cities.

Until 1910, a location was proclaimed city by royal charter (carta régia), which happened 25 times to current Portuguese cities (royal charters were also granted to cities of the Portuguese Empire; for example, São Paulo in 1711). During the Portuguese First Republic, the process was transferred to the parliament, which elevated three towns to the category of city. The dictatorial Estado Novo regime proclaimed seven cities on the Portuguese mainland (as well as some more in the colonies), this time by government decree. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution, proclamation of cities returned to parliament and now, Portugal has 156 cities, one of the consequences being that the title no longer holds the prestige it once had.

Eight locations have been always considered cities since Portugal became an independent kingdom (de facto 1128): Braga, Coimbra, Lamego, Porto and Viseu, as well as Évora, Lisbon and Silves, which were annexed at a later date. Guarda was the first city proclaimed as part of the independent kingdom, in 1199.

City designation

In Portugal, a locality can only be called a city if more than 8,000 inhabitants live in the city's urban area. In addition, at least half of the following infrastructure must be present:

• Hospital
• Pharmacy
• Fire department
• Event center and cultural center
• Museum and library
• Hotel
• Primary and secondary school
• Pre-school and kindergarten
• Public transportation
• Garden or public park

Cities being towns

In Portugal there are localities with more than 8,000 inhabitants and with the required infrastructure installed, but not having the designation of "city", but rather as "town", for example:

• Algueirão-Mem Martins
• Corroios
• Rio de Mouro
• Cascais
• Sintra

Towns being cities

Just as there are "cities" being "towns", there are also "towns" being "cities", because they have the required infrastructure in place, but have no more than 8,000 inhabitants or because since the locality received the designation "city" it has lost over the years the 8,000 inhabitants, for example:

• Miranda do Douro
• Santana
• Sabugal
• Peso da Régua
• Reguengos de Monsaraz

Metropolitan Areas

Portugal's two metropolitan areas, Lisbon with over 2.8 million inhabitants and Porto with over 1.7 million inhabitants, are the largest agglomerations in the country. In the two metropolitan areas, in addition to the large cities of Lisbon and Porto, there are other cities that together form the metropolitan area.

The Lisbon Metropolitan Area consists of the large city of Lisbon, but also the cities of Amadora, Queluz, Setúbal, Almada, Agualva-Cacém, etc.

The Porto Metropolitan Area is made up of the large city of Porto, but also the cities of Vila Nova de Gaia, Gondomar, Rio Tinto, Póvoa de Varzim, Matosinhos, etc.

Large cities outside metropolitan areas

There are also large cities in Portugal that do not belong to any metropolitan area. These cities are mostly capitals of sub-regions that are not considered metropolitan areas because the population is mainly located in the capital of the sub-region.

The city of Braga is the capital of the sub-region of Cávado.

The city of Funchal is the capital of the autonomous region of Madeira.

The city of Coimbra is the capital of the sub-region Região de Coimbra.

Urban areas

The following list shows the number of inhabitants and the population density of each respective city. Only the inhabitants living in the urban area are counted, not the inhabitants living in the entire municipality.

In the case of large cities like Vila Nova de Gaia, Braga, Coimbra and Setubal, the inhabitants of the entire municipality are not listed, because the municipality does not only include the city, but also other towns and villages around the city, which nevertheless belong to the municipality, but form a separate parish and therefore do not belong to the respective city.

In the case of large cities like Lisbon, Porto, Amadora and Funchal, the inhabitants of the entire municipality are listed because the city spreads over the entire municipality and the respective parishes within the municipality are seen as "neighborhoods".

Cities with an italic font are capitals of subregions, cities with a bold font are capitals of regions.

Position	City	Municipality	Population		Area	Density per km2	Sub-region	Region
			2011	2021
1.	Lisbon		552,700	545,796	100.05 km2	5456.5	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
2.	Porto		237,591	231,800	41.42 km2	5165.6	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
3.	Vila Nova de Gaia		186,502	188,421	56.22 km2	3351.8	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
4.	Amadora		175,136	171,454	23.79 km2	7195.4	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
5.	Braga		136,885	146,543	61.38 km2	2351.9	Cávado	North
6.	Coimbra		105,842	106,655	94.65 km2	1054.3	Region of Coimbra	Center
7.	Funchal		111,541	105,590	76.15 km2	1389.2	Madeira
8.	Setúbal		98,131	98,470	51.49 km2	1755.6	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
9.	Almada		96,404	85,851	13.98 km2	6309.1	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
10.	Agualva-Cacém	Sintra	79,805	81,006	10.42 km2	7775.4	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
11.	Queluz	Sintra	75,169	73,047	29.49 km2	3398.7	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
12.	Gondomar		27,047	26,669	47.40 km2	1797.1	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
13.	Leiria		50,533	54,540	108.05 km2	633.1	Region of Leiria	Center
14.	Rio Tinto	Gondomar	64,815	65,469	15.04 km2	4353.2	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
15.	Barreiro		63,353	62,860	14.92 km2	4230.5	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
16.	Viseu		57,975	60,570	64.85 km2	917	Viseu Dão-Lafões	Center
17.	Odivelas		56,847	58,170	5.02 km2	11873.3	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
18.	Aveiro		60,058	62,130	81.19 km2	716.1	Region of Aveiro	Center
19.	Póvoa de Varzim		40,053	41,206	29.24 km2	1699.3	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
20.	Amora	Seixal	40,513	41,140	27.31 km2	1807.1	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
21.	Portimão		40,658	43,810	75.69 km2	650.8	Algarve
22.	Matosinhos		49,486	49,034	11.28 km2	4348.3	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
23.	Faro		47,575	49,360	74.75 km2	619.5	Algarve
24.	Seixal		29,373	29,850	24.09 km2	1893.1	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
25.	Évora		41,898	40,373	112.06 km2	183.5	Central Alentejo	Alentejo
26.	Montijo		36,159	40,130	31.46 km2	1316.3	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
27.	Póvoa de Santa Iria	Vila Franca de Xira	29,348	29,170	9.16 km2	4462	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
28.	Maia		40,134	40,534	10.80 km2	3753.2	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
29.	Ermesinde	Valongo	38,869	38,570	7.65 km2	5110.4	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
30.	Alverca do Ribatejo	Vila Franca de Xira	30,586	30,930	23.92 km2	1524.6	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
31.	Castelo Branco		34,278	33,450	170.26 km2	202.4	Low Beira	Center
32.	Marinha Grande		10,560	10,860	138.87 km2	232.8	Region of Leiria	Center
33.	Guimarães		54,094	54,750	48.19 km2	663	Ave	North
34.	Vila do Conde		28,636	29,328	8.94 km2	3545.7	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
35.	Figueira da Foz		30,012	29,690	33.26 km2	933	Region of Coimbra	Center
36.	Caldas da Rainha		27,652	27,790	59.20 km2	514.2	West	Center
37.	Santarém		29,777	29,790	55.46 km2	541.3	Lezíria do Tejo	Alentejo
38.	Ponta Delgada		40,661	40,050	23.41 km2	1265.3	Azores	Azores
39.	Ovar		17,164	16,980	86.40 km2	340.6	Region Aveiro	Center
40.	São Mamede de Infesta	Matosinhos	23,122	22,844	5.21 km2	5531.4	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
41.	Torres Vedras		17,837	19,680	62.44 km2	444.9	West	Center
42.	Guarda		25,993	25,182	37.66 km2	702.2	Beiras and Serra da Estrela	Center
43.	Valongo		23,564	25,530	24.10 km2	1073.9	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
44.	Viana do Castelo		37,972	37,860	11.86 km2	2121.2	High Minho	North
45.	Loulé		14,900	14,890	108.90 km2	227.1	Algarve
46.	Sacavém	Loures	24,822	24,672	3.89 km2	6344.7	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
47.	Quarteira	Loulé	15,618	17,500	38.16 km2	639.9	Algarve
48.	Vila Real		27,735	27,370	16.39 km2	1471.1	Douro	North
49.	Beja		23,254	22,260	73.77 km2	325.9	Low Alentejo	Alentejo
50.	Caniço	Santa Cruz	20,163	20,800	12 km2	2004	Madeira
51.	Lagos		18,474	19,790	29.15 km2	811.4	Algarve
52.	Vila Nova de Famalicão		34,843	35,770	11.45 km2	2028.8	Ave	North
53.	Bragança		23,186	22,851	35.69 km2	635.8	Lands of Trás-os-Montes	North
54.	São João da Madeira		21,713	22,143	7.94 km2	2788.9	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
55.	Trofa		17,389	17,099	27.48 km2	777.8	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
56.	Senhora da Hora	Matosinhos	27,747	26,088	3.80 km2	5531.3	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
57.	Oliveira de Azeméis		15,071	15,449	25.95 km2	796.6	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
58.	Santo Tirso		28,333	26,959	23.24 km2	886.1	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
59.	Paredes		19,834	20,586	21.51 km2	957.2	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
60.	Entroncamento		20,206	20,141	13.73 km2	1466.9	Medium Tejo	Center
61.	Santa Maria da Feira		18,194	39,576	23.52 km2	841.4	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
62.	Vila Franca de Xira		16,129	16,270	212.86 km2	86.1	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
63.	Covilhã		34,481	31,950	25.95 km2	702.1	Beiras and Serra da Estrela	Center
64.	Samora Correia	Benavente	11,502	11,736	321.29 km2	55.1	Lezíria do Tejo	Alentejo
65.	Felgueiras		16,094	14,927	17.44 km2	1014.6	Tâmega and Sousa	North
66.	Chaves		22,363	21,210	33 km2	521.4	High Tâmega	North
67.	Tomar		15,065	13,882	30.38 km2	557.3	Medium Tejo	Center
68.	Pombal		12,125	11,890	97.61 km2	172.9	Region of Leiria	Center
69.	Ílhavo		10,505	10,640	39 km2	427.6	Region of Aveiro	Center
70.	Câmara de Lobos		15,227	13,960	7.62 km2	2172.7	Madeira
71.	Abrantes		18,450	17,199	64.47 km2	250.3	Medium Tejo	Center
72.	Torres Novas		12,941	12,330	61.64 km2	261.3	Medium Tejo	Center
73.	Valbom	Gondomar	14,407	13,803	4.39 km2	3647.1	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
74.	Penafiel		10,420	10,420	22.52 km2	696.1	Tâmega and Sousa	North
75.	Gafanha da Nazaré	Ílhavo	12,985	13,260	16.44 km2	946	Region of Aveiro	Center
76.	Fafe		15,703	15,455	7.97 km2	1939.2	Ave	North
77.	Tavira		13,312	13,762	147.99 km2	104.2	Algarve
78.	Barcelos		20,579	20,723	15.19 km2	972.6	Cávado	North
79.	Alfena	Valongo	14,397	13,670	15.70 km2	919.6	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
80.	Elvas		16,640	14,324	202.70 km2	71.2	High Alentejo	Alentejo
81.	Portalegre		15,374	13,960	23.51 km2	609	High Alentejo	Alentejo
82.	Loures		43,127	46,246	32.82 km2	434.4	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
83.	Olhão		28,630	28,310	9.43 km2	1506.5	Algarve
84.	Costa da Caparica	Almada	12,211	13,031	10.18 km2	1372.4	Lisbon Metropolitan Area
85.	Águeda		14,571	14,360	36.03 km2	380.5	Region of Aveiro	Center
86.	Paços de Ferreira		14,486	14,530	8.31 km2	1614.6	Tâmega and Sousa	North
87.	Fátima	Ourém	8,880	10,265	84.97 km2	155.4	Medium Tejo	Center
88.	Peniche		14,822	13,302	8.34 km2	1584.1	West	Center
91.	Ribeira Grande		12,663	12,590	66.55 km2	193.3	Azores
92.	Fundão		8,065	7,600	57.83 km2	221.5	Beiras and Serra da Estrela	Center
93.	Rio Maior		7,948	8,693	82.94 km2	150.9	Lezíria do Tejo	Alentejo
94.	Almeirim		11,881	11,552	69.13 km2	178.9	Lezíria do Tejo	Alentejo
95.	Cartaxo		10,898	10,552	28.23 km2	435.7	Lezíria do Tejo	Alentejo
96.	Esposende		9,844	10,824	17.31 km2	708.6	Cávado	North
97.	Lamego		11,194	11,078	20.20 km2	597.6	Douro	North
98.	Angra do Heroísmo		8,654	8,050	18.02 km2	663.5	Azores
99.	Esmoriz	Ovar	11,448	11,922	9.05 km2	1317.5	Region of Aveiro	Center
100.	Vila Real de Santo António		11,360	11,180	61.25 km2	191.9	Algarve
101.	Amarante		12,660	12,120	15.21 km2	760.3	Tâmega and Sousa	North
102.	Mirandela		11,579	10,911	29.78 km2	382.9	Lands of Trás-os-Montes	North
104.	Marco de Canaveses		10,336	10,390	17.49 km2	632.8	Tâmega and Sousa	North
105.	Vizela		10,633	11,072	7.68 km2	1441.7	Ave	North
106.	Albergaria-a-Velha		8,220	8,600	47 km2	235.3	Region of Aveiro	Center
108.	Montemor-o-Novo		8,681	7,929	419.49 km2	25.8	Central Alentejo	Alentejo
110.	Vendas Novas		9,681	9,048	222.39 km2	47.8	Central Alentejo	Alentejo
111.	Ponte de Sor		7,752	7,270	332.82 km2	31.5	High Alentejo	Alentejo
112.	Espinho		21,185	21,011	1.77 km2	554.8	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
113.	Vila Nova de Santo André	Santiago do Cacém	8,710	8,227	74.32 km2	138.7	Alentejo Coast	Alentejo
115.	Mangualde		10,407	9,858	46.25 km2	213.1	Viseu Dão-Lafões	Center
116.	Machico		11,505	9,990	17.41 km2	564.5	Madeira
117.	Lordelo	Paredes	10,025	9,106	9.25 km2	984.5	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
118.	Lagoa		8,080	8,210	20.47 km2	436.5	Azores
119.	Peso da Régua		9,530	8,145	9.94 km2	895.9	Douro	North
122.	Rebordosa	Paredes	9,106	8,496	11.17 km2	760.6	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
123.	Moura		8,016	6,888	287.42 km2	27.9	Low Alentejo	Alentejo
124.	Lourosa	Santa Maria da Feira	8,636	8,003	5.77 km2	1387.3	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
126.	Estremoz		7,483	6,799	63.9 km2	123.4	Central Alentejo	Alentejo
128.	Freamunde	Paços de Ferreira	10,443	10,180	4.68 km2	1614.7	Tâmega and Sousa	North
131.	Santa Cruz		6,952	6,850	28.10 km2	253.9	Madeira
141.	Horta		5,553	5,110	8.48 km2	662.1	Azores
144.	Vale de Cambra		5,312	5,492	13.29 km2	402.5	Porto Metropolitan Area	North
146.	Tondela		8,854	8,570	15.75 km2	331.1	Viseu Dão-Lafões	Center
149.	Santa Comba Dão		3,279	3,160	27.11 km2	162.5	Viseu Dão-Lafões	Center

See also

• List of Portuguese cities by population
• Subdivisions of Portugal
• List of towns in Portugal
• List of municipalities of Portugal
• List of parishes of Portugal
• List of cities in Europe

References

1. "Cidades Portuguesas". Instituto Nacional de Estatística. Archived from the original on 2007-05-23. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
2. "Municípios Portugueses". Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses. Retrieved 2006-03-27.

External links

• National Association of Portuguese Municipalities