Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

, having approximately 95% of the total population and 96.6% of the country's land. Mainland Portugal is therefore commonly called by residents of the Portuguese archipelagos of the Azores and

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

the continent ( pt, o continente) in all respects including minor elements of combined governance from Lisbon, the country's capital. Before 1975, when the Portuguese territory also stretched to several now-independent states in Africa, the designation ''metropolis'' ( pt, metrópole) was also used.

Context

The designation ''mainland Portugal'' is used to differentiate the continental territory of Portugal from its insular territory. The latter comprises the archipelagos of

and Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. The Azores and Madeira are also commonly referred to as the

autonomous regions An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

( pt, as regiões autónomas), insular Portugal ( pt, Portugal Insular) or, simply, the islands ( pt, as ilhas). Continental Portugal is divided into 18

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

. Outside of these the islands of

and the Azores are the Autonomous Regions of Portugal. The European

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...

defines the geographic plurality of the mainland Portugal and the islands as the primary NUTS I territorial division (see administrative divisions of Portugal: NUTS for details). While in modern Portugal the difference between European continental and total territory is minor (in terms of area), it mattered during the existence of the Portuguese Empire, when the distinction was more frequently made, such as in the colonisation of Brazil. Continental Portugal has an area of or 96.6% of the Portuguese national territory () and 9,855,909 inhabitants (or 95.3% of the total population of 10,343,066).

Districts

EU Statistical Regions (NUTS II)

{, class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;" , - ! style="width:200px; text-align:centre", NUTS II ! style="width:450px; text-align:centre", Districts (entirely or partly included) , - , style="text-align:left" , Norte

Alto Minho The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Minho () is an administrative division in northern Portugal. It is situated between the Minho River and Lima River. It was created in October 2008. Since January 2015, Alto Minho is also a NUTS3 subregion of ...

Cávado Ave Porto Douro Tâmega e Sousa Alto Tâmega

Trás-os-Montes Trás-os-Montes () is a geographical, historical and cultural region of Portugal. Portuguese for "behind the mountains", Trás-os-Montes is located northeast of the country in an upland area, landlocked by the Douro and Tâmega rivers to south a ...

, Viana do Castelo, Braga, Porto, Aveiro (part), Guarda (part), Viseu (part), Vila Real, Bragança , - , style="text-align:left" , Centro

Beira Baixa Beira Baixa may refer to the following places in Portugal: *Beira Baixa Province, a former administrative division *Beira Baixa (intermunicipal community) The Comunidade Intermunicipal da Beira Baixa () is an administrative division in eastern Po ...

Beiras e Serra da Estrela The Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, Comunidade Intermunicipal das Beiras e Serra da Estrela () is an administrative division in eastern Portugal. It was created in 2013. Since January 2015, Beiras e Serra da Estrela is also a NUTS3 subregio ...

Médio Tejo Oeste Região de Aveiro Região de Coimbra Região de Leiria Viseu Dão Lafões , Castelo Branco, Guarda (majority), Santarém (part),

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

(part), Aveiro (majority), Coimbra,

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own distr ...

, Viseu (majority) , - , style="text-align:left" , Lisbon Metropolitan Region

(majority), Setúbal (part) , - , style="text-align:left" , Alentejo

Alentejo Litoral The Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alentejo Litoral () is an administrative division in Portugal. It was created in May 2009. It is also a NUTS3 subregion of the Alentejo Region.Alentejo Central Alto Alentejo Baixo Alentejo

Lezíria do Tejo The Comunidade Intermunicipal da Lezíria do Tejo (; English: ''Tagus Floodplain'') is an administrative division in Portugal. It was established as an ''Associação de Municípios'' in 1987, converted into a ''Comunidade Urbana'' in 2003, and co ...

, Setúbal (part), Évora, Portalegre, Beja, Santarém (part),

(part) , - , style="text-align:left" , Algarve Algarve , Faro , -

Context

Districts

EU Statistical Regions (NUTS II)

See also