Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe. It borders Spain to the north and east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south, and it includes two Atlantic archipelagos, the Azores and Madeira. The country covers 92,207 km² and had 11,424,031 residents in 2025, according to INE, the national statistics institute. The capital is Lisbon.
Where is Portugal
Portugal lies in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula, at about latitude 39° N and longitude 8° W on the mainland. The Madeira archipelago lies in the Atlantic off the coast of Africa, and the Azores in the middle of the North Atlantic.
How Portugal is organised
The mainland is divided into 18 districts, and the Azores and Madeira are autonomous regions with their own governments. The country has 308 municipalities. The number of parishes rose to 3,259 at the local elections of October 2025, when 302 parishes merged in the 2013 reform were restored.
For statistics and European funding, Portugal has used the NUTS 2024 division since 2024. It groups the 308 municipalities into 26 NUTS III subregions and 9 NUTS II regions: Norte, Centro, Oeste e Vale do Tejo, Grande Lisboa, Península de Setúbal, Alentejo, Algarve, the Azores and Madeira. The 2024 version created the Grande Lisboa, Península de Setúbal and Oeste e Vale do Tejo regions, which took territory from the former Lisbon, Centro and Alentejo regions.
Norte is the most populous region, with 33.2% of residents in 2025, followed by Grande Lisboa with 21.1% and Centro with 15.5%. Between 2021 and 2025 the population grew in every region, fastest in the Algarve, at 13.8%, and the Península de Setúbal, at 12.8%. Over the same period the number of foreign residents more than doubled.
| Region | Population | Area km² | People per km² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Portugal | 3 586 586 | 21 285.88 | 168.5 |
| Greater Lisbon | 2 062 306 | 1 389.97 | 1 483.7 |
| Central Portugal | 1 653 195 | 23 273.16 | 71.0 |
| Oeste and Tagus Valley | 809 905 | 9 201.04 | 88.0 |
| Setúbal Peninsula | 807 902 | 1 625.26 | 497.1 |
| Alentejo | 468 672 | 27 330.07 | 17.1 |
| Algarve | 467 343 | 4 996.77 | 93.5 |
| Madeira | 250 744 | 801.09 | 313.0 |
| Azores | 236 413 | 2 321.96 | 101.8 |
| Portugal | 10 343 066 | 92 225.20 | 112.2 |
Regions of Portugal
Districts and autonomous regions
Each district guide covers its capital, its municipalities and its main places to visit.
Aveiro, Portugal
Beja, Portugal
Braga, Portugal
Bragança, Portugal
Castelo Branco, Portugal
Coimbra, Portugal
Évora, Portugal
Faro
Guarda, Portugal
Leiria, Portugal
Lisbon, Portugal
Portalegre, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
Santarém, Portugal
Setúbal, Portugal
Viana do Castelo, Portugal
Vila Real, Portugal
Viseu, Portugal
Azores
Madeira
Places to visit
Getting to Portugal
Portugal's main international airports are in Lisbon, Porto and Faro on the mainland, Funchal in Madeira and Ponta Delgada in the Azores.
Living in Portugal
For residency, taxes, housing, healthcare and the order in which to do each step, see the twelve-part guide.
