Subdivisions of Portugal

The Subdivisions of Portugal are intricate delineation of the urban-rural hierarchy of population agglomerations based on the principles of subsidiarity, local government autonomy, and democratic decentralization of the public services within the unitary State. Following the Carnation Revolution and after European integration the nation has undergone revisions. See the main article for full details, but in brief, these subdivisions are: Since 1976, the Portuguese Constitution defines the territory into:

• 7 Administrative Regions (five Regions, which are subdivided into 28 subregions; and two Autonomous Regions: the Azores and Madeira);

• 308 Municipalities (Portuguese: Concelhos)

• 3092 Civil Parishes (Portuguese: Freguesias)

• The traditional 18 Districts of continental Portugal, are in a process of being phased-out in favour of the above administrative regions, while the national government has promoted and motivated the creation of urban communities, resulting in: seven Metropolitan areas; 12 Urban communities; and two Intermunicipal communities

• Cities (Portuguese: cidade) and towns (Portuguese: vila) do not have official status in the constitution, nor do they have legislative or administrative organs (these functions are the purview of the municipality and parish), but rather represent the catchment of the urban population. There are over 140 cities and 530 towns; in total around twice the number of municipalities.

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Subdivisions of Portugal