Barcelona (; ) is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of eastern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, in the center of the

autonomous community The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Sp ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

. The province is bordered by the provinces of

Tarragona Tarragona (, ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in Catalonia (Spain). It is the capital and largest town of Tarragonès county, the Camp de Tarragona region and the province of Tarragona. Geographically, it is located on the Costa Daurada ar ...

Lleida Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...

, and

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, and by the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. Its area is ."Indicadors geogràfics. Superfície, densitat i entitats de població"
idescat.cat. A total of 5,743,402 people live in the province, of whom about 29% (1,664,182) live within the administrative limits of the city of Barcelona, which itself is contained in the

Barcelona metropolitan area The Barcelona urban area is an urban area in Catalonia (Spain) centered on the city of Barcelona and located less than 100 km south of the border with France. With a population of over 5 million, it is one of the largest urban areas in Europ ...

Divisions

The capital of the province is the city of Barcelona, and the provincial council is based in the Casa Serra on the Rambla de Catalunya in that city. Some other cities and towns in Barcelona province include

L'Hospitalet de Llobregat L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (; ), often shortened to L'Hospitalet or just L'H, is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Barcelonès Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'', in Catalonia (Spain). It is part of the Barcelona metropolitan area, ...

Badalona Badalona (, , , ) is a municipality in Barcelonès county, in Catalonia (Spain). It is located to the north east of Barcelona, on the left bank of the Besòs River and on the Mediterranean Sea, in the Barcelona metropolitan area. By population, ...

Cerdanyola del Vallès Cerdanyola del Vallès () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the north side of the Collserola ridge. The town is served by the A-7 and C-58 motorways, the N-150 road and the Ren ...

Martorell Martorell () is a municipality, county, and city that forms part of the Baix Llobregat Comarques of Catalonia, comarca, in Catalonia, Spain, primarily known for its medieval Pont del Diable, Devil's bridge. It lies at the confluence of the Llobr ...

Mataró Mataró () is the capital and largest town of the Maresme county in Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the Costa del Maresme, Maresme coast, to the south of Costa Brava, between Cabrera de Mar and Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, north-east of Barcel ...

Granollers Granollers (; ) is a city in central Catalonia, about 30 kilometres north-east of Barcelona. It is the capital and most densely populated city in the comarca of Vallès Oriental. Granollers is now a bustling business centre, having grown from ...

Sabadell Sabadell () is a city and municipality in Catalonia, Spain. It is in the south of the ''comarca'' of Vallès Occidental, where it is one of the two capitals, the other being Terrassa. It is located on the River Ripoll, north of Barcelona, a ...

Terrassa Terrassa () is a city in central-eastern Catalonia and in the province of Barcelona (Spain). It is one of the two capitals of Vallès Occidental county, being the larger in both area and population. The name ''Terrassa'' derives from Latin ''Te ...

Sitges ; , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain, renowned worldwide for Sitges Film Festival, its film festival, Carnival, and LGBTQ culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is know ...

Igualada Igualada () is a municipality and capital of Anoia county in Penedès, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on the left bank of the Anoia River and at the western end of the Igualada-Martorell-Barcelona Railway. Igualada is the capital and central ...

, Vic,

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

, and

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga de ...

. Since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by '' comarques'' in Catalonia do not completely agree, the term ''comarques of the province of Barcelona'' would not be entirely correct. However, a list of the ''comarques'' that are included—totally or partially—in the province of Barcelona can be made: *Fully included: ** Alt Penedès **

Anoia Anoia () is a comarca (county) in central Catalonia, Spain, with its capital at Igualada. It is mainly located in the Penedès region, with its northern section being in Central Catalonia. The comarca of Anoia is irrigated by the Anoia River; ...

Bages Bages () is a comarca (county) in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. The capital is the city of Manresa. Industries include the mining of potash at Súria and Sallent, and the manufacture of textiles along the rivers Llobregat and Car ...

** Baix Llobregat **

Barcelonès Barcelonès () is the most populated comarca of Catalonia, Spain. It contains Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well a ...

** Garraf ** Maresme **

Moianès Moianès () is a Comarques of Catalonia, ''comarca'' in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is the town of Moià. It became a comarca in May 2015, following approval in a local referendum and by the Parliament o ...

Vallès Occidental Vallès Occidental () is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in the Àmbit metropolità de Barcelona, Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). It has two capitals, Sabadell and Terrassa. Along with Vallès Oriental, it forms the historical Va ...

Vallès Oriental Vallès Oriental () is a comarca (county) in the Barcelona region in Catalonia (Spain). Its capital is Granollers. Along with Vallès Occidental it forms the historical Vallès region. In May 2015, Vallès Oriental lost four municipalities - C ...

*Partially included: **

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

(all

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

except Gósol) **

Osona Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...

(all municipalities except

Espinelves Espinelves () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the Guilleries in the east of the ''comarca''. Forestry is the main economic activity of the municipality, particularly the cultivation of the loca ...

, Vidrà and

Viladrau Viladrau () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Osona in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the south-east of the ''comarca'', beneath the massifs of the Guilleries and the Montseny, and is served by the GE-520 road, which links the municipa ...

) **

Selva Selva may refer to: People *Selva (surname) *Selva (name) *Selva (actor), Indian actor *Selva (director), Indian director Places *Selva (comarca), a coastal comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain *Selva, Mallorca (pop. 3,055), a municipality on Mal ...

(only the municipality of Fogars de la Selva)

Geography

The

Catalan Pre-Coastal Range The Catalan Pre-Coastal Range () is a system of mountain ranges running parallel to the Mediterranean Sea coast in Catalonia. It is part of the Catalan Mediterranean System. Its main axis runs between the Catalan Transversal Range and the Ser ...

and Catalan Coastal Range mountains run through the Province of Barcelona. There are several notable smaller mountain ranges that are located in the province, including Montseny Massif, Serra de Collserola, and

Tibidabo Tibidabo () is a hill overlooking Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. At , it is the tallest hill in the Serra de Collserola. Rising sharply to the north-west, it has views over the city and the surrounding coastline. The summit of the hill is occupi ...

. Pedraforca is the tallest mountain in the province, located on the north side as part of the Pre-Pyrenees.

is the mountain that overlooks the city of Barcelona. The majority of the Province of Barcelona has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

on the coast and an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

inland.

Population development

Province of Barcelona population pyramid

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:6000 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:500 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:100 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:25 shift:(-60,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1857 from:0 till: 713 text: 713,734 bar:1877 from:0 till: 828 text: 827,629 bar:1887 from:0 till: 880 text: 879,771 bar:1900 from:0 till:1053 text:1,052,977 bar:1910 from:0 till:1136 text:1,136,068 bar:1920 from:0 till:1341 text:1,340,906 bar:1930 from:0 till:1729 text:1,728,683 bar:1940 from:0 till:1936 text:1,935,707 bar:1950 from:0 till:2216 text:2,215,901 bar:1960 from:0 till:2839 text:2,838,801 bar:1970 from:0 till:3915 text:3,915,010 bar:1980 from:0 till:4623 text:4,623,204 bar:1990 from:0 till:4654 text:4,654,407 bar:2000 from:0 till:4806 text:4,805,927 bar:2010 from:0 till:5523 text:5,522,565 bar:2020 from:0 till:5743 text:5,743,402 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"

Presidency

Notes and references

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barcelona, Province of