Districts (Counties or States)

Portugal Guide

Administrative division of the country

Mainland Portugal is administratively divided into 18 distritos (states in the US or counties in the UK).
Of these distritos, the largest is the Distrito de Beja, with 10,263 km², in the region of Alentejo, which is equivalent to 11.1% of the territory of mainland Portugal. The smallest is the District of Viana do Castelo, with 2.4 km², in the Minho region.

Top 5 Districts

The most extensive 5 districts are Beja (10,263 km²), Évora (7,393 km²), Santarém (6,747 km²), Castelo Branco (6,675 km²) and Bragança (6,608 km²).

Most Populous Districts (States)

Considering the resident population, the 5 Most Populous Districts (Counties or States) in Portugal are:

• District of Lisbon (pop. 2,275,591, 2021) More...

• Porto District (pop. 1,786,656, 2021) More...

• Setúbal District (pop. 875,656, 2021) More...

• District of Braga (pop. 846,515, 2021) More...

• Aveiro District (pop. 700,964, 2021) More...

The Districts (States or Counties)

Important administrative division of the country, after the regions, the districts are in turn divided into municipalities (or councils). Municipalities, on the other hand, are divided into parishes. In translations into other languages, in general, the term of civil parishes.

18 Distritos (States or Counties) of Portugal

The 18 Distritos of Portugal are as follows:

Lisbon

Capital of Portugal, Global city and one of the great tourist destinations in Europe.

Porto

The Northern Metropolis, Global City, European Destination 2017. Historic Center is a World Heritage Site.

Braga

The Capital of Minho. Religious center, Roman Braga and city of youth.

Setúbal

Land of good wines. Arrábida, nature and beautiful beaches.

Aveiro

The beautiful Ria de Aveiro, the Moliceiros and the famous Bairrada Wines.

Santarém

There are 21 municipalities, from the Alentejo to the Center, passing through the middle Tagus. Historic cities and good wines.

Leiria

From Beira Litoral to Estremadura. Fátima, religious destination, good wines and gastronomy.

Coimbra

Great university centre, fado and history.

Faro

Gateway to discovering the Algarve. Great tourist destination.

Viseu

Land of history and good wines (Dão-Lafões).

Viana do Castelo

The capital of Alto Minho. Former cod trading port.

Vila Real

Largest city in the Douro Wine Region, where the wines that will go into the production of Port Wine come from.

Castelo Branco

River Tejo, Serra da Estrela and Cova da Beira are part of this district of rich history and land of Pedro Álvares Cabral.

Guarda

The highest capital of Portugal, land of good wines and gastronomy.

Évora

Roman Évora, a World Heritage Site, the capital of Alentejo.

Beja

The most extensive of Portugal's districts, its capital is the city of Pax Julia, Beja.

Bragança

Where Portugal was born. The lands of Alto Douro and Trás-os-Montes are, in general, above 400 meters.

Portalegre

The lands of Alto Alentejo, with a lot of history and rich heritage.

Lisbon and Porto

The two main urban agglomerations in the country
Currently, it is divided into five major geographic regions and 18 districts (states in Brazil).

Portugal has 275 municipalities
In turn, the districts are composed of concelhos (municipalities), in a total of 275.