Portugal

The Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is a democratic republic located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, and is the westernmost country in continental Europe. Portugal is bordered by Spain to the north and east and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south. In addition, Portugal includes two archipelagos in the Atlantic, Azores (Açores) and Madeira Islands.

Subdivisions

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Portugal has a complex administrative structure. The base is composed by 308 municipalities (concelho - singular, concelhos - plural), and these are divided into more than 4,000 parishes (freguesias, singular - freguesia). All these are grouped into several superior divisions, some purely administrative, some specify a given activity (i.e. tourist regions or judicial areas), others have a more technical feature, while other have historical or cultural backgrounds: Alentejo, Algarve, Beira, Douro Litoral, Estremadura, Minho, Ribatejo, and Trás-os-Montes.

Related Topics:
308 municipalities - Alentejo - Algarve - Beira - Douro Litoral - Estremadura - Minho - Ribatejo - Trás-os-Montes

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The most important division, is from 1976, dividing the continental territory (Portugal continental) and the two island groups (Portugal insular), the Azores and Madeira Islands - the Autonomous regions (regiões autónomas, singular - região autónoma), the country keeps as an unitary republic.

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The districts (distritos, singular - distrito), are being dismantled, but they keep as the most relevant sub-division of the mainland, serving several purposes: electoral areas or regional football championships. In 1976, the districts were dismantled in the islands.

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A referendum was held in 1997 to create administrative regional autonomies in continental Portugal, but the proposal was rejected by a majority of voters. The need for a better organisation led to a newer and urbanized administrative division. Thus they are continuous territorial units made by groups of municipalities.

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There are three types of Urban areas:

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• Grandes Áreas Metropolitanas - Greater Metropolitan Areas (more than 350,000 inhabitants)
• Lisbon - 2,547,665
• Porto - 1,509,958
• Braga, Minho - 754,830
• Aveiro - 460,157
• Coimbra - 430,845
• Faro, Algarve - 391,819
• Viseu - 354,162
• Comunidades Urbanas - Urban Communities (more than 150,000 inhabitants)
• Oeste, Vale do Sousa, Leiria, Lezíria do Tejo, Baixo Alentejo, Trás-os-Montes, Centro Alentejo, Baixo Tâmega, Douro, Médio Tejo, Beiras, Beira Interior Sul, and Alto Alentejo;
• Comunidades Intermunicipais - Intermunicipal Communities (less than 150,000 inhabitants)
• Pinhal and Vale do Minho.