Granada is a province of southern

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 eastern part 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 ...

of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba,

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, and 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 ...

(along the Costa Tropical). Its capital city is also called Granada. The province covers an area of . Its population was 921,338 , of whom about 30% live in the capital, and its average

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is . It contains 170 municipalities. There are certain conception about the ''autonomous community of Granada'' being separate from Andalusia. The new autonomous community would consist of the provinces of Granada, Almería and Málaga. The conception has not yet found a response.

Geography

The tallest mountain in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

, Mulhacén, is located in Granada. It measures . The next highest mountains in the province are Veleta () and Alcazaba (). The river Genil, which rises in Granada, is one of the main tributaries of the Guadalquivir. Other important rivers include the Fardes, Monachil, Guadalfeo, Dílar, Ízbor, Verde and Darro. Granada shares the Sierra Nevada National Park (in the Sierra Nevada mountain range) with Almería province. Another important range is the Sierra de Baza. The northern part of the province, comprising the districts of Baza and Huescar is known as the Granada Altiplano.

Important monuments

The Alhambra World Heritage Site, Granada's biggest tourist attraction, showcases one of the very finest architectural legacies of Moorish rule in Spain, which in Granada lasted from 711 until 1492. There are

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

cathedrals at Granada and Guadix. The Royal Chapel of Granada houses the remains of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504) and

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II, also known as Ferdinand I, Ferdinand III, and Ferdinand V (10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), called Ferdinand the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death in 1516. As the husband and co-ruler of Queen Isabella I of ...

(1452–1516); as well as of their daughter Joanna of Castile (1479–1555) and of her husband Philip the Handsome (69–70).

Economy

Tourism

The coast of Granada province is known as the Costa Tropical. It attracts large numbers of both Spanish and foreign holiday-makers. The main resorts are Almuñecar, Salobreña and La Herradura. The city of Granada brings in tourists from all over the world thanks to its Moorish architecture, especially the famous Alhambra palace. In the winter the mountains of the Sierra Nevada play host to Europe's most southerly ski resort. Hiking and eco-tourism also attract a number of visitors to areas such as the Alpujarras and Lecrin Valley.

Major employers

Puleva: founded in Granada in 1910, the company has been a subsidiary of the Lactalis group since 2001. It produces a wide range of dairy products, including milk and milkshakes, cream and products for infants. Puleva Biotech S.A. developed the first infant formula to contain nucleotides, and was a pioneer in the use of Omega-3 fatty acids in infant food products. Coviran: supermarket chain which operates on a franchise basis, specialising in small, neighbourhood shops. It has 2,501 supermarkets across the whole of Spain and Portugal.

University and language students

The University of Granada is one of the largest universities in Spain, with approximately 56,000 students. Each year the city also attracts over 10,000 foreign students, including over 2,000 European students through the Erasmus programme. As well as providing employment to a large number of people, the university also boosts the local economy by creating demand for rental property. The money spent by students also helps to support shops, restaurants, bars and other services in the city. In recent years the university has also been working to capitalise on the research it does through commercial ventures.

Other

Primary industries such as agriculture and fishing play an important role in the local economy. There was previously also a very large construction sector, but as of 2011 it was experiencing a deep downturn. The Granada Health Science Technological Park has created some high-skilled jobs in the biotechnology sector.

Population development

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:600 height:auto barincrement:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1000 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:50 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:20 shift:(-50,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1877 from:0 till:478 text:478,092 bar:1887 from:0 till:483 text:482,787 bar:1900 from:0 till:494 text:494,449 bar:1910 from:0 till:527 text:526,865 bar:1920 from:0 till:580 text:580,338 bar:1930 from:0 till:656 text:656,396 bar:1940 from:0 till:747 text:747,381 bar:1950 from:0 till:793 text:793,338 bar:1960 from:0 till:777 text:777,112 bar:1970 from:0 till:742 text:741,659 bar:1980 from:0 till:759 text:758,618 bar:1990 from:0 till:791 text:790,515 bar:2000 from:0 till:822 text:821,660 bar:2010 from:0 till:922 text:922,100 bar:2020 from:0 till:921 text:921,338 TextData= pos:(35,20) fontsize:M text:"Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE"